Right With Me - Stacey Lewis Page 0,15

her all about seeing him in my classroom and how I’m going to be teaching his daughter and a big grin lifts her full lips the more I talk. “This is fantastic.”

“Out of everything I said, that’s all you’ve got to say? What part of this mess is fantastic?” I don’t give her the chance to answer before I do it for her. “None of it, that’s what.”

Riley rolls her eyes. “Bullshit. You’ve been mooning over this guy for months. I think you should hear what he has to say.”

My mouth gapes open with shock. “Seriously? You think I should hear what some guy who almost kissed me while he was married has to say? Who are you and what did you do with my best friend?”

I can’t believe she thinks I should listen to anything he has to say. Shouldn’t my best friend have my interests at heart? It seems like she’s on his side, and that thought hurts.

“You never know,” she says with a shrug. “It’s been a year, things could’ve changed a lot since the last time you saw him.”

Who cares if they have? “Even if something has changed, he’s still a cheater.”

Now she rolls her eyes. “Hails, is he really? I mean, you didn’t actually do anything, right? He backed off… and he told you he was married. A scumbag slimeball would have taken advantage of the situation and you, but he didn’t. Doesn’t that at least buy you listening to him say whatever it is he needs to? If nothing else, it will give you some closure.”

I glare at her, mad that she’s making sense when I wanted her to tell me I’m right and I should ignore him forever if possible. “I don’t like you.”

“No, you don’t like when I’m right.” My glare deepens, but she just laughs. “Look, I’m just saying, maybe you should talk to him. Let him say whatever it is he wants to say and then make a decision. Maybe after you’ll at least be able to teach his kid without wanting to throw up every time you see him.”

Ugh. “Damn you and your logic.” She doesn’t reply, just stares at me with one eyebrow raised and a knowing look in her eyes. “Fine, you win. I’ll talk to him, but I don’t think it’s going to solve anything. Nothing can change the fact that he was married when I first met him, but maybe whatever he has to tell me will make me feel better about everything.”

Riley smiles triumphantly and bounces out of her seat with an amount of glee I don’t understand, but I don’t get to ask because after giving me a quick kiss on the cheek she’s gone, leaving me sitting in the living room of my new apartment and contemplating the possibility that maybe I was wrong about Mitchell to begin with… and not in a bad way.

Chapter 11

Mitchell

I’ve tossed and turned all night, so when my alarm goes off I feel like absolute dog shit and all I want is to go back to sleep for eight more hours. Unfortunately, being the boss means I can’t do that, so once my mom shows up to stay with kids I head for the shop to get my day started.

I’ve only been at work an hour when Nick comes into the office with a pissed off look on his face. “There’s someone here to see you.” The attitude he has about has me intrigued.

“Who is it?”

He just shakes his head and leaves, letting the person walk in as he does and I stare at her in shock. Before she can say anything, I stand and walk around my desk to stand in front of her, almost unable to believe she’s standing here.

“Hailey?”

Looking uncomfortable, her eyes dart around my office, focusing on anything but me. I want to grab her and force her to look at me, wanting to see her eyes when she tells me why she’s here, and I have to shove my hands in my pockets to keep from doing it.

“Hey,” she says softly, tucking her hair behind one ear so it won’t fall in her face.

She still hasn’t looked at me, so I lean back on my desk, hoping the pose is casual enough to alleviate some of her nervousness. Towering over her definitely isn’t going to help.

A few minutes go by and the quietness in the room starts to become stifling. I want to give her whatever time she needs, but I