Page 34 of Guarded Love

He arched an eyebrow when he noticed me staring, and it had the power to make my cheeks flush. “What’s wrong? Is there something hanging out of my nose?”

I blurted out a laugh before shaking my head. “Just admiring the view.” I could hardly believe that came out of my mouth. It wasn’t like me, flirting that way, but he made it feel natural. I wanted to tell him how good he looked. I would’ve told him how grateful I was too. Except I doubted I could find a way to make it sound anything but pitiful. I didn’t want to come off like some giggling, tongue-tied schoolgirl grateful for the slightest crumbs, even if that was how I felt.

After we agreed on a large pie with mushrooms and black olives, Magnus poured us both a glass of wine. “I can’t believe you like mushrooms and olives on your pizza,” I said with a disbelieving laugh.

“I like a lot of things. I have a wide palette.” He met my gaze while handing me a glass. “It seems like we have a lot in common.”

“More than I imagined,” I confessed.

“You just never know, do you? Until you get to know somebody,” he casually remarked, and he was right. The fact that I wouldn’t have gotten to know him if it hadn’t been for Barrett pretty much forcing us on each other made me a little sad. We could have missed this chance to know each other. To sit and share a pizza, piping hot, crispy, and flavorful. Something so simple but enough to stir my soul.

I could have missed this.

What else had I missed? Our eyes met, and when he smiled, my heart threatened to burst from the possibilities he suggested without having to say a word.

“Oh, my God!” I didn’t recognize the platinum blonde woman who’d sat on the other side of the dining room. She was definitely a type. Lips that looked like she had just had them filled with something, an expertly contoured face, long, fake lashes, and a short dress beneath a dramatic trench coat.

She started toward us, and still, I figured she must be making a mistake until I pried my gaze from her and found Magnus white as a sheet. “What’s wrong?” I whispered before the blonde leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Of all the places to run into you! I swear, it’s like fate. I’ve been thinking about you so much lately.” She was still leaning over him, meaning her boobs were practically in his face while she let a hand trail down his chest.

“Uh… hi.” He took her wrist and pulled her hand off him but didn’t shake her off completely. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m going to a party and wanted to grab a slice on the way.” Then she gasped dramatically. “Oh, you should come! I’ve been wanting to spend a little time with you. Talk things over, reconnect. We have so much to catch up on.”

Where was I in all of this? Easy. I was invisible. I wasn’t even there. She hadn’t looked at me. As for Magnus? He couldn’t take his eyes off her long enough to remember he wasn’t alone.

It was always going to be like this. As I sat there and watched them while my pizza went cold, I wondered if this was why Magnus wanted to bring me someplace he wouldn’t normally go. So we wouldn’t run into anybody he knew, wouldn’t have to be seen with me. He was certainly nervous and shifty-eyed like a deer in headlights. Let’s not forget the fact that he was practically pretending I didn’t exist.

“I have plans.” This time, he took her by the wrists and pushed her away—not hard, but firmly enough that she got the hint. It wasn’t enough to make her walk away, though. She remained where she was, smiling down at him. Practically simpering.

All at once, he looked my way, sputtering. “Evelyn!” Like he was only then remembering he was on a date. “This is Leila.”

Leila.I knew that name. I’d heard it muttered and whispered in the group. It all made sense.

Thiswas what he married? This bleached blonde, big breasted, squeaky voiced girl who looked like she might blow over in a stiff breeze?

Her heavy lashes fluttered before she fell back a step to take me in. Her lips twitched in a way I instantly recognized after having seen it more times than I cared to count. This girl is no competition. “Oh… Hi. Leila.” She thrust out a hand. “His wife.”

“Ex-wife,” Magnus corrected as I shook her hand. “Remember? You signed the paperwork.”

“Let’s not talk about that right now.” As if it was so simple. As if everything could be forgotten because she said so.

I would have said it was nice to meet her… if it were, which it wasn’t. She was exactly who I would’ve imagined and, in fact, had imagined. Someone beautiful, sparkling, breathtaking, and bubbly. A woman who drew every man’s gaze the moment she entered a room.

Also known as the absolute opposite of me. What in the hell was he doing with me when she was so much more his type? Looking at her made me feel small, the way I had for so long. And there I was, telling myself I didn’t have to be that version of me ever again. How pathetic. I knew better or should have.

“I’ll leave you to it.” Still, she ran the back of her hand down Magnus’s cheek while I gritted my teeth hard enough to hurt. “We really do have so much to catch up on. I’ve been wanting to talk to you. We’ll get together this week.”

“I think I’ll be busy.”

“You’ll make time for me. You’re going to want to hear what I have to say,” she said with a pointed look she tried to mask with a tight smile. Then she was gone.

He let out a long sigh once she was on the other side of the glass and hurrying down the sidewalk, swinging her hips, attracting attention from everyone she passed. “Talk about shit timing,” he muttered. “I’m pretty sure I lost my appetite.”

I definitely had, but I wasn’t about to let him know it. “So that’sher.” I took a huge bite from a slice but barely tasted it. How could I with so much bitterness flowing through me?

“She’s deluded,” he muttered before draining the rest of the wine in his glass, avoiding my gaze like his life depended on it. “Acting like we’re friends. Must be nice to have such a short memory.”

---