“So, am I good to go?”
“Looks to be that way,” she says, her voice deceptively nice.
Something tells me I’ve going to be the topic of conversation amongst the courthouse clerks, the moment I hit the parking lot.
As I walk out the exit door with my head down, distracted by the red notifications littering my phone, my shoulder collides with something hard, setting me off balance, and I nearly trip.
Looking up, I find a set of narrowed brown eyes, blazing into me. It’s Deputy Morales and she’s giving me a smile that looks both syrupy-sweet and razor-sharp.
“Sorry,” she says in a sing-song with a sheepish shrug. “Wasn’t paying attention.”
Yeah, right.
“Hi!” I say, forcibly upbeat. “You work with Dominic, right?”
Her smile drops, jaw tightening. “Yeah, why? You got a problem with that?”
What is wrong with this girl? “No, of course not,” I say through a smirk. “Just like getting to know Dominic’s coworkers, that’s all.”
My territorial side is coming out, but I can’t help it. So, what if I’m making myself sound like his girlfriend? She’s the one acting like she has some kind of claim over him.
“You know, it’s really pathetic that you can’t take a hint and leave him alone. Obviously, he doesn’t want you.”
This bitch…
“Sweetie, if he wanted you, you’d know it. Pretty sure drooling over him at work is more pathetic.”
She scoffs, crossing her arms, and popping a hip.
I haven’t wanted to lunge at someone this hard since I saw Ethan’s skank ex-fiancé at the bar, but there was a little liquor in my system then. Right now, I’m totally sober, yet the same surge of anger is still taking hold of me.
“Sweetie,” she says, throwing the word back at me. “If he really wantedyou, he wouldn’t be all over me at work.”
I recoil, my head snapping back. I’m almost certain she’s lying. Dominic doesn’t strike me as the type to flirt with coworkers, but the image she just planted lodges itself at the forefront of my mind, and it’s jarring. The thought of him touching her sends my heart into overdrive.
What if he does have feelings for her? What if they start dating? What if I have to see him with someone who isn’t me?
I hate all of it. Selfishly. Completely.
Why did he have to come back?
My eyes slit, sizing her up. “What did you say your name was again?”
Her lips curl into a snarl. “Talia.” She steps closer, trying to intimidate me it seems, but our height difference makes her attempt laughable. I tower over her by at least six inches, if not more. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from him.”
With that, she turns, joining a group of uniforms standing around chatting.
For a brief moment, I’m frozen. Was that an actual threat? From a cop no less. There are a lot of things I’ll let go, but not getting the last word isn’t one of them.
“Hey, Talia,” I call out. She turns her head, unable to hide the surprise in her expression.
“I’ll let Dominic know how lovely it’s been running into you. Tonight. When we’re in bed.”
I’ve crossed over into crazy ex territory and it’s not a good look. It’s been hours, and I still can’t stop thinking of what I told Morales. If it gets back to Dominic, he’s going to see it exactly for what it is—marking my territory. He’s not even my territory to mark.
I don’t know how to coexist with him when we’re nothing, but we’ve beeneverything.
“What do you think?” Layla, asks, showing me her right hand, freshly manicured.
