Even as I said the words, I felt the shame of their lie. I had not taken care of Skylar. In ways both important and small, I’d done the exact opposite. I’d freaked out, said all the wrong words, and then sniped at him when all he was trying to do was care for me.
Seeing how Rich had assumed he’d known what was good for Sky made me feel about three inches tall. Like a big mirror had been held up to my face, my stomach roiled as I realized I wasn’t much better than him.
But I would be.
I swore on all the important things in my life right then and there that I goddamn would be. And I would never put this look on Sky’s face ever again.
Sky cleared his throat, likely to remind me he didn’t need me to speak for him. I dipped my chin, letting him know I had his back. At least I hoped that was what he read from the gesture.
“Rich, as you can see, I am fine.” Sky then gestured to the dark circles under his eyes, which the makeup hadn’t quite covered. “A few sleepless nights to create my dream business is not too high a price to pay. The only thing that cost me more than it was worth was letting myself become your shareable little toy. Lose my number.”
Rich’s nostrils flared, and he looked down his nose at someone who was, objectively, better than him in every possible way. “Don’t come crawling back to me when you realize what you’re missing out on,” he said, turning on his heel and walking away.
We took off in the other direction, toward Betsy. The moment that jackass was out of sight, however, Skylar shook me off like a horse shakes a fly off its ass.
“I don’t need your guilty heroics, Kit. I was handling myself just fine before you showed up.”
“I’m sorry. I . . .” I pressed my lips together, thinking long and hard about the words I was using. “The way he looked at you, talked to you . . . I didn’t like it.”
Skylar tapped his chin with a pretty painted nail. “Oh, you mean how he was sending a bunch of mixed messages, trying to get me back while treating me like I was barely worth the effort?Dismissing my education while trying to get into my pants? Yeah, that does suck.”
Damn.
“Sky, I completely deserve your anger. I know I’m a mess, and I was awful to you and Dr. Kleinfeld right now in the office, and I apologize wholeheartedly,” I said, limping after him.
He turned on me, sticking his finger in my face. “Oh! You’resorry. Are you sorry enough to have the surgery next month?”
“Sky, you know I can’t?—”
He held up his hand, stopping me cold. “I don’t wanna hear it, Kit Baker. I can’t believe I ever thought you were this steady, smart, reliable man. I mean, you look it, with your cowboy boots and your cowboy hat, and your general . . .” His gesture encompassed all that was me. “But you lost your entire sense of equilibrium after we traded a few simple orgasms. Worse, you embarrassed me in front of my boss, after I have spent all this time trying to impress her with how well I’m doing out there.”
Shit. Shit.Shit.
“Sky, I am so, so sorry. You are totally right.”
My words were interrupted by a notification on his phone. He peeked at the screen, cursed, and then shoved it in my face. “Look. This is what the fuck I am talking about.”
Unknown number: I’ve never seen you look worse. You need to dump him and come back to me. I can pay to restore your pretty face while you have a chance.
“He’s been doing this on and off since I blocked him.”
“How?” I asked, horrified. After that entire exchange, he was still trying to win Sky back while ripping him down to the studs. I’d never seen someone jerk another person around like that before.
“Pretty sure his company uses some kind of VoIP platform, so he has access to hundreds—thousands—of phone numbers. I stopped trying to block them.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” I said, looking back in the direction we left him. “We need to get you a new phone number.”
“Why should I have to get a new number? I’ve blocked everyone I wanted to block, and Rich has the means to find a new number, so why go through all of that bullshit? Besides, what will it do to my business to get a new number? Also, how’re you gonna kill him when you can’t even catch up to him? You got one of those fancy golf carts of yours in your pocket? What’s the plan here?”
I dropped my chin to my chest, called out.
“You see, Kit, I don’t need you to do anything for me. I don’t need you, period. Do you get that?” he asked as he shoved his phone into his expensive bag.
“I do.”
He started off again, then turned on his heel and got back up in my face.
“And I tell you what, Kit Baker. I am tired.Tired. Of men dismissing me, ignoring me, or thinking they know what’s best for me. I can’t fucking stand it a second longer.”
