he leaned over to kiss Milla’s cheek.
“Absolutely. Having Milla, Dylan and a baby on the way has made me happier than winning the megastate lottery,” he replied.
To keep her thoughts from sliding back to her own problems, Mari tried hard to focus on the other couple’s obvious joy. Surely someday she, too, would find a man to care about, one who would support her career and help her to finally forget about her first painful love.
Milla’s happy smile faded again as she glanced past Mari. “On, no,” Milla groaned. “What can he possibly want this time?”
Mari glanced around to see who Milla was talking about. Her entire system jolted when she spotted Bryce leaning against his car, arms folded as he watched them. Despite the muggy heat, he was still wearing a lightweight jacket with his tan slacks, but his folded-up tie was sticking out of his pocket and his shirt was open at the neck. His hair was damp and slightly disheveled, as though he had been raking his fingers through it in the same way he used to do when they studied together. It gave him a youthful air she hadn’t seen in a long time, but the gravity of his expression spoiled the effect.
“Would you like me to run him off?” Kyle offered as Bryce approached them.
Mari took a deep breath. How could she find him attractive after everything that had happened between them? She must not have any better sense than a teenage girl with a crush on the boy she knew to be bad news.
Holding tight to her resolve, Mari patted Kyle’s arm. “I’ll be fine.”
She was fed up with Bryce’s constant harassment. Yesterday she had been too upset to offer much resistance when he’d hauled her into his arms, but today she was more than ready to vent her frustration.
“You two go on ahead,” she told Kyle. “I know you’re planning to take Dylan out to dinner. I’ve got a class tonight, so I’ll deal with this little annoyance myself.”
“Are you sure?” Milla asked. “You don’t have to talk to him. Maybe we should call Lily or an attorney.”
Mari shook her head. “I don’t need help standing up to a bully.” She pitched her voice loud enough for Bryce to hear, but he didn’t flinch. Either he’d grown immune to insults or her opinion didn’t concern him.
Probably the latter, since he believed her to be a criminal. He had stopped caring about her a long time ago, when she thought they were madly in love and planning a future together. Not only had he spoiled everything by refusing to go with her when she left for college, but he had expected her to give up her dream of attending medical school, so they could both find dead-end jobs here in Binghamton.
“Doctor. Miss Johnson.” With a nod, Bryce stepped off the sidewalk so they could walk by him. Milla returned his greeting softly with her gaze on the ground, but Kyle gave him a level stare.
“Call security if you need any help,” Kyle suggested to Mari as Milla tugged on his hand to hurry him along.
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