“He was simply telling the truth.”
“Kazimir Lindström didn’t have anything more to offer, so my mom moved on.”
“By cheating on her husband? Real classy.”
“What do you hope to get out of Kaz? I doubt his restaurants are the types of businesses that would require your corporate floral services.”
He’s wrong.
Number 22 Grill is a high-end restaurant, complete with white tablecloths and spectacular floral arrangements. Kaz would’ve been the perfect client for my former life.
Chett snaps his fingers. “Wait a minute. Didn’t you move onto another business?” He squints. “You partnered with a couple. Isn’t the wife from small townBumfuck,California?” He snorts.
Bummerville, California, you moron.“Why don’t you go bother your date?”
He gives me a onceover. “She doesn’t look nearly as good as you.”
“I’m sure your mother approves of her, so that trumps everything.”
“That’s the problem with the women my mother wants me to date. They’re not as interesting as you. You’re different.”
My eyebrows lift, hanging out somewhere near my hairline.
“Being with you was like a breath of fresh air because you don’t eat, breathe, and live hockey.” He runs a hand through his dark blond hair. “When I’m off the ice, I’d like to talk about something other than the game.”
Boo-hoo-hoo.“Your mother made her position clear.”
He takes a step closer.
I take one back.
“I didn’t agree with my mother’s decision?—”
“The fact this is the first time I’ve seen you in a year, suggests otherwise. You never texted or called as a follow up after your mom slammed her gavel on the desk, putting an end to our short-lived relationship.”
He rolls his eyes.
That’s rich.
He never gave a fuck about me and I’m certain he still doesn’t.
I don’t know what kind of stupid macho game he’s playing, but I’ve had enough. “I saw you arrive at this event,” I say. “And nothing about your demeanor––including the stunning redhead hanging from your arm––would indicate you were still heartbroken over me.”
“Hear me out, Harley?—”
I lift a hand. “If your mother thought we weren’t a match made in heaven, you should’ve had the balls to look me in the face and tell me it was over. But that’s not what you did. You took the coward’s way out by hiding behind your mommy’s skirt. What kind of man are you?”
His nostrils flare. “So, you’re going to punish mom and me by dating the man she was married to?”
This man is so conceited, he thinks everything is about him. “It’s called divorce, Chett. Once the ink dries, it’s fair game. Kaz is allowed to move on as much as your mother has.”
He grabs my arm.
I gasp. “Let go.” Anger surges through me in a furious rush. “Get your hands off me.”
“Don’t you have any self-respect? I was inside you, and now my ex-stepfather is inside you. It’s practically incest.”
I stare at him, praying God will give me the superpower to burn a hole in between Chett’s eyes. “You moron. You aren’t even related by blood.”
