Dirty (Unexpected Lovers #3) - J.B. Heller Page 0,42

and close my eyes. “It means, I’m fucked.”

Archer doesn’t come back to the apartment or sneak up on me at my office for the next ten days. Ten long freaking days.

I can’t believe I’ve become the girl who actually counts the days since she last laid eyes on her man—yet, here I am.

“Stop scowling. Kins is going to think you don’t like the dress,” Em whisper-hisses as she elbows me in the ribs.

The wedding is two days away, and we’re all gathered for a girls’-day-slash-hens’-party. One of the activities on the list for today is Kins’ final dress fitting. I offered to drink Kins and Em’s share of alcohol if they’d move this thing to an actual bar or something of the like, but nooo. Pregnant chicks take the fun out of everything.

“I wouldn’t be scowling if I had a drink in my hand,” I hiss right back at Em, who rolls her eyes.

“Girl, you need a detox. You’ve been drinking like a fish for days. What’s going on? Arch not putting out?” She chuckles to herself.

Yeah, so I still haven’t told my girls about my freak-out over the photo and, consequently, his disappearing act. I grimace and look away, focusing on the row of bridesmaids’ dresses hung on the wall.

“Len . . .” Em says, her hand coming to rest gently on my forearm.

I remain silent—not that I could talk right now. My throat swells with emotion, and my damn malfunctioning tear ducts well up, making my eyes sting as I try desperately to keep the suckers at bay. Gritting my teeth, I take a few deep breaths through my nose and squeeze my eyes closed.

When I open them again, Emory is standing right in front of me, her brows furrowed so hard that deep creases slash across her forehead. “Start talking,” she demands.

Shaking my head, I glance over my shoulder to make sure Kins hasn’t caught on to my little meltdown. Thankfully, she’s absorbed in conversation with Hannah and the seamstress. Facing Em again, I smile sadly, not wanting her to make a big deal over my problems, especially not so close to Kins’ big day.

“I haven’t seen or spoken to him in nearly two weeks,” I admit softly.

Em’s big, blue eyes widen. “What the hell, Lennon?”

“Shhh.” I slap a hand over her mouth. “I’m not going to rain all over Kins’ parade, got it? So keep your big mouth shut.”

She glares at me, smacking my hand away. “Fine,” she whispers, her gaze darting to Kins then back to me. Wrapping her fingers around my wrist, she tugs me to the far side of the room. “Why haven’t you said anything?”

I shrug. “The focus should be on Kins right now. I wasn’t going to throw my shit into the mix and have it detracting from her happiness.”

“You could have talked to me about it. I wouldn’t have said anything,” Em says, hurt shining in her eyes.

Hating that I’ve upset her, I wrap an arm around her waist, tug her into my side, and rest my head on her shoulder. Me being the one to initiate a hug must surprise her because she stiffens before sighing and curling an arm behind my back, returning the embrace.

I swallow, trying to keep my wayward emotions in check. “I freaked out on him,” I explain. “We went out for dinner, kissed in the bar, and someone took a photo. It went viral on every major sports blog within the hour.”

“So?” Em says. “I don’t see the problem. I thought we talked about all this, and you were cool with going public.”

“I thought so, too,” I mutter.

Em pulls away enough to look me in the eye. “What did you do?”

“I panicked. He asked me what loving him looked like to me, and I said nothing. Not a freaking word, Emmy.” I sigh, the moment replaying in my head for the millionth time in the last ten days. “I really fucked it up this time. I don’t think there’s any coming back from this. He’s gone, and I’m the one who pushed him away.”

Her eyes shine with unshed tears as she pulls me into a big, full-frontal hug, her huge baby belly digging into my own flat one. I sniffle, wanting so badly to let myself cry, but a weird tap and roll kind of feeling runs up my stomach. My eyes widen, and I fly back against the wall behind me. “Uh, Em . . . what the fuck was that?”

“Oh.” She grins,