When We Met

“Do you think this was just something over the summer?” she continued. “This has been going on almost as long as the two of you have. I didn’t mind letting you think you had him, because I knew he’d be mine in the end.”

“You’re lying,” I breathed. “Dean.” His name fell like a plea from my lips. I needed him to tell me this was all a lie. But he still wouldn’t look at me.

“Why wouldn’t I be sure of us? After all, you already confirmed something else. He’s never worn a condom with me. Doesn’t sound like it was the same with you. And seeing as you didn’t seem to have a clue about me, but I knew all about you . . . it wasn’t hard to figure.”

She wrapped the sheet around her body as she stood from the bed and pointed toward the door. “Now you need to go. It’s finally our time. The days of having to listen to Dean bitch about how useless, needy, and frustrating you are are behind us.”

I bent forward, grabbing at my stomach when it felt like the air had been knocked from me. I looked up to Dean, once again hoping he would deny what was happening—what she was saying. But there was nothing on his face that hinted otherwise.

“All he’s been doing for the last two years is putting up with the mess that is your life. He’s done, and I’m done letting you pretend you have him. His ring is on my finger, and his last name will be mine. His baby is in my body. And you have no more claim on him, or right to be here. Leave.”

My head snapped to the left to look at her, and my eyes dropped to her hidden torso. There was no indication that she was pregnant—but after everything else, I had no reason not to believe her. My life was a mess. I was always wondering why a guy like Dean would stay with me after everything I’d been through. I had considered myself lucky.

I’d been wrong.

He’d just been biding his time.

chapter one

Indy

Two and a half months later

I was frozen somewhere between getting out of the chair and standing— my empty cup of coffee in one hand, my purse hanging uselessly in the other. My mouth and eyes were wide with horror as I stared at them from across the warm coffee shop. They hadn’t seen me yet, and I hoped like hell they wouldn’t. But I couldn’t seem to stop staring, just like every time I saw them together. Only this time she had a very obvious baby belly. It had jutted out considerably in the couple of weeks since I’d last seen her. Vanessa, as I’d come to learn—and loathe. Dean had his hands on her belly, his lips pressed to her neck; her diamond was shining subtly in the dim lighting of the shop like it was mocking me or something.

They looked ridiculously happy. And that probably killed me as much as it did to see him caressing her stomach. I glanced up at his handsome, smiling face and once again wished I’d actually broken his nose when I punched him that day in his room. Given him a reminder of what he’d done to me every time he looked in the mirror. But no broken nose. No nothing on that stupid, perfect face.

I sat roughly back in my chair and quickly put on my large sunglasses. Like that would help. Like they wouldn’t see my hair and know it was me. Who else had hair as naturally red as mine?

“Indy.” Misha, one of my housemates, wiggled her fingers in front of my face before her body blocked my view of them. “What are you doing? Do you feel okay?”

“No,” I panted. “I need to get out of here.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked a little louder, concern lacing her words. “What can I do?”

“Just shh! Don’t draw attention to us,” I whispered, and her dark eyes widened.

She barely glanced over her shoulder before her entire body went rigid. “Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh.’ Let’s go. We need to go. Like right now.”

“Back door.” She nodded in the direction behind me, and I stood and turned at the same time, keeping my head down as I did.

“Indy!”

“Balls,” I whispered harshly, and turned back around to see a guy approaching me—and just past him Vanessa and Dean were staring at me with wide eyes.

“Hey,” the guy said. “I didn’t even see you in here until you stood up. Are you going to the party?”

Do I know this guy? “Uh, what party?”

He gave me a look, amusement dancing in his eyes. “At your neighbors’ house.”

Apparently I do. Unfortunately this wasn’t uncommon lately. After ru

Everyone thought I was showing my wild side and finally letting loose since I wasn’t with Dean anymore, but they couldn’t have been more wrong. I wanted to forget Dean, I wanted to forget everything about him and our time together—so I drank until I did just that. The downside of that was times like this. I didn’t remember those nights, which meant I sure as hell didn’t remember the people I’d met or interacted with.

“Most likely . . . ?” I responded awkwardly. “Are you going to stalk me if I do?”

A grin tugged at his lips as he stepped closer. “Don’t you want me to?” he asked huskily, and his arm wrapped around my waist just before his lips fell on mine.

My eyebrows rose, and my eyes widened. Before I could gather myself enough to push him away, he was stepping back. “Wha—”

“I’ll see you tonight,” he said confidently. Turning, he walked back a few tables and sat down where there were a couple of people studying.

I gaped after him for long seconds before turning to leave with Misha, only to find Dean and Vanessa still staring at me. Vanessa with a satisfied smirk, Dean with a raised eyebrow and an a

I needed to get out of there before I did something stupid like cry. I needed to get to that party so I could try to have fun as I drank away memories of Dean as I had done every weekend since I’d walked in on him and Vanessa.

“I don’t know what the hell just happened,” I hissed as Misha and I walked out the back door of the coffee shop.

“What do you mean?” She looked over at me with her dark eyes, her expression telling me she really had no clue what I meant.

“That”—I pointed behind us—“in there, that guy. I don’t know him, and I don’t know why he ki—”

She laughed in that soft, quiet way of hers and shook her head—her dark curls bouncing around her face. “Oh, I’m pretty sure you know him, Indy. Quite well, in fact.”

My face fell as we got in her car. “Oh no, no.”

“Oh yes, yes.”

“I’ve slept with him?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I just saw Dean and Vanessa and her stupid, pregnant stomach. And a guy I don’t know—or remember—kissed me. And Dean was there. And—I need a drink. Or five,” I groaned, and slumped down in the passenger seat.

Misha sighed. “That’s usually how the night starts out when you end up sleeping with him or someone else—and then you never seem to remember it.”

I sat back up quickly. “Someone else?” I nearly shouted. “Where are you and Darryn when this is happening? Why don’t you stop me from sleeping with guys I won’t remember the next morning? And why are you just telling me all this now?”

“It’s not like we don’t try, and based on how drunk you get and the things you say, you don’t want anyone telling you about what you do when you’re drunk,” she whispered, her tone indicating she was done with this conversation, and judging from it, I wondered just how many times they’d tried to stop me from myself when I drank.