Page 49 of For Butter or Worse
Leo extended his hand to Charlie, but Charlie just stared back at Nina.
“It’s been a while,” Charlie said to her.
“Work has been keeping me busy.” Her pulse was rapid, signaling her to flee.
Charlie nodded tightly. “You didn’t text me back the other night.”
She looked to Leo, trying discreetly to mouth the wordhelp.
Leo cocked his head, then licked his lips. “We were just about to head out,” he said.
Charlie finally looked at Leo, like he was just registering that there was someone else in his vicinity.
“Yes, we should go.” Nina mouthed a thank-you to Leo as she took his hand and led them quickly away.
That did not just happen.Oh, but it had. She was grateful she’d put in the extra effort to look cute, and that Leo was by her side and looking fine as hell, too. Not that she needed to make Charlie jealous—he was in the past—but she certainly didn’t want to seem like she was still dwelling on their relationship.
“What was that all about?” Leo spoke from the side of his mouth.
She didn’t realize she was shaking from the shock of seeing her ex until they’d walked away, a little vibration traveling across her shoulders. All she wanted was to get back to her car and drive to the nearest bar, order a stiff drink, or five, and try to forget what had just happened.
“Charlie is my ex,” she said. They walked out of the entrance and back to the safety of the open street. At least this way if Charlie popped up again, she could take off her wedges and make a run for it.
She didn’t know why she wanted to get away from him as quickly as she did. She’d broken up with him, after all. But she’d left that relationship so she’d never have to be in the same vicinity as Charlie. He was toxic and manipulative in the worst ways. She didn’t need anyone like that in her life ever again.
“Nice that you get along with your exes so well,” Leo joked. He put his hands in his pockets.
“We had a complicated relationship. He’s not a good guy.” But that was an oversimplification, really. Explaining how much damage Charlie had done to her self-esteem wasn’t an easy story to share.
He made a big show of cracking his knuckles as he said, “I’m glad you’re not with him, then.”
She didn’t think Leo was jealous, necessarily, but he seemed to be puffing his chest out in a way that suggested he was...protective? She wasn’t exactly sure, but she wanted to return the gesture.
“You did me a huge favor back there. I owe you.”
Leo shifted from one foot to the other. He opened his mouth, then closed it.
“What? Why do you look like you just ate the last slice of pizza?” She thought she’d been the awkward one, and now here he was one-upping her.
“On that note, I have a favor to ask.”
She shot him a look. She really did owe him for the save—she just hadn’t thought he’d cash in on the ask so quickly. “Anything,” she responded, curious to know what could possibly be in store for her.
19
LEO
Leo was a tidy person, the Marie Kondo of the single white male world, so he never had epic messes to clean. Still, he’d gone through an entire box of Clorox wipes in the last hour to ensure every surface of his house was spotless. This was Nina’s first time seeing where he lived, and to his surprise, he cared about what she thought.
“I googled her ex, ya know,” Gavin said from the kitchen.
The mention of Nina’s ex stopped Leo cold. He’d told his brother about the food festival, and about who they’d run in to. He hadn’t mentioned how unsettling it was to come face-to-face with someone Nina had actually dated.
Plus, Leo had also googled Charlie. As Leo discovered, Charlie was a Michelin-starred chef and as obsessed with food as Nina—they had real things in common. There were also photos of the two of them together—lots of cozy, cutesy, clearly-in-love photos.
But the big difference was that what Nina and Charlie had had was genuine, whereas what Nina and Leo had was...
Ugh, he hated how confused he was. Because, really, he shouldn’t have any question about the fact that theirs was a work relationship, nothing more. But he’d gone from thinking Nina was one of the most selfish people on the planet to waking up and immediately checking his texts to see if there was anything new from her.
