“I’m still really glad my car broke down.”
His breathy chuckle stirs my hair.“Me too.”
“You won’t be a stranger just because it’s fixed now, right?”
“When the desserts are this sweet, how could I stay away?”he says, but I think we both know it’s not my baked goods that keep him coming back.
Chapter Fifteen
Daisy-Mae
Wrist-deep in flour, I reshape my last ball of sourdough to create a tight skin and set it into a dusted banneton basket before covering it with a kitchen towel.I’m just about to pop it into my refrigerator when my roller door opens and a crash comes from my garage.I grab a kitchen towel to wipe my hands and run out.My husband is in an absolute rage, red faced and manic, throwing boxes around that don’t belong to him.
“What are you doing here?”
He pauses and briefly looks me over, cataloging how much my belly has grown.Then he looks away, as if disgusted.“My name’s on the deed, isn’t it?”
“You don’t live here anymore, Eddie.You haven’t lived here since you knocked me up and left to screw your secretary.”
I dare a glance at the car parked in the drive, and instantly wish I hadn’t.The woman he left me for is sitting in the passenger seat, a permanent scowl on her pretty, young face.God.I forgot how perfectly adolescent she looks.My ex isn’t just an asshole; he’s a total creep.Why did I never see this before?
“I own this house too.Why haven’t you signed the damn papers?”
“When was the last time you paid the mortgage?When was the last time you paid the rates, a bill, or for any of the repairs you’ve been neglecting for years?”
“Why would I when you’ve got those rich fucking Winchesters to foot the bill for you?”Eddie sneers, stepping closer.I don’t step back.I want him to know I’m not intimidated by him.He gets up in my face and lowers his voice to a menacing growl, “You think I don’t know you’ve been fucking West?Or that he’s been getting handy with repairs?I have spies everywhere.”
“He’s been fixing things you won’t fix, because he’s a friend, and one hundred times the man you’ll ever be.”
“I shouldda known he was the one you’d sink your claws into the second my back was turned.You always did have a thing for him in high school.”
I narrow my eyes and glower at him.“Maybe because I knew he was a decent man who would never leave me for a fucking teenager.Just how old is your secretary, Eddie?Are her parents expecting her home in time for curfew?”
His hand comes out faster than I can anticipate and he grabs my shoulder, shoving me back into a stack of boxes.I cry out and lose my balance, falling to the ground, but an old rolled up Persian rug softens the blow.
“Hey!”West shouts and grabs Eddie by the collar.He hauls him outside onto the lawn, where he throws Eddie to the ground and straddles my husband.His fist connects with Eddie’s cheekbone, splitting the reddened flesh like rotted fruit.
