“I was getting ready to call out the cavalry,” Jordan teased, leaning down to kiss Maysie. She leaned up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. He lifted her up so that her feet were off the ground.

She giggled when he finally put her back down on her feet. He ran his fingers down the side of her cheek and gazed at her lovingly. Like she was everything. Which for Jordan Levitt, she was.

“You look beautiful, Mays. Like you finally caught up on sleep. Have the girls been treating you right?” he asked, smiling at me.

I pulled my eyes away from Mitch and his girlfriend and forced a laugh. “We’ve been making sure she eats all of her veggies and takes her vitamins. No worries, Jordan.”

Jordan chuckled and then leaned down to ruffle my hair in brotherly sort of way. “It’s good to see you, G. You’ve been away too long. We’ve missed having you around.”

My eyes flickered to Mitch again and found him still watching me. “Oh yeah?” I asked a little breathlessly. “It seems you guys have been fine without me.” Wow, I was all but spitting snark in his direction.

What was I doing?

Jordan glanced from me to Mitch, his brow furrowing. “Oh, yeah, well we’ve been getting along. But you know it’s always great to have the gang all together again.”

Sophie said something to Mitch and I watched as he leaned down to hear her. It was annoying the way she twirled her hair around her finger. Who the hell twirls their hair after the age of twelve?

And I hated her shirt. It looked like something my mother would pick out. It was all eyelet lace and pearled buttons. What in the world does Mitch see in her?

I realized I was staring. Mitch knew I was staring.

So of course he purposefully gave his girlfriend his attention, his body angled towards me but his head bent low so that his face was close to Sophie’s. He pushed the hair back off her forehead. His eyes were on her face and he gave her soft smile that I recognized only too well.

A smile that I had thought, at one time, was only for me.

Get over it, Gracie! It’s been a year! What did you think would happen? That he’d pine over you forever? Get a grip!

I started to turn away when Mitch looked back towards me, his eyes locking on mine.

I forgot how to breathe.

My heart thudded almost painfully in my chest.

My mouth went dry and my hands began to tremble. A need that I had almost forgotten about thrummed through my body. My belly tightened and my nipples hardened. The air hummed and sizzled. I was altered completely. Just by a look.

How had I never felt this electricity between us before? The answer was obvious.

I had been totally blind. I hadn’t wanted to see it. Because if I had acknowledged it, everything would have changed. And at that time I couldn’t handle that. The truth was I had been absolutely terrified.

Maysie squeezed my arm but I barely felt it. Jordan was still talking but I didn’t hear him.

All I could see was Mitch.

All Mitch could see was me.

We were locked in a stand off, neither of us moving.

All too soon he broke our intense staring contest. He bent down and kissed his girlfriend almost angrily. It was a harsh press of lips that seemed to take Sophie by surprise. She wrapped her arms around Mitch and held him tenderly even as he ground his mouth against hers.

I looked away. I could barely breathe around the lump sitting painfully in the middle of my chest. A pain that I knew to be jealousy.

And regret.

And the horrible realization that I had brought all of this on myself. Because I had been living in a complete delusion where I had convinced myself that I didn’t love Mitch Abrams.

A delusion that shattered the moment he had finally walked away from me. The moment that he started to love someone else.

“I’ve got to—I have to—” I couldn’t even finish my sentence. I just needed to get off that stage and far away from Mitch and his super adorable girlfriend.

I all but ran out the side door, letting it slam shut behind me.

“It’s fine. I want him to be happy. This is good. I hurt him so of course he’s moved on,” I whispered to myself.

Lies. All lies.

“What’s wrong, Gracie?”

I looked up to find Riley, Garrett, Vivian, and Cole approaching.

I furiously wiped at my face and realized I had been crying. I hadn’t even felt the tears. I probably looked a mess. My fingers were black from my mascara. I probably looked like some sort of zombie freak.

“Nothing. I’m fine. It’s just a little stuffy in there. The smell of stale beer and armpits was making me a little woozy.” I gave them a wane smile hoping they wouldn’t press me.

“You’ve got to learn to appreciate the aroma, G,” Cole joked, wrapping his arm around my neck and giving me a squeeze. I patted his toned stomach and pulled away.

“If you say so,” I joked.

Vivian discreetly handed me a tissue. “You look like a raccoon,” she whispered.

“Thanks,” I replied blandly, though I quickly turned and rubbed at the skin beneath my eyes.

“We’re thinking of going to the steak house off the highway. Their rolls are fucking awesome. You hungry?” Cole asked me.

I balled up the tissue in my hand and nodded my head. “Sure. Let me just hit the bathroom before we head out. Where is it?”

Garrett opened the door I had just exited from and held it open so everyone could file inside. “It’s behind the stage area,” he answered. Just as I was getting ready to walk past him he grabbed a hold of my arm and stopped me. “You okay?” I looked at my friend and gave him a genuine smile.