His smile of greeting faded into a scowl. “I can’t stop by my girlfriend’s house?”
Christ, how could a smart man be so fucking clueless? “Okay, one: I’m not your girlfriend.” She held up a finger, ticking the points off as she made them. “And two: I saw you less than four hours ago. What gives? You never used to be this clingy.”
He sputtered. “I’m not clingy.”
“Four hours ago, Preston. And, no, I haven’t decided to take you back, so if that’s why you’re here—”
“No. No, that’s not—I just—I missed you.” He leaned in, and she could have avoided it, but the beginnings of an epiphany niggled at the back of her mind, and she had to know if it was right. His lips touched hers, soft and cool—and she felt nothing. Not the slightest stirring of desire. She wanted hot and hard. A command, not a request. As Preston’s hand slid down her arm, everything in her revolted.
He was not Camden Wilde.
She broke away from him and reached for the gate before he had a chance to recover. By the time he scrambled through, she’d already crossed the yard and was halfway up her porch steps.
“Eva, wait.” He caught her hand and tugged her to a stop. “What’s wrong?”
She shrugged out of his grasp. “We’re not right for each other anymore, Preston. If we ever were. You must see that. I’m not your type.”
Something dark flashed through his eyes. “You don’t know crap about my type.”
“Maybe not,” she admitted, found his ring box in her pocket, and handed it to him. “But I know you’re not mine. I’m sorry. My answer is no. It’s just not going to work out between us.”
His hand closed around her arm again, and he jerked her around when she tried to continue up the steps. “Is it someone else?”
“Let go of me.”
For a startling second, she didn’t think he would. And in that second, she caught a glimpse of violence, the kind she’d seen in the eyes of murderers who felt no regret for their crimes. She yanked against him, and he released her, then backed off.
“Camden,” he said. Not a question, but a disgusted statement.
She didn’t bother confirming or denying. Frankly, it was none of his business whom she chose, because it was not him.
His face flushed a deep red, and his hands curled into fists at his sides. In all the years she’d known him, she’d never seen him angry—and now he looked like he was going to blow his top. A trickle of fear sent her heart rate up a few beats per minute and she took a step backwards before she caught herself.
“Do what you want with it,” he said, throwing the ring box back at her, then stomped to his car. Tires squealed on the wet pavement, and he leaned on the horn as he peeled out.
Shelby came to the front door with a package of Twizzlers in hand and peered through the screen. “What the fuck was all that noise?”
“A childish tantrum.” Man, she wished she’d seen him get angry years ago. You could tell a lot about a person from the way they handled anger, and what she saw in Preston just now made her wince in embarrassment for him.
Shelby stared after his car. “Preston threw a tantrum?”
“Like a three year old.”
Shelby snorted before ducking back inside. “And you say I have bad taste in men.”
Poe squawked a greeting from his perch in the living room. Eva walked to him and ruffled the feathers on top of his head with one finger. “You have horrible taste in men, Shel—except for this guy.”
Shelby waved a piece of licorice at her. “Need I remind you, none of my past boyfriends have ever thrown a temper tantrum on our front lawn?”
“Because Poe has a higher IQ than any of your past boyfriends. You might as well have been dating vegetables.”
“Ooo, good one.” With a grin, Shelby bit into her candy and sketched a point in the air. “Big sis, one. Shelby, zero. And, sadly, you’re right. But only because I have the smartest birdie in the world.”
“Can’t argue that.”
They both cooed over the bird for a moment. Poe flapped his wings and puffed out his chest, soaking in every bit of the attention.
“So,” Shelby said as they settled on the couch together. An Asian horror movie played on the TV, and Shel used the remote to pause it. “Preston’s out of the picture?”
“After that? Yeah.” Eva sighed and stole a piece of licorice. “Way out.”
“Good. BRB.” She bounced up from the couch and vanished down the hallway.
“Did you really just say BRB?” Eva called after her. “You’re spending way too much time online. Maybe it’s time you find a job.”
“I have one.”
Eva stared as her sister reemerged from the hallway with her hands behind her back. “You do? Where?”
“The coffee shop where I met Cam’s brother. The one I’ve been going to for breakfast? I like it there, so I applied for a barista position. They called today.” She lifted her shoulders. “It’s no big deal.”