Of course, she shot me a look and slid away from me, giving him the world’s most awkward hug.
Well, second to my hug with old lady Runither, who goosed me on my way out the door.
She stepped back quickly and then nodded at the woman beside him, and they both said an awkward hello.
“I texted you,” he said before glancing at his girlfriend and then back to Reese. “Christy knows that we’re going to get together for some coffee and some closure. Oh, have you not told Finn that we’re meeting up? I hope I haven’t caused any trouble.”
“Are you kidding? My girl told me all about it. We don’t have secrets.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Yep, when we were soaking in the tub last night with glasses of wine in our hands, she mentioned it. Briefly. You know, we had more important things going on at that moment.”
Reese’s foot pressed down hard on top of mine, and then she tried to play it off as if she’d slipped. “Oops. Sorry about that, Finn.”
“Can’t get close enough to your man, can you, baby?” I said, wrapping one arm around her and pulling her to me.
Carl just stood there with his mouth hanging open.
Clearly, the dude had never soaked in a tub with her because apparently, he had the libido of a corpse and a dick that required batteries.
Christy Rae Lovell’s eyes widened as she took us in. “Well, I trust my man, so it’s fine with me. I can’t keep him on a leash, can I?”
I felt Reese stiffen against me.
“If you want to pull out a leash, I wouldn’t mind if you tied me up, baby.” I leaned down and kissed her cheek, and she chuckled.
I was ridiculous when it came to Reese. I couldn’t stand the idea of this dickless wonder hurting her any more than he already had.
“All right, well, just let me know when you want to meet. It was good to see you both,” Reese said, stepping out of my arms and reaching for my hand.
Carl looked surprised that she was ready to walk away, and I loved seeing the bastard squirm.
“Yeah. I’ll text you, and we’ll get that scheduled. I’m glad you’re home, Reese.”
She nodded casually, as if it didn’t matter when he texted her, and I fucking loved it. We walked hand in hand toward my truck, and I waited until we were around the corner of the building to speak. “You okay? You handled that well.”
She nodded, and I helped her into the truck. Her eyes watered the slightest bit, and she shrugged. “It’s just weird, you know? We were supposed to be married by now. Did I mess everything up by leaving? Was I not worth the wait, Chewy?”
And that fucking did it. The first tear streaked down her face, and a sharp ache moved across my chest. I slipped my hands beneath her knees and her neck, and I lifted her just enough so that I could slide into the truck and drop her onto my lap. I tugged the door closed and wrapped my arms around her.
“You’re okay, Miney. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s his loss.”
“It doesn’t seem like it is, does it?” she croaked. “He seems to be doing just fine. He’s already got a new relationship, and they look happy.”
“No, they don’t. He looked fucking miserable and jealous. Did you see the way he was staring at me when I had my arms around you? He was struggling to control himself.”
She sniffed, and her phone vibrated in her purse, which was sitting beside us on the seat. “Really? You think so?”
“Hell yeah, I do. There is no one like you,” I said. “He can try all he wants, but I know it, and he knows it. Christy Rae Lovell doesn’t hold a candle to you.”
“She’s pretty; you can’t deny it.”
“I honestly didn’t notice, Miney. Because my eyes were on you.”
She sniffed once more and then tipped her head back to look at me. “You’re the best fake boyfriend in the world, Chewy.”
Her phone vibrated again, and she reached into her purse and pulled it out. I glanced down at the screen to see a lengthy text from Dr. Limpdick.
“I think you might be right about him being jealous,” she said, her tone lighter now. “He wants to meet during the week. For dinner. It was supposed to be coffee, but he said we have a lot to discuss.”
“There you go. See, everything is going to be fine.” I kissed her forehead, and I shifted to get out of the truck, but she surprised me by wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me even tighter.
“I’d be lost without you. Thank you for always having my back.”