Page 3 of Mess With Me
Ethan held the men’s room door open for her, still looking concerned. She stepped out to the hallway and then leaned against the wall. He stood in front of her, his hard blue eyes scanning her features. Probably looking for signs of a physical altercation.
She waved him on. “I just need some time to pull it together. You go ahead back to your date.”
“Are you going to cry some more?” he asked gruffly.
“Probably.”
“You, uh, want to talk about it?”
Her eyes widened, surprised that he’d offered. It wasn’t like they knew each other that well. Of course, he did have an honorary little sister, her friend Mad Campbell. Maybe he was used to female drama. Still, she had more tears in her and would prefer not to have a witness to her breakdown. Her fantasy happy-ever-after was dead and she needed time to mourn. “No, thank you.”
“Okay.” He hesitated, staring at her for a long moment before walking away, looking back at her several times and then disappearing back into the ballroom.
She walked in the opposite direction, turned the corner to an empty hallway and took a seat on the floor. Who cared if her dress got wrinkled? Nobody, that was who. She bent her knees, wrapping her arms around them, and rested her head on top. She felt like a complete fool the way she’d built up Dean and what they’d had in her mind. Those four years together meant nothing to him. How could he love her andnotlove her? His utter indifference compared to her dream of a loving reunion brought fresh tears. She let them fall, the world going blurry. All of her three older sisters were married. Her friends were all finding their forever loves and she had nobody. Maybe she never would. Without the rosy belief in a fairy-tale love, what would her life be like? Alone, probably, no one to hold her but herself. It sucked, but guess what? So did her love life, so which was worse?
Finally, she finished crying and wiped her eyes with a tissue from her purse. She stood and took a deep breath, contemplating if she should bail on the reunion or go back in and prove she was just as over Dean as he was over her. He’d probably be back inside of ten minutes, she thought uncharitably. He hadn’t been all that in the bedroom.
Her pride had her taking a step back to the reunion. She halted in surprise.
Ethan was standing at the end of the hallway, where she’d just spent the last several minutes crying her eyes out. Had he seen?
She crossed to him. “What’re you doing here?”
“Same as you. Taking a breather. Come on, they’re serving dinner. You can sit with me and Cali.”
Suddenly there was nothing she’d rather do. Ethan was a connection to her friends, a comforting oasis in this treacherous territory. “Okay, thanks.”
They walked in silence for a few moments before Ethan said in a mock growl, “Say the word and I’ll give the guy who made you cry a fat lip.”
She let out a shaky laugh. “Thanks.”
“Men suck,” he said and ruffled her hair.
She didn’t even care that he’d mussed it. “They do.”
“Being single’s not so bad,” he said gently.
Easy for him to say, he had a girlfriend. “What’re you doing here anyway? I mean, the reunion. I know you weren’t at UConn when I was here. You’re too old.”
He bumped her with his hip. “Take that back, young’un.”
She laughed. “You’re thirtysomething, right?”
“Yeah. Cali went here.”
She searched her memory and came up short. “Huh. Guess we didn’t have any classes together.”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “You’ll get along with her great. She thinks men suck too.”
“Even you?”
He cracked a rare smile that lit up his face in an astonishingly gorgeous flash. “I’m the exception.”
2
Ethan hadn’t been paying attention where Ally was concerned. Even with cry face, she was strikingly beautiful in a sexy pixie way. Blond shoulder-length hair with bangs that bounced in time with her energetic movements, guileless wide blue eyes, cute straight nose, a sweet bow in her top lip, lusciously plump bottom lip, petite yet busting with curves in a tight red dress. How was it he’d never spent time with her? She was one of Mad Campbell’s friends from that women’s book club. He’d definitely seen Ally around, usually elbow deep in women. Now his eyes were open. That she was showing signs of cheering up because of his small efforts made him feel like a hero.
They entered the large ballroom of the reunion and he found his date, Cali, standing stiffly, legs apart in a ready stance, scanning the room with narrowed eyes. Even off duty she was always on. She was his partner, a great cop with a long-term plan to become police chief. He was her date tonight as a buffer against her former classmates, three asshole guys in particular from her criminal justice classes who’d made it their mission to make Cali feel like an interloper, calling her “weak geek” and a “guy wannabe” every chance they got. He knew her only as a tough competent cop. They frequently stepped in for each other on social occasions, but never once considered seeing each other. She was focused on her career. He refused to date a coworker. Besides, he preferred more softness in a woman, probably to make up for what he lacked in his own life.
