Her lips kicked up into a sad smile. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me and it matters because you’re trying to decide if he’s right,” I argued.
“Maybe he is,” she whispered. She gave a small shrug. “He can be right and be an asshole at the same time.”
“What did he say?”
“Just that I force things,” she said. “I forced him to propose.”
“Yeah, I don’t buy that for one second.” That guy was a lot of things but he was no doormat. He popped the question because he had something to gain and I wouldn’t entertain any other explanations. And I would’ve said as much to Shay but I didn’t want to shame her for her relationship with him. I couldn’t understand how they ended up together but they did and thank god it was over.
Thank god she was mine.
“But I invent a lot of projects,” she said.
“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I dabbed antibacterial cream on the cuts, adding, “Let me ask you this: Why are you willing to believe him over me?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you—”
“That’s what it looks like to me.”
She chewed on her lower lip. Then, “What if he’s right?”
I dropped my hands to her thighs and gave her a firm squeeze. “He’s not. Sweetheart, I swear to you, there’s nothing in the world he’s right about.”
She stared at my hands. “Jaime told me I shouldn’t see him.”
“Have I mentioned how much I like Jaime?”
A thin laugh puffed over her lips. “You told me I shouldn’t see him.” She opened her other hand and studied the bracelet coiled in her palm. “Why is it so obvious to everyone else and I can’t—I just can’t see it?”
“You came for closure and the only person to blame for what happened today is that fucking fucker.” When she didn’t respond, I asked, “Has he ever done anything like this before?”
“No.” She gave a single shake of her head as I wrapped a measure of gauze around her wrist. “He traveled all the time. We lived together but it was like a weekends-only arrangement. We weren’t together too often. He hated my earrings.” She ran her finger over one beaded strawberry. “I think they set him off.”
“He’s never hurt you before?” I needed a reason to find him and kill him. Or slam him with frivolous lawsuits. That was more to my skill set than murder. I could litigate my ass off but I didn’t know the first thing about getting rid of a body. Then again, I owned hundreds of acres of farmland. I could figure it out. “Not even once?”
“No. He just needs to sell that ring so he can buy something for the woman he was cheating on me with.” She pressed her fingers to her eyes. “Or he’ll just give her that ring and call it a day. Oh, god, he’d do that too. Why didn’t I realize he was such an ass until now? Saying these words out loud just makes it so obvious that he was a walking red flag and I chose to ignore that because I was busy convincing him to propose.”
I’d always known but it was painfully clear now that Shay aimed way too low. She carried herself with all the confidence in the world but it was only skin-deep. She didn’t believe any of it and she didn’t feel it. And that was how she ended up with pathetic tools like her ex and that dumbass lacrosse coach.
I closed up the first aid kit. “We’ll skip this lunch. It’s not important. We can head home and—”
“No, we can’t cancel your lunch,” she interrupted. “Not because of me. I won’t add to the insanity of your inbox because my ex decided to come here and be rude. And we’re meeting up with Jaime and everyone later. Really, Noah, I’m fine.”
She didn’t look fine. She looked like she needed a warm blanket, a stiff drink, and a steady stream of reminders that her ex was full of shit. She looked like she needed to be held and adored for days.
“You’ve been through a lot this morning and it’s going to catch up with you sooner or later,” I said. “I don’t want to push you. We can skip the lunch and still see Jaime.”
“We’re not skipping the lunch.” She paused before saying, “Thank you, Noah. For everything. What you said to him…well, thank you for being there for me.”
“I’ll always be here for you, Shay. Always.”
She took my hands and gave me a squeeze. “I don’t think anyone’s ever stood up for me quite like that.” She glanced to the side. “His life flashed before his eyes when you threatened to sue him.”
“Good.” I leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth. “It won’t be the last time I stand up for you, wife.”
“We should probably—” She tipped her chin up, toward the table we’d ignored for the past half hour.
