Truth be told, he hadn’t heard about the breakup until now. Did it make him a terrible person for feeling more than a little happy that she was no longer with Mr. Butt Chin? Probably.
More than probably.
“Exactly how much of that did you hear?” she asked warily as he slid into the seat beside her.
“Enough to know you broke up with your boyfriend for a myriad of large and small reasons.” He tried to stifle a smirk, but his lip twitched in rebellion.
“Amazing.” She nodded, her lips pressed into a flat line. “This day is going swimmingly.”
“Any guy who breaks up with you needs to get his head checked.” Sean stashed his bag under the seat in front of him. “You’re a catch.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious.” He turned to her. “You’re gorgeous, talented, creative. What more could a guy want?”
“His career,” she replied dryly. “Apparently, I was a publicity stunt first and a human second.”
Sean’s mouth popped open. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” She sighed. “Look it up on YouTube. Last I checked, the moment my faith in humanity officially died has almost three million views. But that’s what I get for dating a man who believes his needs supersede everything and everyone around him.”
“The name Brock should have been a dead giveaway.” Sean screwed up his nose. He didn’t really have anything against the name, but he couldn’t think of how else to make her feel better. “I mean, it’s not Chad but… it’s close.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Lily’s lip, but she stared straight ahead.
“And I was told once that you should never trust a guy with a butt chin,” he added. “It’s basically law.”
“You’re just trying to cheer me up,” she said, glancing at him.
“I am.”
“Why?” There was a palpable wariness to her.
“We’re old mates, aren’t we?” Okay, so maybe that was a stretch.
“You used to pull my pigtails and call me a nerd,” she pointed out. “That hardly makes us friends.”
“I was jealous,” he admitted.
“Of the pigtails or my being a nerd?”
“Both.”
“I can see why.” She nodded. “For what it’s worth, you’d look good with pigtails.”
“I know,” he replied with mock solemnity.
There was a lightness in her expression for a moment, but then it leeched out of her again as if she felt exposed and needed to duck back behind her walls. He couldn’t stand seeing her like that. She’d left Australia for bigger and brighter things without so much as a backward glance, and there hadn’t been a single doubt in his mind that she would find success wherever she went. He shouldn’t want to reassure her.
But he did.
It’s none of your business. You’re just using her as a distraction from your own issues.
Maybe that was true. He had two best friends—one was getting married this coming weekend, and his little sister was engaged to the other. Even his father was dating again after more than a decade of being divorced.
To make matters worse, his sister had gotten it into her head that Sean needed a girlfriend and was doing her best to be his personal matchmaker. Without his agreement, mind you. He was already dreading the wedding because she’d been dropping hints all week about one guest that was “totally his type.”
Not likely.