AlwaysYou Read Free Page B

chest
tightened as he thought about taking her hand. Her phone buzzed and she pulled
it out of her purse. A dark shadow passed across her features. She looked up at
him, eyes round. “It’s Phil.”
    He wanted to tell her not to get it, to ignore him, to
pretend she didn’t get the call, but before he could say anything he saw her
slide open her phone. “Hi.” Her voice was so quiet he could barely hear her and
he was right across the table.
    Jon’s leg bobbed up and down as he stirred his coffee,
attempting to guess how the conversation was going. Shari had pulled away from
the table and had her head down, shoulders slumped, as if she were trying to
disappear.
    The waitress brought their food.
    “Is there anything else you’d like?” she asked, an expectant
look in her eyes.
    Jon just wanted her to go away so he could hear what Shari
was saying. “No, thank you.” He leaned closer, pretending to be interested in
his fries but straining to hear her soft voice.
    “Fine. Okay. Whatever. I should have known.” She slid the
phone closed without looking up and slipped it back into her bag.
    Jon’s heart was pounding. He reached across the table and
touched her arm. “You all right?” She raised her eyes and he saw that they were
full of tears. His stomach turned inside out. “What’d the asshole have to say?”
    She took a deep breath and shuddered as she blew it out. “He
thanked me. Said I’d saved him the trouble of a costly divorce a few years down
the road.”
    Fucking bastard. Jon’s jaw ached. “It’s his loss, you
know. He’s never going to find anyone better than you.” That woman doesn’t
exist.
    “He already has. He’s back with Tina.” Tears slid down both
her cheeks.
    Jon reached over and swiped them away with his thumb. He
didn’t know what to say.
    Shari sniffled and wiped her nose on her napkin. “He didn’t
skip a beat. He’s already moved on. He doesn’t want me.”
    “Do you want him?” Jon’s heart beat unevenly as he awaited
her answer.
    “No,” she said. Her voice was stronger, adamant. “But he
could have had the decency to at least be upset.”
    Jon felt his shoulders relax. “You can do so much better
than Phil. Trust me.”
    “We’ll see.”
    He hoped to show her, the sooner the better.
     
    Shari poked at her salad. Her appetite had disappeared the
moment she saw Phil’s name on caller ID. The conversation left her nauseous. He
didn’t even have the decency to be pissed-off that she’d deserted him. She
wondered if he’d fucked Tina right there at the church while still wearing his
wedding tux. It wouldn’t surprise her. Jon’s words echoed in her head. “You can
do so much better.” She hoped he was right.
    Jon devoured his sandwich. She watched as he chewed, the
muscles contracting around his chiseled jawline, his long fingers plucking
sweet potato fries off his plate.
    “Want one?” he said, holding a fry out for her.
    She shook her head.
    “They’re really good.” He wagged it temptingly close to her
face.
    She opened her mouth. His eyes darkened as he slipped it
between her lips. The combination of sweet and salty against her tongue tasted
delicious. He withdrew his hand, looking flustered. “Help yourself if you want
more.”
    She snuck a second off his plate as he took an enormous bite
of his sandwich. Two red spots appeared high on his cheekbones. Is he
blushing? “What do you want to do tonight?” she asked.
    The red patches spread across his cheeks. “You wanna have
dinner at that place down by the beach?”
    “Sure. It looked great.”
    “Cool. I think I’ll go for a swim when we get back to the
hotel. This heat’s a bit much for me.”
    That explains the flushing. She couldn’t help feeling
disappointed. She’d hoped maybe he was reacting to being with her. Because
I’m so attractive right now. Sniveling into my napkin and crying over another
guy. I’m sure he can barely keep his hands off me. He looked distracted.
She knew it