“Playing mommy today, Ella?” she purrs. “How adorable.”
The girls instinctively move closer to me, Aria’s hand brushing mine. She doesn’t grab it. She doesn’t need to. The fear in her eyes is enough.
I straighten slowly. “Calista.”
She walks closer, making sure her heels click loud enough to draw attention. “Imagine my surprise seeing you here. With my daughter.”
The word my drips acid. Aria shrinks half an inch beside me.
“Aria needed new boots for the competition,” I say calmly. “We’re shopping. That’s all.”
Why am I explaining myself to this woman?! And why would she approach me? Wasn’t Cole rejecting her advances enough of a sign for her to stay away from us?
Watching him see her for the snake that she is, turn her down, and claim me after is a high I’m still riding on.
“Oh, please,” she scoffs, flipping her perfect blonde hair. “You’re trying to weasel your way into my family. Into my life. Into my daughter’s life. It’s pathetic.”
Her family? As far as I’m concerned, she lost them the moment she decided to cheat on Cole and steal his business from him—with his best friend, no less.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Aria deserves support. That’s all this is.”
“Oh yes, support,” she says with a fake pout. “From the girl who threw herself at a married man for years.”
“Calista,” I warn, my voice low.
She knows how wrong her accusation is. I didn’t dare get close to Cole until after they were separated for longer than a year. I loved him from afar until he was single again. She has no right to condemn me for stealing him from her. She lost him all on her own, long before I came along.
She looks me up and down. “I see Cole still has a type. Round, soft, desperate little things who think being easy to use is the same as being lovable.”
The words hit like a slap. Not because I believe them, not anymore, but because she said it in front of Aria and Daisy. Two kids who don’t deserve to witness adult ugliness.
Aria steps forward, tiny chin trembling. “Mom—“
Calista snaps at her without even turning. “You be quiet. You wouldn’t be hurt if someone here knew how to train a horse properly.”
Aria flinches. Rage floods my chest so fast I swear it buzzes under my skin.
I’m not even surprised she knows about the accident. It’s a small town after all, so news travels fast. Plus, I’m pretty sure she’s keeping tabs on us.
“That’s enough,” I say firmly. “You don’t talk to her like that.”
Calista laughs. “Oh, I forgot. You’re trying to be her new mommy. How sweet. Maybe Cole really is that desperate.”
Before I can speak, she steps in close—too close—her voice dropping into venom. “Do you really think a man like him could ever want a woman like you? Look at you. Of course, you had to go for someone else’s husband. You couldn’t get one on your own.”
My pulse pounds. She wants a reaction, to feel big by making me small.
I’m about to tell her to back off when she does something I truly do not expect. She slaps me. Hard. The crack echoes through the aisle, making the girls gasp.
My cheek burns, anger boiling over.
Calista smirks, breath hot with spite. “Stay away from my family.”
I don’t think. I simply move.
My hand comes up, and I slap her back—open-handed, sharp enough to spin her head a fraction to the side. She stumbles, shock flashing across her perfect features.
“Don’t you ever lay your hands on me ever again,” I warn, voice quiet but fierce. “I don’t care who you think you are. You don’t get to hit me. You don’t get to insult these girls. And you sure as hell don’t get to walk around pretending you love a child you barely raised.”
