Page 2 of Blue Line

“Hey, Henry.”

He clears his throat, gesturing to the woman at his side. “This is Beth. My fiancée.”

The words hang between us as I stare at the two of them. We broke up eight months ago, last September. And he’s already engaged? No way was he cheating on me; he was respectful to the point of it being annoying. I never thought that was possible, but it was. I explicitly told him I wanted him to take charge in bed, that I’d tell him if I didn’t like something, yet he constantly asked if what he was doing was okay or if I was okay. It killed the mood. I’m all for consent and making sure your partner is enjoying themselves, but when someone tells you to take charge, take fucking charge. He just never got it. Not that it matters now, since we’re not together.

My stomach sinks.

Yet another ex of mine who broke up with me and went on to find his soulmate. The guy I dated before Henry was married six months after we broke up. According to Social, his wife is pregnant now. Same with two of my exes before him. Hand to heart, I can’t make this shit up.

“Hadley?” he repeats.

“Sorry.” I hold out my hand to Beth. “Nice to meet you.”

“How are you doing? Still doing the photography thing?” he asks, glancing around.

“I’m good. Visiting for the summer. Yep, still a photographer.”

“Nice.” I can hear the sarcasm in his voice, but I ignore it. “Where are you living now?”

“Orlando.” No way am I admitting to him that I moved back in with my parents.

“With your brother? Or …”

There’s pity in his voice, and I hate it. I hate that he thinks I have to rely on my brother. I hate it so much. Which is probably why I don’t think before I speak.

“Actually, I’m engaged too. I met my fiancé through my brother. They’re teammates. Hence, being in Orlando.”

“Oh.” His eyes flash to my left hand. My naked left hand.

“My ring’s getting sized. He knows how to do a lot of things well.” I bounce my eyebrows. “Picking out the right ring size for me is not one of them.”

Why the fuck did you say that?

Stop talking.

“Well, congratulations. Is he here with you?”

“Umm.” Shit.

“I meant here in Ontario.”

“Oh, yeah. All of us came up to celebrate my engagement.”

“That’s why we’re here too.” He gestures between himself and Beth. “We’re having our engagement party next weekend. You should come.”

I shake my head. “While I appreciate the invite, I don’t think I can.”

“Please.” He draws the word out, clasping his hands together in front of him. I bite the inside of my lip to hold in the grimace. “My parents would love to see you. My mom still has the photo you took of me framed in the house. I know she’d love to see you. Everyone would love to see you. Catch up. You haven’t been home in a while.” I haven’t been home in a while? He’s the one who moved to Vancouver. And who is everyone? He can’t be talking about our old group of friends. He didn’t even keep up with them when we were dating. He prattles on. “It’s settled. We’ll see you at the party. I still have your number. I’ll text you all the details.”

“I-I-” I stammer, but he’s already walking away, his fiancée in tow.

“Shit,” I mutter.

“You think?” Holt asks from behind me.

I whirl around. “How long have you been standing there?”

He scoffs, holding out two packages of ground beef. “Long enough. You’re engaged? Really, Hadley? You couldn’t have just said congratulations?”