She didn’t so much as hesitate. And when Emerson stepped in beside her and draped an arm around her shoulders, the sight hit Mathew with a sharp, sick twist.
He was about to tear into his ex when Rose did the honors.
“Are you insane?” she hissed.
Victoria’s eyes widened with mock innocence. “I beg your pardon?”
Rose barked out a disbelieving laugh. “You seriously don’t see anything wrong with what you just said?” She turned her furious gaze on Mathew and poked him hard in the chest. “Fixthis.” Then she stormed after River and Emerson.
22
RIVER
“River, wait!”
She didn’t. She couldn’t.
Instead, she had turned right back around and headed home. River climbed out of the truck the second it stopped and stormed toward her apartment above the garage. Her palms were clammy. Her face burned.
She shouldn’t have been surprised. Penny had admitted Mathew had been married, but she hadn’t offered much else. Victoria could’ve been awful, and Mathew could’ve been put in an impossible position—one he’d been relieved to leave behind. But it was also possible she’d meant more to him than he’d ever let on. Possible he hadn’t said anything because some part of that history still had him mourning her loss.
River climbed the stairs, Emerson’s voice chasing after her, but she couldn’t slow down. Not now. Not when that woman was in town.
Her chest ached with the weight of it.
This was bigger than a simple omission. She’d told herself communication mattered. That she and Mathew would sit down, talk through what Penny had said, and figure out what honesty needed to look like between them.
No, she’d never asked about his past relationships. She hadn’t thought she needed to.
Did that make any of this partly her fault?
Her steps faltered. If she’d asked outright, would he have told her?
She shook off the thought and climbed the last few stairs, fumbling for her key with trembling fingers. She’d never let herself get this deep with anyone before. Maybe that was why every nerve in her body felt like it was on fire.
“River!” Emerson snapped, breathless, when she nearly slammed the door in his face. He caught it before it shut, then stepped inside after her and closed it behind him. “Talk to me.”
She shot him a look. “Oh, so now you want to talk.”
Rubbing her fingers at her temples, she tried to get Victoria’s face out of her head. She was beautiful. Polished. Not a hair out of place. But the worst part was how normal she looked.
To survive the shock of Penny’s accidental confession, River had built a version of Mathew’s ex in her mind—sharp-edged, cruel, impossible to compete with. Someone easy to blame. Someone easier to hate.
It would have been easier to forgive if Mathew had been the clear victim.
She couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Victoria standing in front of her had looked nothing like a villain.
She was everything River wasn’t. Poised. Polished.
And, if she was being honest, painfully easy to like on first impression.
Hands wrapped around her upper arms, Emerson gave her a small shake. “Hey. Listen to me. You cannot let this send you into a spiral. I’m sure there’s an explanation.”
“Did you know?” she demanded.
Emerson frowned. “Know what?”
