I turned around. And OH MY GOD. Joe was there. Joe as in my ex. Joe as in the person on the top of my most hated list. I immediately snapped my head around in hopes that he hadn’t seen me.
“Is everything okay?” asked Anthony. “You must have just lip-read something truly awful.”
Shit shit shit!This date had been going so well. I glanced at Chastity.
“I was trying to warn you,” she hissed.
Damn it. Now that I knew that was what she’d been doing, her actions made a lot more sense. Why hadn’t I just looked at her?What do I do now?Could I just pretend like Joe wasn’t there? He didn’t matter. I was so over him. But…who had he been with? It was definitely a date. Had she had stupid fake red hair like Sierra? “That’s my ex,” I said.
“Boyfriend?”
“Husband.” The word felt gross on my tongue. “We just finalized our divorce a couple weeks ago.” My stomach turned over. I felt like I was going to be sick.
“Eek. Wanna leave? I’ll get the check and we can go grab some dessert. Have you been to the Midtown Pudding Place? It’s amazing.”
As good as that sounded, I didn’t want to leave in the middle of our meal. That would feel like I was letting Joe win. “No, let’s stay. He’s dead to me.”
Dr. Lyons smiled.
We changed the topic, but I couldn’t focus. I had to know who Joe was with. I dropped my napkin on the floor so I could sneak a peek.
But as soon as I got down on my hands and knees, I heard Madison trying to get my attention.
She was under their table too, waving at me. “Joe’s here,” she whisper yelled.
Yeah, I got that.
“How’s the date going?” she asked.
I don’t have time for this nonsense. I turned to see Joe. Sure enough, he was with Sierra. And he was getting on one knee.
No. Freaking. Way. I tried to turn away from them. To pretend it wasn’t happening. But my eyes stayed glued to Joe’s table.
He clinked his knife against a champagne flute. But it felt like the knife went straight through my heart.
“Excuse me,” said Joe. “If I could just have your attention for one moment.”
The restaurant went silent and everyone turned their attention to the happy couple.
“What are you doing?” whispered Sierra. But she looked so excited. She was already running her hands through her hair and smoothing her sparkly dress to make sure she’d look perfect for the proposal.
“Four years ago, I met the most amazing woman,” began Joe.
Four years?!My heart stopped beating.Four? Fucking four? What the hell?
Chasity got down on the floor too. “I think he’s proposing,” she whispered.
Kill me now.My stomach felt like it rolled over.
Joe smiled at Sierra. “I saw her across the room, and my whole life changed. It was love at first sight. Until then I had just been coasting through life. But Sierra gave me a purpose.”
Are you fucking kidding me?Yeah, I was definitely gonna be sick. I stood up, tossed my napkin on the table, and ran towards the exit.
I gasped for fresh air, but the warm, stale city air did nothing for me.Four years? Four freaking years?!I had thought it was a one-time thing. But instead he’d been lying to my face for years. God, I was such a fool. How had I not seen it? The tears I had barely managed to hold back earlier streamed down my face.Four. Years.I could barely breathe. The number just kept rolling around in my head. How many nights had he come home to me after being with her?
I clutched my stomach. This was too much. I was gasping for air.
Dr. Lyons burst out of the restaurant. “Ash.” He put his hand on my shoulder and turned me towards him. Just as I threw up my grits. All over his shirt. And pants. And shoes.
