“I’ve tried everything.” Rita shoots me a grin and heads toward one of the food stations. “It’s delicious. Think I’ll try it all a second time too.”
After doing a quick check to ensure all the servers have enough samples, I turn to go back inside.
A sense of alarm, of impending danger, hits me suddenly. My gaze lands on a big, gray-haired man who is coming toward the café. His face is set with anger, his stride long. My chest constricts. I know to my bones that this is Edward Hamilton. I start for the steps, wanting to prevent him from getting near the café, but he reaches the porch and stops.
“Olivia West?” he asks.
Cold prickles my skin, and a black tendril of dread begins to snake around my heart. I force myself to approach him.
“I’m Olivia West. May I help you?”
He looks down at me. I dig my fingernails into my palms and meet his steely gaze.
“Where’s your husband?” he asks.
Oh God.
“Mr. Hamilton, if you’d like to talk, we can go…”
“You can go to hell,” he snaps.
Anxiety spears me. My breathing is getting too fast.
“This is not the—” I stop.
Behind Edward Hamilton, standing on the sidewalk, is his daughter Maggie. A bubble of rage bursts inside me. Our gazes clash across the space.
“You need to leave, Mr. Hamilton,” I say. “Both of you.”
“What the fuck gives you the right to slander my daughter?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The hell you don’t.” He moves closer, a vein throbbing in his forehead. “My daughter and I both got an anonymous email with some crap about Maggie and another professor. That’s bullshit. West is the one guilty of that, as you well know. And he can’t hide behind anonymity like a fucking coward.”
I’m starting to shake. I retreat to get him out of my field of vision, but my back hits the side of the porch. I’m half-aware of people starting to look in our direction. I pray the music is loud enough to drown out Edward Hamilton’s voice.
“If you don’t leave right now,” I tell him, “I’ll call the police.”
“You do that, little girl. Get the police involved on your opening day, all these kids around. What a great story, huh?”
My fear is turning into outright horror as I realize Edward Hamilton has figured out that I have no way to defend myself, not here. Not now.
“What… what do you want?” I stammer.
“Where is that fucker husband of yours?”
“He’s—”
“Right here.”
Dean’s deep, measured voice floods me with relief. I draw in a breath and shift my gaze to where he’s standing a short distance away. His body is lined with tension, his eyes burning as he looks at Hamilton.
“Get away from my wife,” he orders.
Hamilton turns to glare at him. “You want to take this up, West? You couldn’t leave it alone?”
“We ended it.” Dean steps closer, his fists clenching. “It’s over. Now get the hell out of here.”
“You trash my daughter, you’re dead.” Hamilton strides toward him, extending his finger. “Who else has that email?”
“I didn’t send you any email.”
“Liar.”
Dean holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender, though he’s gotten between me and Hamilton. “Look, you want to talk? Let’s go. We’ll take this somewhere else.”
“The fuck we will.” Hamilton’s voice booms over the crowd.
Behind him, a few parents are pulling their children away from the café. Kelsey strides toward us, frowning. The music dies as more people turn toward the commotion.
“What’s going on?” Kelsey stops near me, her sharp gaze scanning all of us.
“Nothing.” Dean shakes his head at her, his voice tight with warning. “Mr. Hamilton is leaving.”
Hamilton backs up a few steps, and for a second I think he really is leaving. Then he turns to Maggie.
“Tell them,” he orders. “Tell them all what this guy did to you. Intimidation, harassment, trying to force you to sleep with him.”
“No!” I can’t stop the denial, anger flooding me. “Maggie is the liar! She was failing, and instead of actually working, she accused—”
“Your husband is a goddamned pervert who preys on students, Mrs. West,” Hamilton shouts at me.
“Shut up, Hamilton.” Dean’s voice is dangerously low.
Allie comes out onto the porch, her forehead creased with confusion, with Brent right behind her. Kelsey taps at her smartphone and holds it to her ear.
“I will take you down further than I already have.” Hamilton heaves in a breath, his eyes blazing as he stabs his forefinger into Dean’s chest. “You think you can accuse my daughter of wrongdoing when you’re the one fucking with your students?”
Gasps rise from the crowd. Panic fills my chest. More people take their children’s hands and hurry them away. I rush forward to get to Dean. Kelsey grabs my arm and yanks me to a halt. My breath burns my throat. I struggle to twist my arm from her grip.
“Let me go.”
“Careful, Liv.” She’s watching Dean, her eyes narrowed.
“It’s about time everyone knows what a scumbag you are,” Hamilton snaps at Dean.