Pretending She's His: A Hard Feelings Novella Read Online Free PDF Page B

lift in his voice almost infuriating her.
    “I don’t think there’s anything that needs to be said.”
    “I fucked up. I know that. I should have just given you time, given you time to fall for me. Please, talk to me. I still care about you. I never stopped,” he said as he took another step. His head was angled toward the ground but his eyes honed in on hers, hard, piercing eyes, ringed with . . . what? Sadness? Seeing the depth of want—longing—in his eyes, sent every bit of venom she was forming in her mouth back down her throat to the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t tell him to fuck off. She couldn’t tell him that she didn’t care about him in that way—that she never would. She couldn’t pretend that she didn’t give a shit—because underneath all the bitterness, she did. Luke was a good guy. Just not the guy for her.
    She tried to form words. She tried to summon up the nerve, the balls, to tell the man in front of her who was all but wearing his heart on his sleeve that she didn’t care about him. That whatever feelings he had for her, she couldn’t reciprocate.
    But no words seemed to come. She wasn’t a break-it-to-’em-easy kind of girl. She was wading through new emotional territory.
    “Give me another chance, give us another chance,” he pleaded.
    “Luke, I’m with Trevor,” she blurted out before she had a chance to really weigh the repercussions of her words. It just seemed easier at the moment. She’d told him the truth the last time this conversation was unfolding. And that didn’t turn out too well.
    His eyes fell from the penetrating hold he had on her and his head lowered between his shoulders—but only for a moment. When he looked back at her he lifted his lips into a smile. It wasn’t the type of smile that she was used to seeing pulled on his face. But before she could wade through the possibilities of the unfamiliar tilt of his lips, his smile faded.
    “I’m happy for you.” There was a rough crack to his voice.
    “Luke—” she started, almost ready to take it back and tell him the truth. She didn’t know what the hell she was doing at this point. Lying to make it easier on him or easier on her? Son-of-a-bitch.
    “I really am happy for you, baby.” The endearment sent a blade through her stomach making the guilt of her lie sting and burn. “I mean, it fucking sucks ass for me because I care about you, a lot, and I would love nothing more than for you to give me another chance. But more than that, I want you to be happy.” He smiled that smile again, the one she couldn’t decipher.
    Everything he was saying was making her feel more and more like complete shit. Not only was she lying, but now he was happy for her? Fuck, she felt like she was crawling down a rabbit hole, and there was no possible way she was going to be able to crawl out.
    “I see the way he looks at you.”
    The way Trevor looked at her? Everything he was seeing was just the way it was between her and Trevor. It was the same exact way he was with Meagan too. He was flirty and touchy and unfortunately adorable, but he was harmless. He didn’t mean anything by it when he would wrap his arms around her and hug her or kiss her forehead. That was just Trevor being Trevor. If he wanted her that way, he wouldn’t just be hugging and kissing foreheads. He would be laying on his Trevor charm, throwing out the one-liners and giving off his signature wink that seemed to have a panty-dropping quality that worked on almost every single woman he laid it on.
    His eyes softened around the edges and he smiled that damn smile again and once more her words were lodged in her throat. She didn’t know what the fuck to say or how to say it. Her tongue had forgotten how to roll and move to form words. She was mute, looking at Luke like an idiot.
    Fuck . What in the hell had she gotten herself into?

Chapter Four
    A hand clamped down on Trevor’s shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. “So, how’s your dad? I