“Enough!” I shout, noticing that Bailey and Jo-Beth are storming toward us, with Rich and Teresa close behind. Everyone has the same stunned look on their faces. This bastard needs to be shown the door.
“You need to leave!” Sadie says as he tries to shake the drink off his face. I’m aware the whole bar is watching us now, the music coming to a screeching halt. I shrug out of George’s grasp, telling him I’ve got this. Grabbing Stanley by the collar, I drag him to the side exit in just a few steps.
“You heard the lady,” I say as I swing the door open and the cold night air rushes in. “The time for talking is over. If we ever see your face in here again, so help me God.”
“But I have family here!” he wails.
“Family you don’t give two shits about,” I seethe, “You came here to confront Sadie, but she doesn’t want you. She’s withmenow. So go crawl back into that hole you climbed out of.” I shove him out into the night with a hefty push. “Don’t make me come out there and finish you off.”
“I’m sorry!” He holds his hands up. “I never meant to—Hilary meant nothing to me!”
My eyes bug wide.Is this guy for real?Hearing her name is just the amount of ammunition I need to give him one more shove backwards, hard enough so he stumbles into the trash cans and falls on his ass into a shin high pile of snow. He’s not even worth hitting again. Him laying there in a freezing snow, bleeding, is the only last parting vision I need of him. “Fuckyou,” I retort, “She’s just as bad as you are, I’m glad to be free of you both.” He lays in staring up at me, and I slam the door in his face.
I lean back on the inside of the door and take a breath. When I open my eyes, Sadie is standing there with a look of shock and a little apprehension on her face.
“Baby,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not your fault.”
“I punched him.” I shrug. “My anger got the better of me.”
“I’d say he had it coming.”
“In more ways than one.” I pause. “He won’t be bothering you again.”
“Thank God for that.” She bites her lip and looks up at me. “You really defended my honor back there.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“I can’t believe my ex is also your ex-best friend… what he did to you. I’m so sorry, Z. This explains why he was so cagey whenever I talked about Bailey. He figured it out and said nothing. Am I the reason h-he left?” Those old feelings stir up of not being good enough.Neverbeing good enough, and I hate myself for it. I’m well and truly over Duncan freaking Stanley, but the betrayal still hurts.
I place my forefinger over her lips and shake my head. “Don’t ever say that it was you. He’s not worth it, you’ve nothin’ to be sorry for,” I say. “No matter how uncanny this coincidence might be. All that matters is now he’s out of your life for good.”
She reaches up on her tippy toes to kiss me, and I tilt my head to reach her. The warmth of her lips makes everything better, and all thoughts of scumbag Duncan Stanley melt like the snow thawing.
“That slap you gave him while wearing your pink drink was pretty impressive, little lady,” I mumble between kisses.
“Is it bad that I enjoyed that?” she murmurs.
“Nope. Not even.”
“He deserved that punch, Z.”
“I don’t feel bad,” I clarify.
“You shouldn’t.”
I lean back in and kiss her with enough vigor to wanna get out of here right now and show her how a real man treats a lady. And that’s what I intend to do. “I’m taking you home,Manhattan.”
“Thought you’d never ask.“
ZANE’S EPILOGUE
Zane
Christmas Eve
I watch my girl in action as I hop off the snowmobile. She’s helping some last-minute customers find their perfect tree. The thing I love most about Sadie? The fact that she jumped in with both feet. Nothing was beneath her. Not even coming out on the ATV, digging up trees, and running around the lodge when we were short staffed. She fits.
