I turn in his arms. “Having fun?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad.” I give him a quick kiss. “Told you. Wait until tonight when the fireworks start. Oh, my God, it’s?—”
“Charly.”
Whomp, whomp.
Wanting to gag, I roll my eyes and slam down on my heels at Jason’s voice behind me. I resist the urge to retch and instead slap a fake smile on my face. How I hate this man’s smug fucking face. “Hello, Jason.”
The good-time killer.
Oh, great, Lisa is with them.
They look like they stepped out of a Fourth of July billboard. Her red, white, and blue sundress is about one star away from being a replica of Old Glory. And if that ponytail gets any tighter, her ears will meet at the back of her head. A curious glance at her belly tells me she can’t be too far along because she’s not showing, not even a little. Either that, or she’s terrified of gaining even an ounce of baby weight, thanks to Jason being a stickler for skinnier women. Lord knows I damn near starved myself to make that jerkoff happy. But in her case, it’s dangerous. Not saying that’s what’s happening. But it’s possible, and if it is, she’s a fool, and he’s a bigger dickhead than I thought.
“Who’s this?”
“He’s none of your fucking business,” I reply smoothly as I turn to Lisa. “Congratulations on the baby and the wedding. I wish you both the life you earned.”
Snide? Maybe, to people with a guilty conscience.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jason demands, proving my case, and oh, gawd, wrong tone to use with me right now.
Rhys Ravenstone—antihero assassin extraordinaire—comes to the forefront. Oh, Lordy, judging by his expression, Rhys seriously looks like he’s going to murder Jason right here on Main Street, surrounded by hundreds of witnesses. He even shoves me behind him, putting himself between me and my ex as he gets all up in Jason’s business, towering over him by a good five inches.
He rakes a disgusted glare over Jason as if my ex is a roach that needs to be squished beneath Rhys’s boot. “Who areyou?”
Jason puffs out his chest and notches his chin in self-importance. “Jason Wembley.”
Rhys looks at me but jabs a thumb at Jason. “What the fuck is Jason Wembley?”
Oh, my gawd, it’s nearly impossible not to laugh. “My ex-husband.”
Rhys’s eyes become a lethal storm as he slides that menacing gaze from me to Jason. “Right. The little creature who needs to make women small to make himself bigger.” Hetsks. “How underwhelming you are, Jason Weasley.”
Lisa slaps a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle, but quickly swallows it when Jason shoots her a glare, one that, a year ago, would destroy me. Now, he just looks like a silly man trying to appear powerful.
Newsflash, he’s not.
“Wembley,” Jason huffs. Then to me, “Charly, you better put a leash on your new friend before he?—”
Oh, shit.
Rhys clamps a hand around Jason’s arm, quickly shutting him up. For a second, I stand there, dumbfounded, as he drags him, literally kicking, toward The Scorched Page. Away from eyewitnesses. With everyone watching the parade and caught up in the excitement, no one realizes Rhys practically flings Jason inside the shop, with Lisa and me rushing after them.
“Don’t hurt him!” she yells, but clamps her mouth closed at the blistering glare Rhys shoots her.
I grab her by the shoulders, putting my body between her and the men. “I got it. It’s fine. No one is hurting anyone.”
But I swing around right as Rhys twists his fists around Jason’s perfectly starched salmon-colored button-down. My ex struggles in Rhys’s hold, but he’s no match for the bigger man’sstrength. “I’m actually glad we’ve had this chance to meet,” Rhys remarks, as if he doesn’t have Jason dangling in his hold like a rag doll. “See, I’ve been morbidly curious to meet the man who hurt Charlotte so badly she needed to bring me here.”
“Brought you here?” Jason bounces his frantic gaze between Rhys and me. “What are you talking about?”
Rhys gives him a hard shake. “Don’t worry about it. That’s not the important part. The important part here is that you hurt her. See, the thing is, for right now, she’s mine. This incredible, smart, funny, sarcastic, stubborn, beautiful woman is mine.” Rhys lifts Jason off his feet and puts his face inches from his. “And you fuckin hurt her. Grave mistake, Weasley. I’d say it’s a downright fatal error.”
Jason peeks around Rhys’s enormous body. “Charly! You’re just going to let this…thisfriendof yours threaten me?”
