An Ex for Christmas (Love Unexpectedly 5)

“He told you that?” I ask, genuinely surprised. Mark and I haven’t so much as touched the entire evening, so we’re hardly waving the sex flag.

Now she does smile, but it’s a little sad. “He didn’t have to. You forget that I know him.”

“Actually, I never forget that,” I say, before I can realize that it betrays my jealousy.

There’s a long moment of awkward silence, then Erika shoves her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “Look, Kelly, I

know it’s been years and this is old news, but I heard about Doug and Mark’s fight the other night, and heard you were there. I realized you probably figured out…”

“That you and Doug slept together.”

She closes her eyes for a second. “Yeah. That. Anyway, it made me realize that I owe you an apology. I’ve already said sorry to Mark, a million times, but I belatedly realized I hurt you, too.”

“Not so much,” I say, meaning it. “But I appreciate the apology.”

“I regret it,” she says, staring at her shoes. “So much. I was drunk, like super drunk, and Mark and I had gotten in a fight, and…”

I hold up my hand to halt the confession. “I really don’t blame you for Doug and me breaking up, I promise. It was a long time ago—”

“We got in a fight about you,” she interrupts, meeting my eyes.

“I—” My brain stutters in confusion. “What about me?”

“You don’t…” Erika inhales and seems to consider her words. “You don’t know the effect you have on him. How much he orbits around you, and you just—”

“I just what?” I narrow my eyes. “I respect his relationships, and he respects mine. We’re friends.”

“I know,” Erika says, holding out her palms in surrender. “You always gave Mark and me our space when he and I were dating, and I appreciated it, but I’m just asking…Whatever’s going on with you two, don’t use him.”

“Now hold on,” I say, good and pissed now. “You’re the one that cheated on him. You don’t get to tell me—”

“I care about him,” Erika says quietly. “I never stopped caring, and I know I don’t deserve him after what I did, but you don’t get to break his heart.”

“I wouldn’t! I mean, he’s not at risk of that. We’re just—”

“Really don’t want or need to know details. I just want to plant one seed. Mark’s relationships—how long do they last?”

“What?” I let out a startled laugh. “I don’t know, I don’t keep track—”

“Start,” she says sharply, reaching for the door handle. “Start paying attention, and you’ll see that he’s only in a relationship as long as you’re in a relationship. When you’re single, he makes sure he’s single, too.”

I stare at her. “That’s ridiculous.”

Her smile’s a little sad. “Is it?”

She walks out, leaving me feeling totally confused, and more than a little shell-shocked.

She’s wrong. Mark’s had plenty of girlfriends. Plenty of breakups, too, but they don’t have anything to do with me.

I try to think of the timelines of his relationships, but truthfully I haven’t paid that much attention. Sure, I’m sure there are some overlaps among our breakups, but that sort of coincidence is bound to happen over the course of ten years, right?

I’m not even upset with Erika, not really. She’s just being protective. She’s obviously still harboring a thing for Mark, and who can blame her? The guy’s the best man I know, ridiculously good in bed…

I pause upon exiting the bathroom and shake my head at the direction of my thoughts. Suddenly fingers wrap around my wrist, pulling me into a dark corridor that leads to a rarely used side door.

I squeak in surprise and find myself pressed up against the wall, firm lips on mine, clever tongue teasing my lips to deepen the kiss.

Mark.