his collar these days rather than the short back and sides he’d favored when they’d dated. His blue eyes were warm, his smile endearing. Colin channeled the boy-next-door perfectly, but she knew firsthand the sweetness hid a shallow soul.
“Small world, huh?” He had the audacity to touch her arm, and she gritted her teeth before stepping back a fraction.
“Yeah, too small.”
His eyes widened at her sarcasm and she continued. “Funny running into you in a bar. It’s the last place you’d usually frequent.”
He shrugged, sheepish. “I like to mix it up these days.”
Translated, he was only a boring old fart when he was with her.
Screw you, Colin.
A frown dented his brow, and for a moment she wondered if she’d spoken out loud.
“You look incredible,” he said, searching her face with an intensity that made her want to squirm. “Absolutely stunning. The patches all gone?”
Harper could play this game. She could be polite and make small talk and pretend like what Colin thought of her mattered. But she’d been done with him the minute he turned his back on her because she didn’t fit his image of perfection, so she was finished with playing nice.
“None of your fucking business.”
He reared back like she’d poked him in the eye. “Hey, where did that come from?”
Harper tapped her lip, pretending to think. “Let’s see. Probably from the same place that thinks you’re a weak prick for dumping me when I showed you those patches.”
“That wasn’t the reason.” The lie slid easily from his lips, but he couldn’t meet her eyes as he said it.
“Yeah, it was, and even now you don’t have the balls to admit it.”
He threw his hands up. “I just wanted to say hi, but if I’d known you were still hung up on me, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“Hung up on you?” Harper laughed so loud several people nearby turned to stare. “News flash, Col. See that gorgeous guy at the other end of the bar, the one who’s about five inches taller than you? He’s my boyfriend, and he’s one hundred times the man you’ll ever be. And for the record?”
She held her hands about a foot apart. “Those five inches in height isn’t the only measurement where he’s got you beat.”
Colin flushed an angry puce, before stomping away. Applause rang out from a few women nearby, and Harper flashed a sheepish smile before slinking back in the direction of her group. She’d find another spot to wait to order.
However, she’d barely made it ten feet before she ran into Manny.
“You okay?”
When he touched her arm, she melted and craved his touch all over.
“Yeah.”
“Who was that guy?”
“My ex.”
“What did you say to him?”
“Why?”
“Because I’m pretty sure I glimpsed tears as he stormed out of here.”
She chuckled. “I may have insulted his manhood by saying you had five inches on him in all aspects of anatomy.”
Amusement lit Manny’s eyes. “Five inches, huh? I’m not sure whether to be flattered or to make sure you’re not prone to exaggeration.”
“Hey, I tell it how it is.”
Not wanting to waste another thought on Colin, she slipped her hand in his. “My ex is a shallow prick and not worth talking about. So how about you and I make our excuses to the gang and leave so I can get out my ruler and validate those inches?”
He laughed and pulled her in close. “You are one of a kind.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Let’s go.”
46
It would’ve made sense for Harper to stay over at Manny’s place, considering his apartment was closer to Southbank than her house, but she’d insisted she needed to be home in the morning for a delivery. Manny hadn’t cared. He’d go wherever she wanted if it meant spending the night in her arms.
She’d been surprisingly quiet on the thirty-minute drive to her place, and he wondered if it had anything to do with her ex. While Manny hadn’t been dating her long, and talking about an ex wasn’t high on his list of priorities, seeing the guy’s reaction and hearing her label him a shallow prick meant there was a story there beyond two people growing apart.
They were a few streets away from her house, and he couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer.
“I know it’s not kosher to discuss previous relationships, but considering this is my first and you can’t quiz me, I think it’s only fair I get to interrogate you.”
Her hands, resting in her lap, tightened, making her knuckles stand out. “Talking about Colin is the last thing I want