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“How old is he?” I ask curiously.
“Fourteen. Reid and I usually take him for a couple of weeks in the summer so our parents can have a break.”
“That’s nice of you.”
“He’s a good kid.”
We walk to the next hole, and I’m doing my level best not to stare. She’s just so pretty. And I have no issue remembering her naked because that vision is burned into my brain. Along with so many damn questions.
“Can I ask you something?” I ask as we make our way to the next hole ahead of the others.
“Sure.”
“Why did you leave without saying goodbye that morning?”
She glances up at me. “Because that’s what you needed from me. Or, at least, I felt like that was what you needed. Something mindless to get your mind off your ex, with no pressure. And to be honest, I’m not interested in being anyone’s consolation prize.”
Consolation prize?
Not a chance in hell.
“You’re no one’s consolation prize,” I say quietly. “And I apologize if I made you feel that way.”
“You didn’t. I knew what I was signing up for. Sometimes sex is just sex. You don’t owe me anything, Cash. You needed something from me that I was willing to give. So I did. But it’s obvious you’re not over your ex, and I don’t want to be anyone’s second choice.”
I stare at her for a second.
She thinks I’m not over Shandy?
That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
“What makes you think I’m not over her?” I ask.
She smiles sadly. “The fact that you called out her name in your sleep.”
Chapter Twelve
Maya
I never thought to see him again, so I figured I’d never have to tell him that. There’s no doubt he’s mortified, and I hate that for him, but I also don’t want him to think I’m just being bitchy because of the misunderstanding about me dating Reid. That was actually kind of funny. Reid thought so, anyway.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re allowed to feel how you feel,” I say gently.
“That would be fine if it was true—but I am one thousand percent over her,” he says. “I don’t remember dreaming that night, but I definitely wasn’t dreaming about her if I did.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “You don’t have to explain. We all have our demons.”
“I don’t want you to think you were some kind of rebound fuck,” he says, frowning. “There were plenty of those the first six months, but that stopped a while ago. I was just having a tough day because Shandy and Jake were literally all over the news with their big French wedding. I needed a distraction from having it rubbed in my face, not because I still have feelings for her. That’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
I stare at him. Everyone was talking about Shandy Harless’s wedding in Provence. She’s a well-known model-turned-actress who married another well-known actor. I had no idea Cash was once married to her. “Your ex is Shandy Harless? I was still tipsy and kind of blissed out in the morning, I didn’t put two and two together.”
“Yeah. And there was no escaping the news that day. I wasn’t upset because I still love her—I was upset because my name kept coming up. The poor schmuck she divorced. The stupid pro hockey player who broke her heart. That part isn’t true, but that was how she spun the story about fucking my best friend.”
I wince.
I had no idea.
Obviously, I know who Shandy is, but we’ve never worked together and I couldn’t care less about her life. Somewhere in the back of my mind I think I knew she was married to a hockey player, but since I don’t know her and am not a big fan of her work, I wasn’t interested in any details.