I let out a breath. “Chett is a lightning rod for trouble, you should know that by now.”
“Seriously, Kaz? How can you go to bat for a woman like that?”
“What do you know about her? In the Hamptons, you kept glaring at her. You didn’t talk to her once.”
“I thought you had higher standards than that.”
“Since I married you, clearly, I don’t.”
“I may not be perfect?—”
“Statement of the century.”
She huffs, bringing her hands to her hips. “I don’t expect you to understand, but what I did, I did for my son.”
“Cheating on me in my own house was for the good of your son?” I shake my head. “You take helicopter parenting to a whole other level, Devlyn.”
“I put my son first. Always. That’s why I fought so hard during the divorce. You robbed Chett of a chance to become the NHL’s first billionaire active hockey player. He would’ve made history. And he would’ve made the list of billionaires under twenty-five.”
She’s shallower than a rum barrel.
Indignation flares in my chest. “What about him making history because of the way he plays? Or because of the number of Stanley Cups to his name? As for the list of billionaires under twenty-five, that’s reserved for entrepreneurs. Not lottery winners.”Dumbass.“You need to stop spoon feeding your adult son, Devlyn. We all know the story. You had him as a teenage mom and formed a strong bond. We get it.”
“What the hell is wrong with you today? Did you put battery acid instead of milk in your coffee?”
I rub a hand over my tired face. “Breathing the same air as you makes me nauseous. That’s what’s wrong with me.”
She glowers at me, her purple-pink painted lips curling in a snarl.
What did I ever see in this woman?
“Well, despite your vitriol, I wanted to give you a word of advice,” she says.
“Life lessons from a narcissist and a cheater?” I cross my arms. “This I have to hear.”
“I didn’t bother to investigate your new girlfriend when she was bouncing off my son’s balls?—”
“What you just said is disturbing on so many levels.”
She flattens her lips. “You’ve always been jealous of the close bond I have with Chett.”
I press my thumb and forefinger into my eye sockets. “Is the only point to your existence to irritate me? Cut to the chase, or I walk.”
She harrumphs. “Harley and Chett’s relationship was short-lived, so I didn’t bother wasting money on investigating her like I do all the women he’s been with. I always like to have dirt on them, in case I need to use it to protect my son’s reputation.”
I stick my hands in my pockets. “I fail to see how any of this is my concern.”
“What do you know about Harley? How do you know she isn’t trying to use you?”
Rich, coming from you.“Like you were trying to use me for the advancement of your son’s career?”
“At least it would’ve been for a good cause. My son is a rising star. Harley is nothing. She’s not even connected to a hockey family.”
You’re as transparent as polyethylene food wrap.
“And now she’s become your charity case.” She tsks. “That video on the internet of you skating with her is ridiculous.”
I arch a brow. “Forty million views and counting, says otherwise.”
