With a nod, Mom sets off to join an ever-growing line at the counter.
Great, even more alone time with Maria.
“So, how was Thailand?” I ask, knowing she recently returned from a vacation out there with a couple of friends. It was splashed across her social media for days on end.
Do I particularly care about her vacation to Bangkok? No. But I’ll take any conversation if it avoids the previous subject.
As she stares straight down at her half-eaten croissant, I watch lines crease into Maria’s forehead, full lips coated in peach gloss pulling into a frown.
“You can deny it all you want, Billie.” Her expression is menacing as she looks at me. “But I know that was you getting into my ex-husband’s car the other day. I was walking past the entrance to his parking lot on the way to visit him when I caught sight of you. And before you ask.” She pins me with a glare. “I was visiting him because I wanted to clear the air after the divorce. Emmett still means a lot to me.”
I’m tempted to call her bluff. Maria is smart enough to tryand accuse someone of something she didn’t witness in the hopes that they’ll unwittingly admit to their crimes. And while it’s really bad luck that she was passing by at that precise moment, it’s quite possible that she did see me climbing into Emmett’s car the other day, the gates to the parking lot were open and ready for us to leave.
I work to keep my body language casual and open, resisting the urge to fidget with my hands.
“I’ll take your silence as confirmation,” she presses, sitting back in her chair, eyes never leaving mine.
I quickly glance over at Mom, who hasn’t moved forward in the line.
Shit.
“Perhaps this is a conversation you should be having with your former husband,” I respond, choosing my words carefully so I don’t accidentally confirm anything. “Although, given that you are divorced, I don’t really see how Emmett’s private life concerns you anymore.”
She bolts up, pushing away her plate before pointing a red-manicured finger straight at me. “Don’t get smart with me, Billie. You know as well as I do that if you’re involved with my ex-husband, then it haseverythingto do with me.” She scoffs, and I know what’s coming before she’s even opened her mouth. “You’ve always had a thing for Emmett, and you couldn’t wait to get your claws into him the second you returned from Austin.” She drops her disgusted gaze down my body. “If you even waited until we separated, that is.”
I’ve never been an angry person, always choosing to avoid confrontation above my own needs. But as my blood boils and burning rage shows no sign of calming, I reach into Blake’s stroller and pull my baby girl into my arms. In the absence of Emmett, she’s the only one who can prevent me from going nuclear on this woman’s ass.
Who the fuck does she think she is? And why do middle-agedpeople with fancy jobs and money think that they’ve got me all figured out?
Fuck them.
“That isn’t true, Maria,” is all I say. Truthfully, it’s all I can manage while remaining respectful, even if she doesn’t show an ounce of it to me.
Leaning forward, she plants her elbows on the table, voice deep when she asks, “Have you been screwing my ex-husband?”
Courage I didn’t know I possessed pins my eyes on hers. I’m determined not to lie, even if she has zero right to know the truth.
“This conversation is ridiculous.”
She just grins, and it isn’t a friendly one. “Let me guess,” she muses. “You think he’s serious about you.”
Well, he told me he’s in love with me, so, yeah, I do.
I say nothing, attention diverted to my daughter.
“You’re a rebound, Billie. We were married for way too long and were much too in love to simply click our fingers”—she mimics the action with her hand, a loud snap turning a few heads—“and fall in love with someone else.”
“You’re making a fool of yourself, Maria,” I warn.
That doesn’t deter her. “He’s thirty-five and worried about being left on the shelf. I know he is because I’ve felt the same way at times. Along comes a younger woman who shows even a modicum of interest, and, poof … the famous NHL star is between her parted thighs in no time.”
When her eyes focus on Blake, I know that even the slightest mention of my daughter will change the course of this conversation entirely. There’s no chance that I’ll be able to hold my temper.
“Let’s be really real here, Billie.”
I close my eyes and wait for her to overstep.
“Emmett didn’t want children when he was married to me. I doubt very much that he’d want to take on another man’s baby. As cute as Blake is, that’s not the kind of shit my husband would sign up for.”
