Read The Unseen Trilogy for Free Online Page B

eyes were very striking against his pale skin and dark hair. “It’s good. And hey, the people I work with aren’t half bad.” He shrugged, and Maddie beamed.
    I watched the two of them for a moment. Maddie’s hand was resting on the table at an angle that looked slightly uncomfortable for her, but she didn’t notice. Her thoughts were totally focused on him.
    I hope Mac sees how wonderful he is. How could she not? Look at him. She was just barely touching his hand. He sat back to glance down at his phone and, in doing so, moved away from her. She reached for her wineglass and even managed to convince herself it was her idea to do it.
    “How long have you been teaching?”
    He sighed, clearly annoyed to be pulled away from his phone. “This is my third year,” he said, jamming some pasta into his mouth. “Mmm. Man, Maddie, this is really good. Way better than that slop you tried to feed me the other day.” He looked at his plate when he said it, so he didn’t see the way she was beaming from his backhanded compliment.
    “I always said she could’ve been a chef,” I said through my teeth, shocked at the fact that Maddie had completely ignored his barb.
    “Chef, designer, teacher. I’m a triple threat.”
    Dinner continued on that way, and I was fairly unhappy with Bobby by the end. While we were clearing the dishes, he parked in front of the TV. Maddie took the opportunity to interrogate me.
    “Well! What do you think?”
    “Maddie.” I hesitated, searching for the words that wouldn’t break my best friend’s heart. I’d never successfully found them before, but it hadn’t stopped me from searching.
    “You don’t like him, do you?” Her voice turned quiet as disappointment smothered her normal jubilance.
    “It’s not that I don’t like him. He’s perfectly pleasant.”
    “So…”
    “I don’t like how he treats you.”
    “What do you mean? You heard him compliment my dinner! He loves me!”
    “Not as much as he loves himself.” There. Harsh, but true.
    Her face contorted like I’d smacked her, and her mind started whirring with emotions—panic, disappointment, anger. “What? What exactly do you mean by that?”
    “I didn’t mean to make you mad. Maddie, you are always the one doing the fawning. Don’t you think you deserve to be the source of someone’s infatuation? I do. This guy ogles his phone more than he does you.” And it doesn’t take a mind reader to see that. “He just seems a little indifferent.”
    She can’t be right, can she? Does he really not love me at all? How can that be? Her mouth formed a thin line, and I knew our conversation was over.
    “I’m sorry,” I said and walked out into the living room, where Bobby was already watching TV, giving her a moment to collect her thoughts.
    I sat down on the other end of the couch, leaving a cushion of space between us. It was still too close for my comfort. He didn’t even acknowledge I was there. Knowing Maddie would need a few minutes to cool down, I didn’t really make an effort to interact.
    Before long, a Victoria’s Secret commercial came on, and his mind exploded. Yeah, that’s what I like to see. Wonder what she’s like in bed. Probably a firecracker. Oh, yeah, bend over a little more.
    I couldn’t listen to any more of it. “Bobby, I’m going to cut right to the chase. Do you have any feelings for Maddie? Or is she more like a placeholder for you?”
    “What? Jesus, Mac. That’s a little out of line, don’t you think?”
    “No, I don’t. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have said it.”
    “Look, I barely know you, so I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation for us to be having.”
    “I really couldn’t care less about you, your feelings, or how uncomfortable you are. I care about Maddie. Apparently a hell of a lot more than you do.”
    “Whatever,” he said, shifting until a little of his back was to me.
    Oh, like hell was that going to make me drop the subject. “‘Whatever’ isn’t