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“Then let me borrow one to wear over my bikini,” I suggest.
“No.”
“No?”
“You shouldn’t have to cover up in the pool, Mags. I’m sorry I said anything. You should wear the bikini proudly, despite all the unfortunate erections it’ll have popping up all over the place.”
“Teddy!” I exclaim in surprise since he doesn’t normally talk like that.
“It’s true,” he replies. “You have to know you’re going to cause a riot going to the pool looking like that. Not that you shouldn’t. You should. You’re single now.”
My shoulders slump since it sounds like he’s already forgotten that he’s here to pretend to be my boyfriend.
“Let’s go,” I grumble since I’m sleepy and cranky and I’m not even sure why I’m so mad at Theo for constantly bringing me my favorite ice cream.
“If anyone says anything about your top, tell them you’re pregnant,” he not so helpfully suggests.
“You really need to stop trying to knock me up!” I huff on the way out the door.
“Sorry, I will,” he replies.
When a door down the hall slams shuts, I see a tall, tattooed man from the corner of my eye, and I already know who it will be.
It’s perfect timing, really. We couldn’t have planned it better if we had tried.
When I turn toward the direction we have to go for the elevator, Wyatt is standing frozen in the hallway in nothing but his long black boardshorts and orange flip-flops. There’s not a shirt in sight for him since he enjoys showing off the ink down his lean but muscular body, ones on his arms, chest, stomach, and back.
“I would really like to comment, but I’d rather not get punched again at my best friend’s wedding. I’m not going to sink to the low of fighting like children,” my ex remarks. “I’ll take the stairs.”
“Good decision,” Theo says through his clenched teeth.
At the reminder of their heated argument, I zero in on the bruise darkening on the left side of Wyatt’s face.
What could he have possibly said to make Theo snap?
“I have no idea what you saw in him,” Theo remarks when we step onto the elevator and the doors close.
“I know you don’t, but he loved me. All of me,” I say quietly. “He…he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.”
“What? He asked you to marry him?” Theo asks, sounding repulsed.
“I know you think marriage is stupid and every one is bound to end in divorce, but some of us still want to give it a try.”
“Maggie…”
“No, it’s fine, Theo,” I say. “But Wyatt never hurt me. He never cheated on me. He wasn’t a great roommate, but he was a good boyfriend. As a couple, well, we were pretty much perfect for each other.”
“So then why did he kick you out of his apartment in the middle of the night?”
“He didn’t kick me out. I left.”
“Why?” he asks, not sounding surprised.
“I can’t talk about it. Not yet,” I tell him honestly as I blink back tears.
When Theo steps off the elevator on the first floor, I stay on, needing a minute to myself. “I forgot the sunscreen. I’ll be right back,” I say then hit the button to close the doors before he can jump back on.
Sometimes, I wonder if I made a huge mistake, walking away from a man who loved me for the man who never will.
