“You should put some ice on it.”
His non-answer is a cold bucket of ice on my scorching skin and the cherry on top of my humiliation just found us and is clearing his throat. Loudly.
“Can I help you?” Carter swivels his head toward Jared, keeping me out of sight.
“I want to speak to my girl, dick. Move.”
“You’ve found your courage now that you’re in public.” Carter lowers his hand, and it lands on my waist, my lower belly catching fire when he presses his thumb on my hipbone to get my attention. “What do you want to do?” he asks quietly so only I can hear him.
My heart is still beating furiously, but I take a deep breath to settle my fears. I can’t run away whenever I bump into Jared. This town is small. I can lean on Carter’s steady presence while I face my ex. He’s a gentleman and won’t let anything happen to me.
The shape of his palm still burns through my clothes when I sidestep Carter with more confidence than I actually feel.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” I level Jared with a glare. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. He thrives on that shit. “And it’sex-girlfriend.”
“It was a joke for the cameras. Don’t be such a bore.” Jared smirks and comes in for a hug. A low noise somewhere behind makes him lower his hands and shove them in his pockets awkwardly.
Too bad for him, Amy and Jenna spilled the clams.
“The joke on me, you mean. The running joke between you and Caroline over the past two years.” My voice is shaky, no matter how hard I hold onto my mask.
Jared’s eyes widen, the wheels in his head turning.
“You’re overreacting, as usual,” he says lazily, in that chiding tone he used to guilt trip me with.
“The gaslighting won’t work this time.”
He shuffles from one foot to the other, dragging a hand over his short hair. He’s not used to me standing my ground. I usually fold so easily, and I’m afraid I won’t be strong enough to resist if I stay here a second longer.
“Come on baby, how much longer you gonna give me the cold shoulder? It’s been three weeks. I miss you.”
A burst of unexpected anger straightens my spine. I get a violent urge to grab the baguette off the shelf and smack him with it and I somehow restrain myself.
“You cheated! There’s no going back!”
“Are you going to give up after all these years? I love you. Let’s get married. Don’t let a mistake ruin what we have.” Those blue eyes brim with sincerity. He’s scared. They remind me of the boy I fell in love with. “Baby, you know I’m the best for you. Trust fund bro here won’t even remember your name after you spread your—”
Carter’s punch comes down in a flash, landing with a sickening crunch. I can’t move, staring at Jared’s bloody nose while he rolls on the supermarket floor.
“I warned you.” The dangerous vibration in Carter’s voice surprises me more than the punch.
He doesn’t say anything more, grabs my hand and storms out. The pounding in my chest is all-consuming and it’s a good thing he’s dragging me through the parking lot because my knees are shaking.
I’m panting by the time we reach his Maserati and I’m unsteady on my feet.
“The food—” I don’t know why but it’s the first thing to come out of my mouth.
“It’s take-out night,” he says gruffly and opens the passenger door.
The silent ride back gives me time to pull myself together. Violence has always been a part of my life growing up, but tonight it was too much at once.
Carter’s hiss when I put the ice bag over his knuckles makes me cringe. “Why did you do it? What if he reports you to the police?”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me,” he scoffs with the self-assurance of someone who has an expensive lawyer on retainer. “The way he talked about you was unacceptable.”
It’s not like I haven’t been called worse. “They’re just words.”
His reply is stern. “That you shouldn’t accept from anyone.”
