He chuckled. “One of these lawyers would do anything for you.”
I sighed, aggravated now… as Nathan intended. “That was a long time ago.”
“Some things change, some don’t. You’ll see.”
Nathan didn’t need to remind me. Nearly vaulting off the treadmill after seeing his stupidly handsome face in the mirror had made that crystal clear.
“If it isn’t my favorite ex-girlfriend.”
I turned at the sound of Derek’s voice—not loud or obnoxious, but strong. Confident. Soothing. His voice had grown to match him.
“It’s good to see you, B.”
6
NATHAN
Now
I wanted to punchthe cocky, self-indulgent smile off his face.
His favorite ex-girlfriend? Who even says shit like that?
Brenna clearly didn’t share my opinion in the slightest and flashed Derek a genuine smile. A smile she’d not given me, even though I held the same title as Derek. A few steps, and they were in each other’s arms. I hung back, arms crossed, watching our past play out in the present.
For some fucking reason, my dad had chosen Derek as his lawyer. He claimed it was proximity and familiarity. It was badform to trash the dead… but goddamn, I was furious with him for putting me in the position of seeing Brenna and Derek together.
I thought I’d prepared myself.
I was wrong.
“It’s great to see you,” Brenna said as they separated.
The words stung like a paper cut. I wondered how many more I’d endure on this trip. I took a deep breath, reminding myself I only needed to survive this meeting. Thirty minutes. Then I could get back to my life. Leave Brenna to her fiancée. Or to Derek. It didn’t matter.
She continued beaming at him. “You look so different.”
“Growing up will do that,” I muttered under my breath.
To me, Derek hadn’t changed. Light black skin, black hair buzzed close to his head. He’d grown a couple of inches and probably could hold his own in a fight now, but otherwise, Derek Ellis was the same fucking guy. He looked at Brenna like she’d lit up the sky, like he would do anything she asked.
He glanced at me, finally acknowledging that someone besides Brenna existed. Hatred simmered in his eyes. “And yet, you’re still an insufferable ass.”
“It’s been a shitty few months.” I used the dead dad card in the most shameful way I could. Call it penance for how Gordon Sharpe messed up our lives.
Derek’s body went ramrod straight. “That was insensitive of me. I’m sorry for your loss, Nathan.”
He’d always been the better man—smarter than me, more patient, kind. I’d wanted that for Brenna. Still did. She deserved to be treated well, but it would have been easier if the guy she dated right after me hadn’t been so fuckinggood, more deserving of her than me.
“Should we go in?” Brenna asked Derek, continuing to ignore me.
He led us down the hall, passing several offices before entering a corner conference room. Derek’s paralegal, Tiffany, already sat at the table with a stack of papers in front of her. She smiled shyly before telling me it was great to meet me and her dad was a big fan. I doubted her dad was a “big fan” of a Triple-A player on an out-of-state team, but I let myself pretend. At least someone in this room liked me.
“Based on what I know of your… history,” Derek started, shuffling papers in front of him, “the terms Mr. Sharpe laid out might not be easy for either of you to hear.”
I sighed dramatically. “Enough preamble. Just spit it out, Ellis.”
“Really,Nathan?” Brenna snapped.
