Page 63 of Bad Boy Crush

“I wasn’t angry with you.”

“You were angry about something.”

He chewed the final bite of his sandwich, took a drink of tea, and let out a heavy sigh. When he said nothing, she pushed harder.

“I noticed you were uncomfortable when William, Xavier, May, and I were talking about our college degrees.”

Ant tensed. Just as she’d suspected.

“Going to college makes you educated, not smarter. There’s a difference.”

His frown was prominent, like a dark cloud covered his features.

“Most of the college grads I know don’t use their degrees,” she continued. “Look at Xavier. He has a computer science MBA, and he tends bar.”

“He’s a millionaire, Lourdes.”

She had to fight not to react to that news. “Is that what you think I want? A millionaire to pamper me?”

He didn’t comment. This conversation was like tiptoeing around landmines.

“I chose to live in the Cove. Did you know that? I didn’t take the leftover house Liam offered. I talked him out of selling it. I wanted to be here.”

“Which likely had something to do with your HOA neighborhood, where your husband made out with another woman in your driveway,” he reminded her darkly.

“That’s fair. No one told me that was going on. Not just you, no one. None of my neighbors, several of whom I considered friends at the time. I can’t think of a single person in Evergreen Cove who would keep something like that from me.”

“Except for me.” He wadded up the paper his sandwich had been wrapped in and tossed it into the bag. “I should have told you the truth. I regret it. You were always my priority, and I fucked up.”

She reached across the table and touched his arm. “You had your reasons.”

He grasped her fingers, rubbing them with his thumb while he stared down at their joined hands.

“It’s hard for me. Learning.” A muscle in his cheek flinched like he hadn’t wanted to share that detail. “Last night I felt left out, and I…I guess I decided to be a big fucking baby about it.”

She knew the last thing he wanted was for her to placate him. He was embarrassed about his behavior. The way he refused to look at her now said a lot about how he felt about opening up to her.

“Did I ever tell you…” he started, still rubbing her fingers with his thumb, “…that when I was twenty-four, I dated a woman for three years?”

“Three years?” There went her assumption that he’d only had weekend girlfriends.

“We fizzled out when marriage was on the table. She was adamant about marrying a man with an impressive degree or some shit.” He shrugged like it didn’t matter, but it had clearly left a scar.

“Her loss.” Lou meant it. That shallow woman had missed out on an incredible man. “No one should ask you to be someone you’re not.”

“You’re right.” He watched her for a truncated beat. “Eh, we were young.”

“And she was a gold digger,” Lou concluded.

“If so, she was mining the wrong shaft.”

They laughed and the mood lightened between them. He watched her for a beat. “You’re letting me off the hook. Why?”

“I like you a little.” She held her finger and thumb a scant bit apart. The handsome face framed between her fingers smiled, and she chastised herself for lying. She liked him so much more than a little.

* * *

By Wednesday afternoon, she had finished updating the city’s summer event calendar in time for dinner plans with her neighbors.