James’s chest tightened violently.
His knuckles whitened around the steering wheel as his gaze flicked from Mia… to Gavin… then back to that smile on her face.
Pain tore through him, sharp and suffocating.
“She looks beautiful when she smiles like this…” he whispered silently, unable to look away.
Suddenly, he snatched his phone from the passenger seat. His fingers trembled slightly as he dialed Gavin’s number, his eyes never leaving them—not for a second.
Gavin glanced at his vibrating phone, brows lifting in mild surprise. He took a few steps away from Mia—just enough to answer—yet stayed close to the car. He lifted the phone to his ear.
Before he could speak, James’s voice exploded through the line.
“You took Mia away?!”
Gavin leaned his shoulder against the car, answering in an infuriatingly calm, careless tone. “Yeah, I did. She wasn’t comfortable at the bar. Your guards were stopping her without her consent, so I helped her leave.”
He paused, glancing at the drifting snow. “She wanted to see the snow. So I brought her here.”
A faint smirk crept onto his lips. “I like snow too. Seems our tastes match. Almost like a match made in heaven.”
James’s jaw locked so hard a muscle jumped beneath his skin. Every word stabbed straight into his chest, feeding the inferno raging inside him.
“Fuck your choices!” he snapped, his voice cracking with rage. “She is my wife. Stay the hell away from her, Gavin.”
“Wife?” Gavin let out a short, humorless laugh. His tone flattened. “Do you really think she was happy being your wife?”
James’s expression faltered.
Memories surged uninvited—every time he had shut her out of his office… out of his room… every cold look, every moment of irritation he had thrown at her.
The ache twisted deeper.
He swallowed it all down—his pride, his guilt—and replied in a low, chilling voice, “What does her happiness have to do with you?”
Without hesitation, Gavin shot back, “I’ll make her happy.”
James’s fingers curled into a fist against his thigh. His teeth ground together. “I know exactly what you’re thinking,” he growled. “Don’t insult me. I know what’s running through your head about her.”
Gavin frowned immediately, irritation flashing across his face. “What are you talking about?” he snapped. “You know I’ve never liked anyone before. I’ve never even had a girlfriend.”
He turned his head toward Mia, watching her stand quietly beneath the falling snow, her attention fixed on the road.
“I fell for her at first sight,” he said quietly.
Then his voice softened—almost coaxing—as he continued, “Since you don’t want her… why don’t you let her have a chance with me?” He added lightly, “Let her go, James. We can still be best friends.”
“Don’t even fucking think about it,” James barked instantly, fury tearing out of him.
“For fuck’s sake, James!” Gavin snapped back. “Are you going to keep being this difficult? You’re not married to Mia anymore. You don’t get to occupy a place that isn’t yours.”
Before James could respond, the line went dead.
Gavin shoved his phone back into his pocket.
Gavin turned back, the irritation draining from his face the instant his eyes landed on Mia. A faint smile curved his lips as he walked toward her again, stopping at her side—close enough that their shoulders nearly brushed. He leaned in slightly as he spoke, his posture relaxed, familiar.
Inside his car, James’s restraint shattered.
