Page 106 of My Lucky Charm

He lifts his hand in mock surrender, like I’m the one in the wrong. “I just assumed you were hooking up with the hockey player. But hey, if you’re not, I have some time in my calendar . . .”

Tears sting my eyes. Not because of what he’s saying now, but because this is how he treated me, and I believed the things he said.

I take a second to push these feelings away. I’m fine. I’m always fine.

“Eloise?”

I spin around and find Gray standing there.

Jay steps past me and extends a hand to Gray. “Grayson Hawke, in the flesh.” He grins, and I curl my hand into a fist at my side.

Gray looks at Jay’s hand, looks right back at him, and doesn’t move.

“Oh, okay, not a handshake guy, I get it, I get it,” Jay croons, like they’re old friends.

Gray slowly turns to me. I can feel my face flushed with anger and humiliation, my fists balled up at my sides.

My eyes sting, so I screw them shut for a beat and remind myself that everything is fine.

I’m fine.

I wish I could run out of this restaurant, all the way back to Loveland. I wish none of this was happening, especially in front of Gray.

He gives me a look, and I instantly know he’s asking are you okay?

My eyebrows furrow and my bottom lip trembles, but I manage a breath and a nod.

I take a step back. “Where’s Scarlett?”

“Sitting at our table,” Gray says, then lower, just to me, “but we can go.”

I nod and start to leave, but then, I stop. It’s like I’m outside my body, because I start to say things I normally never would.

I turn and face Jay. “I just want to thank you.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “Thank me? Well, it’s about time! For all the good times we had together?” His face is so smug, it twists my stomach into a knot.

I let out a half-laugh. “No. I want to thank you for being such a creep.”

His smile twitches.

“It makes it so much easier to forget everything you ever said to me.” I can’t believe I thought being with him made me more grown up.

He holds his arms out to the sides, and smacks his lips against his teeth. “I’m doing just fine, Eloise,” he says.

“But you’re a bad person.” Clearly, I don’t have a lot of practice insulting people.

Jay makes a pouty face, like he’s twelve years old. “Aw. Am I? Am I a bad person?” He hits Gray on the arm, like they’re drinking buddies, and says, “Can you get a load of this?”

I feel Gray tense up next to me, and I hold up a hand to stop him.

To Jay, I point a finger and say, “I can’t believe I ever let myself care what you said or thought.” I shake my head and turn to leave. “I deserve so much better.”

Jay scrunches his face. “You’re just another pretty face, Eloise. You didn’t even go to college.” And then, he says—to Gray, I assume— “Hot girls aren’t exactly special, am I right?”

I don’t hear or see anything else.

Just white noise cranked up to ten in my head and burning red behind my eyes.

---