I shake my head, the fury nearly unmanageable now.
“You cannot get away with this bullshit anymore,” I say, my words firm, and a dozen eyes turn to me, but my gaze is locked on the woman in front of me. “You missed Christmas. You missed her birthday. You missed a dozen other opportunities to see your daughter without a moment of hesitation. You do not get to come in and claim her when you decide she can benefityou. When you decide she has some use to you. There are a dozen people here who love that girl to pieces right now, but you are not one of them.”
“I don’t know who you think you are, but—” Kim says, her sweet demeanor melting quickly and turning to venom.
“Madden, take Emma. Bring her home. We’ll be home soon after you guys,” Jesse says, cutting her off. Madden nods, and Jesse steps in my direction, putting an arm around my waist, and Kim’s face tips with a cruel smile. She opens her mouth to speak, but Jesse raises a hand, fire in his words. “Shut up until she’s gone.”
Kim’s jaw goes tight, but she stays silent as Madden walks Emma off, which really says everything I need to know.
If it were me, I would be throwing a fit if someone led Emma off without me, without my even saying goodbye to her, and she’s not even my daughter. In contrast, Kim just stands there, staring Jesse down like she’s ready for a fight.
When Emma’s out of earshot, Jesse speaks. “This is fucking low, even for you.”
That cruel smile spreads, making her pretty face ugly as she shifts her gaze to Jesse’s arm around me.
“I see you’re back to playing house,” she says, eyes flicking to me and ignoring his accusation. “You finally found some poor, stupid girl to slot into your perfect family, huh?”
Jesse goes still beside me, and I try my best not to look confused.
“Does she keep the house clean for you? Does she make you a hot meal every night and watch the kid while you’re off doing God knows what?”
The blood drains from my face with her words, not because they hit too true, but because of the way Jesse’s hand tightens on my waist. A dozen tiny conversations make more sense now, and each of them makes me want to hit the woman before me.
“Have you drained all of the life out of her yet? Crushed all of the dreams she had so you could force her to be your perfect little Stepford wife.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” I ask, that fury coming back tenfold. I’ve never hated someone with such vehemence as I do this woman. First, she put that sad look on Emma’s face, and now she’s making Jesse look like he saw a ghost.
Her attention turns to me, that malicious sneer making my stomach churn. Her head tips, faux kindness rolling off her. “You seem sweet, but if I were you, I’d run, or else all those hopes and dreams you have for yourself will disappear before you know it.” She gives me a once-over, eyes pausing for a moment on Jesse’s hand at my waist. “Just a fair warning,” she says with a single, carefree lift of her shoulder.
I open my mouth to speak, but I’m interrupted before I can.
“You said you’re a singer?” a voice behind me says. I don’t turn to look, but I don’t have to as Leo steps forward, eyes locked on Kim. He’s all business, his light brown hair perfectly coiffed and combed back, and a white button-down tucked into slacks despite the casual get-together. Most importantly, the way he looks down his nose at Kim gives the vibe as if he thinks she’s no better than the scum beneath his shoe.
“I am,” Kim says, ignoring the look. “Kim Dunne. I would love to get a moment of your time. I have a demo—” She moves to dig through her bag, but Leo stops her.
“Don’t bother. I am not a fan of people who manipulate and use their children for personal gain,” he says. From the look on his face, I can tell he means it to his core, that it’s something he’s seen before and absolutely loathes. “If I were you, I would find a new hobby.”
“Excuse me?”
“My reach is broad. Jesse is a friend of Adam’s, and he’s Wren’s brother. From what I’ve seen, you are neither a friend toeither of them nor a good person. After the scene I just saw and the few details I know, I feel confident in saying that by the end of the week, I will make it known to all of my contacts that you are a talent I will never touch, nor will any of my many, many clients and colleagues.”
Her face goes ghostly white, and I have to admit, a bit of a rush runs through me.
She deserves nothing but the absolute worst.
“You didn’t even hear my side?—“
“I’m very much uninterested in hearing another word from your mouth, much less an entire fabricated tale.” Leo speaks with such precision, with such malice in his words, that Kim doesn’t know how to respond, her mouth opening and closing a handful of times before she speaks.
“You know what? Fuck all of you. I should have known better than to come back to this shithole of a town. Only fucking has-beens would play here, anyway.”
“Is she talking about us?” Reed asks in a stage whisper.
“I think she is,” Wes replies.
“That’s such a bummer for you guys,” Harper, Wes’ wife, says, and despite myself—despite the shit that this afternoon has been—I find myself starting to smile, but it melts when Kim’s ire turns to me.
“When he drains you dry, feel free to reach out. We can compare war stories,” she says to me before turning on her heel and walking off into the crowd.
