The Ex (The Corny Myers Series) by Sharon Kleve Page A

her.”
    What did she look like? Was she prettier than me? Taller...thinner…smarter? I’d drive myself crazy with these kinds of thoughts. Steve interrupted my inner turmoil.
    “I knew there was a reason I didn’t want to leave Seattle,” Steve said.
    I fluttered my eyelashes. “Really? What’s that?” Hey, my ego needed to be stroked.
    “Because I met you here,” he replied.
    “I’m glad you stayed too. Is she married or does she have a boyfriend?” I hoped she was pregnant with triplets.
    “No. When I talked to her yesterday she told me her latest relationship ended badly and she didn’t want to talk about the breakup. She did mention wanting to get together to reminisce about old times. The funny thing is; our old times weren’t that great.”
    Alarm bells went off in my head. This chick wanted Steve back.
    “How’d she take the news that you’re not available any longer?”
    “I think okay. She asked what you did for a living, and how long we’d been together. When I told her we were living together, she told me she can’t wait to meet you. She seemed happy for me. Maybe she’s changed.”
    “Changed? What do you mean?” Hey, who wouldn’t want to meet me? I was cute, funny and I could talk to animals.
    “First, I want to say that Celeste is brilliant at her job, but her personal life has been a disaster. She has a history of wanting what’s not available to her. She assumed I’d follow her when she left for D.C. When I didn’t, she went through a rough emotional period. She’d call me in the middle of the night, calm and rational one minute, but when I wouldn’t agree to whatever she had on her mind, she’d fly into a fit of rage. Because I cared about her, I felt obligated to report her behavior to my superior, who reported the incident to her superior. For obvious reasons, she was angry with me the last time we spoke, over a year and a half ago.”
    “Okay, your old girlfriend is a whacko; I’ve had a few wacko relationships myself. When is she flying in?” I tried to sound supportive.
    “Celeste lived in Seattle for ten years and has lots of friends here.”
    “Steve, when is she arriving?”
    “She flies in this Tuesday afternoon. She’s coming a week early. She wants to catch up with her friends.”
    “Meaning you, right?” Great, she’ll be in town the whole week I might be on jury duty.
    “Corny, I’m sure she’s not flying in early to spend time with me.”
    “So… what does Celeste look like?”
    “Why?” he asked with suspicion in his voice.
    “Come on… she’s your old girlfriend; that’s reason enough.”
    “I’m going to be late for work. Can we talk about this later?”
    “You’re avoiding my question. What does she look like?” Steve was a straight shooter, but he avoided my question. What was she—super model gorgeous?
    “Celeste is tall, thin, with long blonde hair and blue eyes,” he said. “Oh, and she has a heart-shaped mole above her right eyebrow.”
    “She sounds pretty.” I banged my forehead on the table.
    Steve kissed me and laughed.
    “I was kidding about the mole. Don’t worry about Celeste; she’s got nothing on you.”
    I wasn’t jealous—just curious. With my shoulders back and stomach sucked in, I’m five-feet-eight inches tall and weigh about one-hundred-twenty-five pounds. A monster hot dog and a side of cheesy fries would put me above that in a heartbeat though. To be on the safe side, I’d eat only salads for lunch and skip the syrup in my lattes.
    If I wanted my ex back, I’d arrive early, hang out, flirt, get him drunk and seduce him. I was sure Celeste fibbed—she didn’t want to meet me anymore than I wanted to meet her. “You said she always wants ‘what’s not available to her’. You realize that’s you, don’t you?”
    “She didn’t go into a fit of rage when I told her about you. I’m sure the FBI got her the emotional help she needed or they wouldn’t keep her employed.”
    “I’m sure