Page 10 of Tiger Born

Fuck. Why did that piss him off? “You never posted about a doctor almost-fiancé.”

“He wanted to maintain privacy.”

“He never posted you either?”

“Nope.”

“Mmm.” He inhaled deeply and pulled open the washing machine, moved his hoodie to the dryer while she got a dryer sheet for him. “And how did that work out for you?”

Misty pursed her lips. “He cheated with a nurse named Miranda. They’re still together. He posts her.”

“Ooooh, brutal.”

“Yep,” she agreed. “Anyways I just got through what I’m hoping is the final round of crying over him, but he texted me yesterday during my shift.”

“Saying?”

“That I look good.”

“Screenshot, send it to his girlfriend, go to heaven.”

She giggled. “That was quick,” she said as she started the dryer.

“Assholes should be held accountable.”

“Well, my move is mostly to just look pathetic, stumble any time I’m around him, blush a lot, and cry pre-shift, mid-shift, and post-shift so that my eyes are nice and puffy every time he sees me.”

“Unsavory.”

“So unattractive,” she agreed with a teasing smile. “Can’t imagine why he upgraded.”

Okay, she was cool in person. He respected a self-deprecating woman. “I can’t imagine it was much of an upgrade. He sounds like a douchebag anyway.”

“He was the love of my life.”

Behind her, Dame scrunched up his face. He didn’t like that. There was hurt to her tone when she’d said it. “How long ago did you break up?”

“Three months.”

“Sucks that you have to see him still.”

“It has slowed down the healing process, for sure. He likes to play with my head sometimes too. I don’t know what it is. He seems good with Miranda, but I think they argue every once in a while, and he’ll throw me some attention, see if he could still get me. It’s like a cat and mouse game.”

“Do you play it back?”

She shrugged. “I try not to. I don’t do games, but sometimes I think he drags me into them without me realizing it. His girlfriend asked me what’s up with us last week. I barely talk to him, and we don’t even work on the same floor.”

“But you know where he parks,” Dame guessed. Why did this conversation bother him so damn much? Why was he fishing for information on this guy?

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I know his shift schedule too. It’s ingrained in my memory.”

“How long did you date?”

“You sure are asking a lot of questions about Chris.”

“Oh God, he’s a Chris? Everyone’s been cheated on by some dude named Chris.”

“What?” she asked, pulling the pantry door open in the kitchen. “That sounds very judgmental of you and also, I’ve never heard that saying.”