“Sensible doesn’t mean you weren’t hurt.”
“I was pissed. Shocked, and that still grates because it makes me a fool. And pissed, which is better. But I’m a little ashamed to admit I wasn’t as hurt as I should have been. As I would have been if I’d loved him the way I thought I did. The way I should have loved a man I was going to marry. But he wasn’t the man I thought he was, and that makes me a fool.”
“You’re not—”
Fire snapped into her eyes as she jabbed a finger at him and stopped him cold.
“I knew something wasn’t right. I knew it, but I kept telling myself it was wedding jitters. I don’t generally get jitters, but, well, I never planned a wedding before. And he wanted exactly the opposite of what I did. I wanted lovely and intimate and romantic, and he insisted on…”
She waved her arms in the air. “Big, fancy ballroom in the big, fancy hotel with a few hundred of our not-so-close friends, top-shelf open bar, and on and on. We looked at houses, and I wanted something like this. Not this scale, but I wanted a house with history and character, which is why this place had me at first sight. And he wanted sleek, modern, new, important neighborhood. I kept giving in, which isn’t like me either. Why did I keep giving in? Because I’d said yes, and I thought I loved him.
“Fuck!”
After grabbing her wineglass, she circled the kitchen while he stood and watched her. While both dogs sat and watched her.
“I’m shelling out ridiculous amounts of money for deposits because I’d said yes. Because it felt like we had more in common than not, and the sex was fine. So don’t tell me I’m not stupid, don’t tell me I wasn’t a fool when I was. On the day, the very day I walked in on him and Tracie, I canceled an appointment with the breathtakingly expensive florist because I just couldn’t take it. I needed a break, all the while telling myself it was just wedding jitters.”
She glugged some wine. “My ass! And there they were, their clothes scattered along the way to the bedroom. And if I had loved him, it shut off just like that!”
She snapped her fingers. “All I felt was pissed off and disgusted. I kicked them both out of my house. Both of them mostly naked. That was satisfying.”
She drank more wine. “With him claiming it didn’t mean anything, she came on to him, he just slipped. And that was it for me, but he wouldn’t leave it alone. He went to our bosses and strung them some bullshit about me having a little breakdown when I had no intention of telling them what he’d done. But he’s going to lay it all on me? Just hell no. So I told them, and we thought we’d worked it out. I loved working there, and they’d see to it we didn’t work on the same projects. He obviously didn’t love me, so he’d get over it, and we’d both move on.
“But no. He found little ways to get under my skin, and I ignored it. Then he found bigger ways. He keyed my car, he let the air out of my tires so I had to call an Uber at midnight. Midnight because he’d sabotaged my work, just wiped my work off my computer, my backup, so I had to stay late and put it back together. I couldn’t prove it, but come on, who else? They couldn’t fire him, no proven cause, so I had to quit.”
She jabbed a finger at Trey. “You’re not rebound guy because I’m not rebounding. And that was a lot. Wow. I’m still pissed.”
“Done?”
“Yeah, sorry.” More than a little appalled at herself, she dragged a hand through her hair. “That was way beyond where I meant to go.”
“We’re going to back up a little.” He picked up the second beer he’d only half finished. “Why did you pay the deposits?”
“He was going to pay part of the balance, and for the honeymoon—mostly. Traditionally, the bride’s family pays … because I’m an idiot.”
“Stop it. You’re not.”
He didn’t jab a finger at her—not his style—but held up a hand and just as effectively cut off her response.
“He manipulated you, and it sounds like he’s damn good at it.”
“I suppose. I got some of it back—more than I expected, largely due to Cleo. She took some of it on, and she’s got this way of talking and talking, all calm and reasonable.” As it hit her, she took a slow sip of wine.
“A lot like you.”
“Good. Now let’s talk about him keying your car, giving you flat tires. Did you file a report?”
“Yeah. What were the cops going to do? Nobody saw him. What could the bosses do? And if they’d fired him, I think it would have made it worse. I did what was right for me, and found out I like working freelance. I like being in charge of, well, all of it.”
“Has he bothered you since?”
“Not really. Then I moved here. And this is the most I’ve thought of him since I have.”
“I want to know if he does.”
She frowned at him. “You’re mad,” she realized. “It hardly shows, but it does, a little.”
“Of course I’m mad. We’ll put aside him screwing your cousin. That’s just the move of an asshole who thinks cheating’s no big deal. He manipulated you into pumping out money for something you didn’t want, and if you hadn’t caught him, you’d very likely be living in some slick house you didn’t want. That would’ve been your mistake.”
She opened her mouth, then shut it again. Because truth was truth. Her mistake.
He set the beer down again. “But the rest is vindictive, mean, petty, criminal, and dangerous. So yeah, I’m mad, and I want to know if he comes at you, in any way, again.”
“All right.” The fact she could see the mad not only calmed her but gave her another boost she hadn’t known she’d needed.
“Will you punch him in the face?”
“That’s always satisfying, in the moment. But you can prolong the moment by maneuvering him into doing the punching, in front of witnesses. Then he’s got an assault charge to deal with.”
“I bet you could do it, too.” She let out a breath. “Now, the whole point of that unhinged rant was to say yes, I had an upheaval, but it unleashed rage—pretty obviously—and didn’t leave me with a broken heart, weeping into my caramel ice cream while watching sad movies.”
“You made your case there. I figured you’d quit your job because it was too awkward to work in the same office. So, moving from there, you still have upheavals. Learning your father had a twin, Collin’s will, packing up your life in Boston to come here. Add what you’re dealing with here.”
“I love this place. It surprises me how much. Still, I understand you might not want to get involved, on a personal level, with a woman who goes on an unhinged rant about a man she broke things off with months ago.”
“You didn’t.”
“I didn’t?”
“You went on a rant about a situation and your reaction and responses to it. Which, in my opinion, you’re taking too much of the blame for. But you’ll get over that.”
“I will?”
“Because you’re really not stupid, Sonya. But he did hurt you. Even if it was only your pride, your ego, your sense of trust, he hurt you.”
“Cleo said about the same. Maybe I should try to fix you up with Cleo.”
“I like her, but I’m interested in someone else.”