Two years ago, his words would have eviscerated me. I remembered, to my mortification, practically begging for his approval. Now, I felt nothing at all for him. His words meant nothing because he didn’t get to define what my success looked like. I returned his body scan and smirked. “Okay, you’ve seen it. Now leave.”
He couldn’t hide his surprise this time. His voice was clipped. “I see spending time with that low-life thug has affected your manners. Your mother would be so embarrassed.”
I snorted a laugh. “Evan was right about you all along. I just didn’t see it until it was too late.” I looked him straight in the eye. “You’re an elitist asshole who cares only about yourself and your image. You don’t give a damn about me, that’s for sure.”
Pierce’s façade cracked a little more. “You always were a whiny little bitch. You told Wallace McKeon that I almost destroyed your career. That little twink of his spread it all around our circle. People aretalkingabout me like I’m some kind of monster.”
I rolled my eyes so hard I was surprised they didn’t get stuck. “And you’re callingmea whiny bitch?” I scoffed. “You can’t even take responsibility for your own actions.”
I stepped closer to him. “Youwere driving the car too fast in the snow, not me.Youwouldn’t slow down, even when I asked you. So cry me a river, Pierce.”
The look of shock on Pierce’s face was pure gold. My hands shook from the adrenaline rush. “Now get out,” I said through gritted teeth. “And if you contact me again, I will sue you for harassment. I’m sure you remember my lawyer, Raphael Alvarez? You know, the one who caught you in a lie at the deposition?”
The mask fell all the way, and Pierce took a furious step toward me. “You little…”
“Take one more step, Mr. Ingram, and you and I will have a problem.”
Sean came to my side and put his arm around my waist. He kissed my temple and murmured, “You okay?”
I nodded, feeling a little shaky. Pierce had never hit me while we were together, but the look of pure rage on his face when he’d started for me rattled me.
“It looks like you’ve got your thug in a dirty T-shirt,” Pierce sneered. “Seriously, Jeremy, how desperate are you?”
Sean just stared at my ex. “Is that the best you’ve got? Cuz I’ve been called worse by far better people than you.”
Pierce’s jaw dropped in outrage. Before he could retort, Sean shook his head. “Nah, we’re done talking. Jeremy told you to leave him alone, so that’s what you’re going to do. He’s done with you, and nothing you do is going to change that.”
Sean took a step toward Pierce, and his voice dropped to a low growl. “Now get out of my hotel.”
Pierce took a step back right into the brick wall that was Marco D’Angelo. He’d stepped into the room just as Sean advanced on Pierce. He put a hand on Pierce’s shoulder and asked, “Is there a problem, Mr. O’Neil?”
“Not at all,” Sean said with a smirk. “Mr. Ingram was just leaving. Maybe you should make sure he gets to his car safely.”
“You got it,” Marco replied. His hand moved from Pierce’s shoulder to his elbow, and he gestured toward the dining room door. “Mr. Ingram.”
Pierce yanked his arm out of Marco’s grasp and stormed toward the exit. Marco turned his head and winked at us before following the other man out.
I let out a shaky breath and leaned more heavily against Sean. “That was a timely entrance.”
He pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me. “Michael called me just as I got off the Parkway. He was watching our security monitors, checking to make sure everything was working for the wedding, when he saw Pierce walk in.” Sean cleared his throat. “I might have broken a few laws getting here.”
I turned my face into his neck. “Thank you.” I distantly noted that I was trembling, but Sean didn’t say anything. He just held me tighter. “I was surprised to see Marco here. Did Michael call him too?”
“I asked Michael to call him as backup in case I got stuck in traffic or something. He’s in the area because he’s bringing some people from his motorcycle club to keep the protesters in line tomorrow.”
I leaned back to look at him. “I didn’t know Marco was in a motorcycle club. How did I not know this?”
Sean shrugged. “Tony said he doesn’t talk much about it. It’s a group of veterans who serve the community and raise money for veterans’ organizations. A lot of them are in the LGBTQ+ community, so they have a special interest in this protest.”
“Wow,” I said, “That’s really great. It seems like this protest is going to do the exact opposite of what the protesters want.”
“That’s my hope.” Sean kissed me softly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I let out a long breath and wrapped my arms around his waist. I wanted to burrow inside him so I would always feel safe. “I am now. I have no idea what Pierce hoped to accomplish by coming here.”
Sean lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “Maybe he thought you’d go running back to him the second you saw him again.”
I shuddered in disgust. “Then he’s delusional. I can’t even stand being in the same room with him, never mind letting him touch me.”
