“It’s over,” he said, but she ignored the sound of his voice. It was a hopeful sound, which didn’t register with her. She was already beyond fuming and wasn’t willing to listen to him.
“There was nothing to begin with, it was just sex. People have sex all the time. One-night stands that don’t mean anything. That’s all it was. It’s not like we were dating, but it would have been nice to know that you had someone else waiting for you. It would have been nice to know about little miss sparkle Barbie. I knew you had someone. You only came to my shop to get her flowers. How stupid am I to think you would leave her for me? How stupid am I?” She turned and marched for the door. “Go to hell!” She flipped him off again.
“You’re not stupid. Sarai!” He ran after her. “And I meant everything I said. I never meant to hurt you, I haven’t. It was--”
“Leave me alone! You’re an asshole, Alistair. A fiend. No wonder you like the European dragon. You’re a beast, a brute. You’re a coward and a rogue. Just because you’re rich doesn’t give you’re the right to mess with people’s feelings, to use people for your enjoyment.”
“I never used you! I love you.”
“Ha!” She laughed. “Ha! You love me? You don’t even know me. You just want to have more sex; you think I’m going to swoon at those words and fall for you all over again. Well, I’m not going to!” She went to march again and then twirled around again. “I was a virgin! I gave myself to you! I had been saving myself for someone special, not for someone who would make me feel cheap. I’m going home to take a shower to scrub away every inch of my body that you touched, until I can’t feel your touch anymore. Don’t call me, don’t come to the shop. I’m not coming back here. You can go to hell. Have a good life.”
He tried to grab her, and she dodged his grasp. “Will you listen to me?”
“No!” She marched to her car, but he was faster and stepped between her and the door. “Get out of my way!”
“Not till you listen to me. Phoebe was my fiancée, but she came here tonight to tell me she wanted out of the marriage.”
“You still slept with me while you belonged to another woman.”
“I have more to say.”
Sarai shook her head. “You have nothing I want to hear.”
“You don’t understand, my family is wealthy--”
“Good for you!” She snapped. “Then your bride will be a very lucky girl.”
“Phoebe was my fiancée because our parents demanded that we get married. It was an arranged marriage. I don’t love Phoebe, I didn’t want to marry her, but tradition is important, and bloodlines are important to my family. I was trying to find a way out of it, I just needed more time. Then Phoebe came, and--”
“I don’t want to hear it. It’s all so stupid. It’s all so ridiculous.”
“Yes, yes, it is, and I’m not going to go through with it. I just gotta find a way to break it off. I just need more time. Please, if you love me, give me more time.”
“I don’t love you. I don’t even know you. You’re just the first notch on my belt. There, how does that feel?”
“My family is old fashioned, I told you that. We have traditions that date back—"
“We live in the modern era, Alistair. This isn’t some dark age where royalty was married off, and besides, you’re rich, but that doesn’t make you royalty. This is America, there isn’t royalty here. What kind of fool do you take me for?”
“You’re not a fool, but I am telling the truth. I can prove everything I tell you; you just have to give me a chance. Come with me, I can show you right now.”
“Oh, come on! I’m not going to fall for that shit. Get out of my way.”
“I can explain everything, if you just give me a moment. It all sounds crazy, I know, but draconian shifters_.”
“What the hell are draconian shifters?” She paused for a second to ponder what he meant, but he refused to say more. “I’m too busy to deal with this. Too busy to deal with liars.”
“Sarai!” He reached for her hand, but she pulled away
“Fuck off!” She ran to the other side of the car. She unlocked the door. “Lose my number, I never want to see you again.” She slammed the car door behind her. He turned a look of defeat on his face as she drove out of the parking lot.
By the time she got to the shop, she was sobbing. She ran in and Mickey dropped what she was doing to hug her. “What happened?” She was sobbing so hard, she was incoherent. “Sarai! Talk to me.” Instead, she wiped her eyes, noticed the bouquets on the table, grabbed one and started bashing it against the counter till every petal fell. “What are you doing!”
Sarai didn’t answer as she continued to destroy the bouquet she clutched in her hand. She threw the now bare stems on the floor and went after the next bouquet. Mickey grabbed it from her and marched her away from the counter before she could do any more damage.
“He’s engaged, and I slept with him.”
“You what?”
