Page 21 of The Shy Waitress and Her Boss

Eric saw Kady's lips curve in a smile that instantly transformed her face into something almost ethereally beautiful. Not for one moment did it occur to him that the smile might be one of amusement, and she could be findinghimfunny.

Instead, he saw her smile, and his confidence was instantly restored.Poor girl. Whether she admitted it or not, it was obvious she was still in love with him.

After exchanging hellos and Kady suffering an awkward hug from Eric, they sat across each other, and she politely declined his offer to buy her a drink.

"I hate to say this," Kady told him with an apologetic smile, "but you kind of caught me at a bad time..."

Sure he did,Eric thought, not buying a single word of her excuse. Seeing him must hurt her so much that she couldn't get away from him fast enough. "So..." He cleared his throat, vowing to himself all the while that he would do his best to break the news as gently as possible. "You're probably wondering why I asked to meet up out of the blue."

"Kinda."

"You never said anything before," he said carefully, "but I know I must've hurt you when you found out about Margaux and me."

Kady stared blankly at him. "I didn't realize I have to say a thing for you to realize seeing my ex with my best friend would hurt."

Eric flushed. "Yeah, well..." His voice trailed off. He hadn't expected her to twist his words in such a way, and he couldn't help saying testily, "This conversation won't go anywhere if we can't be civilized."

Her mouth opened and closed.Unbelievable.

Kady's silence was satisfying, which Eric once again unknowingly misinterpreted as his ex-girlfriend finally returning to her senses and going back to her usual docile self.

"Anyway..." Eric's chest puffed at the magnanimous gesture that he was about to make. "That's why I'm here."

Loft condescension practically oozed from his voice, and she could only feel her incredulity growing with every word Eric uttered.Had she truly once thought herself in love with this guy?

"I don't want to make the same mistake twice and end up hurting you again."

Because right now, she couldn't even see one single thing about him that was marginally cute.And my God - had she really heard him right?Did this guy really think he still had the power to hurt her?

"Margaux and I are engaged."

Kady blinked. Was that it?

She must be in shock, Eric thought.Poor Kady.He cleared his throat and reminded himself once again of his promise to break the news gently. "I know it may seem sudden and hasty, but it simply feels right." More silence, and Eric's remorse grew.Poor Kady.

"Congratulations," Kady said finally, seeing that Eric seemed to expect a response from her.

"I hope you mean that."

Kady blinked. "Of course I do."

"Because if you don't—-"

"I just said I do," Kady protested.

"What I have to say next is going to make things harder," Eric finished heavily.

"Oh." Kady was genuinely surprised this time. "There's more?"

"It's sort of last-minute..." Eric was once again back to speaking to her carefully, like she was a five year old that could only grasp two-syllable words. "But my application to work as a teacher's assistant was recently accepted, and I'll be working directly under a professor I've greatly admired—-"

"Julian Alexeyev," she guessed, having no problem recalling the Russian professor that Eric had practically worshipped.

A sullen expression flitted over his face, and Kady couldn't help comparing it to Slade, whom she couldn't even imaginecontemplatingbeing sullen for any reason.

"No, it's not him," Eric said rather shortly.

"Oh."

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