Imagine With Me (With Me in Seattle #15) - Kristen Proby Page 0,63
mood had to do with her.”
“I’m not in a bloody weird mood.”
“Did it not go well? Was she not excited to see you? You haven’t talked about how you left things before, so maybe it was uncomfortable and awkward?”
“You should be a writer,” I mumble, deadpan. “You have a great imagination.”
“I wouldn’t have to use my imagination if you’d just tell me what happened.”
I walk into the living room and over to the windows that look out to the ocean and shove my hands into my pockets.
It’s true, I have been working like crazy since that night a couple weeks ago with Lexi. But I’ve also spent plenty of time standing right here, staring out at the waves.
I turn around to find Maggie snuggled up with Murphy on the sofa, waiting patiently for me to open up to her.
Maybe talking it out would help, because keeping things to myself all this time certainly hasn’t been a cure for the post-Lexi blues.
“The meeting was good,” I begin and sit in a chair across from my sister. “We got a lot of things about the project ironed out. Lexi looked amazing, as usual. Maybe even more so than before.
“I took her to dinner, and then I spent the night with her.”
Maggie’s green eyes light up. “Way to go, big brother.”
“And then she proceeded to pack up her stuff and split in the middle of the night.”
Her face falls. “Yikes.”
“Yeah. Yikes. So, I’m going to go ahead and assume that she’s not interested in pursuing anything with me.”
She blinks at me and then frowns. “But did you call and ask her why she left?”
“No.”
Her eyes narrow. “What did you say to fuck it up?”
“I didn’t say anything. Christ, Mary Margaret, I’m not an asshole.”
“Well, something went wrong for her to just up and sneak out in the middle of the bloody night, Shawn. Women don’t usually do that.”
“If I remember correctly, Anastasia did exactly that to Kane, remember?”
“That’s different,” she says, waving me off.
“Why?”
“Because Kane can be an asshole, so him losing women in the middle of the night doesn’t surprise me. You, on the other hand, are a different story altogether. Do you even care?”
“Do I care about why she ghosted me? Of course, I do.”
She rubs her hands through her hair in agitation. “Okay, let’s back up. Before you had sex, I assume you had a conversation.”
I clench my jaw and glare at my sister.
“What did you say?”
“I told her I wasn’t going to marry her.”
“For fuck’s sake, Shawn. Of course, she left.”
“It’s an inside joke.” I stand and pace the living room. “When we first started sleeping together, as co-workers, we agreed that it was just a physical relationship for us to enjoy while we worked together. I said that then. And when I saw her a couple weeks ago, I said it again.”
“Because you’re a moron.”
“I will throw you out of here on your little butt, Mary Margaret.”
“Right. I’m terrified. Shawn, if you don’t want anything with Lexi, why are you all messed up over your last encounter with her? I don’t get it.”
“I didn’t say I don’t want anything with her,” I reply in frustration.
“You’re in love with her.”
I stop pacing and stare at Maggie. I feel the blood leave my face.
“That’s what it is. You’re worked up because you’re in love with her, and you screwed it up, and she doesn’t want to have anything to do with you.”
“I’m not in love with her.”
“No? If that was the case, you wouldn’t give a monkey’s ass what her reaction was that morning. You’d just go on with your lonely little life.”
“I’m not lonely.”
“But you are in love with her, Shawn. And that’s why you’re upset. And defensive. And, honestly, you look like crap.”
“Thanks.”
“You need to go to her and talk to her. You have to communicate with her that you want more than a physical relationship. And you need to ask her what she wants. I have a feeling she’s in love with you, too. And when you said you weren’t marrying her, it hurt her feelings, and she went home. Which, if it were me, I’d do the same damn thing.”
“So, what? I just show up on her doorstep and say, ‘Hey there, sorry to bother you, but I’ve changed my mind and I am in love with you, so…let’s have sex?’”
Maggie stands, walks to me, and slaps me upside the head.
“Hey!”
“You’re so dumb. Why she loves you, I have no freaking idea. You show up and