“Youdidn’t wantme, Joss,” he says and has the gall to look upset. “You didn’t prioritize me.”
“Oh, do not turn this around on me,” I snap, glaring at him. “And to think I thought of you as the ‘safe bet.’”
“Maybe that was the problem,” he says angrily. “That’s how you treated me. You were never really into me.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“You never even told me you loved me!” he shouts, then lowers his voice.
“That’syour excuse?” I ask, bewildered, and laugh harshly. “Your stupid choices aren’t going to make me question my worth, so you’re trying to gaslight the wrong fucking person.” My eyes narrow. “And I did love you.”
His expression crumples. He may not have made me feel the things that I feel when I'm around … I stop the dangerous thought before it blossoms. My mom always told me butterflies were overrated. She said love manifested in many ways. Sometimes your heart doesn’t gallop when you’re with the person you’re supposed to be with. Comfort, safety, and friendship should override the butterflies that will one day die anyway.
It was how she felt with Titus, and she was genuinely over the moon happy with him. So, maybe I wasn’t butterflies in my stomach in love with Tate, but I did love him, and I had enough respect for him to never have done what he did.
“Josie…” He flinches and looks away.
“Don’t fucking call me that,” I say through clenched teeth.
He never called me that, because he damn well knows only my parents are allowed to.
“I don’t know why I did that.” He exhales. “Look. What I did was wrong, and I’m sor?—”
“Don’t.” I glare at him. “Even if the video hadn’t gone viral, what you did was disrespectful. The least you can do is be a man and own up to it. Even your apology isfor youbecause you wantmeto absolveyou. What did you come here for? Let’s get it over with so you can get out.”
His eyes widen. Of course, he’s surprised. The only time I’ve ever yelled at him was on the phone after I saw the videos. I didn’t let him get a word in, so he apologized over mine. I’d been the perfect partner for him, always catering to him, because that’s what I saw my grandmother and mother do. I’d settled because that’s what they did.
But I’m not them. It took all of this for me to realize it. I wasn’t put on this earth to serve anyone. I love helping people and making them smile, but I can’t live my life walking on eggshells to make that happen. I won’t. And I want the butterflies. Even if they fade over time, I deserve to experience it.
I hold my breath when my eyes shift behind him as the lobby doors open and Damian walks in. He’s engrossed in his phone, but he’s standing in my line of vision, and I know the moment he looks up, he’s going to see us. This is the worst possible time for this kind of interruption. Damian has been looking for a reason to fight Tate for years now, and if he sees him here, I know he’ll try to start something. Tate looks over his shoulder and curses as he straightens again.
“He’ll leave us alone,” I say, and as if the universe hears me,Damian walks to the elevators without ever looking up from his screen.
I’m about to let out a relieved breath when the doors open again and Finn freaking Barlow walks inside.Oh, fuck. My heart does about a million flips. Unlike my stepbrother, he’s not distracted, and as soon as he steps away from the revolving door, he lasers in on me. His expression darkens when he sees who’s sitting across from me. For a split second, I think he’s going to ignore us and follow my brother upstairs, as he should, but instead, he starts walking over.
“I’ll be right back,” I say, scrambling to my feet and practically sprinting over to Finn. I exhale. “Please don’t.”
“Why the fuck is he here?” he asks, his angry gaze on Tate.
“He just wants to talk,” I say.
His eyes flash to mine. “And you’re going to listen?” His gaze drops to the roses in my hands, and his jaw tightens. “He gave you fucking flowers?”
“He works at Titus’ firm. I’m going to have to see him sooner or later, and I’d rather it be here than in public. I’m going to have a civilized conversation and hopefully never speak to him again.”
His angry eyes flash to mine. “He doesn’t deserve a second of your attention.”
“What’s going on over here?” Tate asks, coming up behind me, and Finn’s entire body goes rigid.
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out,” he says. “Why the fuck are you here?”
“Why the fuck areyouhere?” Tate counters.
Finn’s eyes sparkle with mirth. “I live here, asshole.”
I frown, taken aback by that. “Since when?”
“Since yesterday,” Finn says, still looking at Tate. “You need to leave.”
