“Come back to California with me,” he interrupts. “I can manage this. The publicity, the sales, the brand. You need someone who knows how to handle this kind of attention.”
“You’re insane if you think I’m going anywhere with you.”
“Why? Because of him?” Owen’s gaze flicks to me. There’s contempt there now. “Because the town blacksmith is playing hero? You think he actually cares about you? He just wants to get in your pants, Sadie. And once he does, he’ll realize what I already know.”
“Careful,” I warn. “Be very careful about the next words out of your mouth,pendejo.”
“What? That she’s not worth the trouble?” Owen laughs. “Look at her, Mateo. Really look. She’s a mess. Those curves you’re probably desperate to touch? Trust me, they’re not worth it. She writes smut for a living because she’s incapable of fulfilling a man’s fantasies in real life, her family is ashamed of her, and she can’t even run a bookshop without the whole town turning on her. Now she’s standing there in your clothes like she belongs there, like anyone would actually want to keep her. What exactly do you think you’re getting here?”
Sadie flinches. A tiny recoil that says his words landed exactly where he intended.
Fuck this.
“Get the fuck out of here,” I say. “Now.”
“I’m trying to help her.”
“You’re trying to manipulate her.” I take a step forward. “And if you think for one second I’m going to stand here and let you tear her down.”
“She’s already torn down,” Owen snaps. “I spent years trying to build her up, trying to make her into something better, and she threw it away. For what? To write porn? To run a failing business in a town that hates her? To desperately crawl into the arms of an ex’s friend knowing he pities her?”
“We’re not fuckin’ friends, man.”
“Owen, stop—“ Sadie starts.
“No. You need to hear this.” He’s getting agitated now, the calm mask slipping. “You think people are going to support you? Buy books from your store? You wrote porn about their town, Sadie. Who’s going to want to walk through those doors once they see what you really are? You’re sitting on a goldmine, and you’re too stupid to see it. Number one on Amazon, Sadie. Do you know what that’s worth? And you’re letting these people—Mateo, Macy, Isabel—leech off your success while you play grateful victim. You need someone who knows how to manage this. How to manage you. You’re not cut out for this life. You’re not strong enough. You need someone who can protect you from yourself, someone who—“
“Someone who what?” Sadie’s voice is sharp. “Someone who makes me feel small? Someone who criticizes everything I do? Someone who forces me to stay when I try to leave?”
“I was trying to make you listen—“
“You were trying to control me. You spent years doing it, and I’m done.” She steps forward, moving beside me now instead of behind. “I don’t need your protection. I don’t need your help. And I don’t need you.”
Owen’s face darkens. “You’re making a mistake.”
“The only mistake I made was staying with you as long as I did.”
“Really?” His laugh is bitter. “You think you’re better off with him? Look at yourself, Sadie. You’re not exactly a prize. That self-righteous attitude about your writing? Those extra pounds you can’t ever seem to lose—“
He takes a step toward her.
My fist connects with his jaw before I can consider the consequences. It doesn’t matter. The satisfying crack of impact. The way his head snaps back. The shock on his face as he stumbles backward.
It’s all worth it.
He hits the ground hard, blood already blooming from his split lip.
“Mateo!” Sadie’s hand is on my arm.
I’m breathing hard, my knuckles already screaming, but I don’t care. I’d do it again.
Owen pushes himself up to a sitting position, touching his mouth. His fingers come away bloody. “You just assaulted me.”
“You stepped toward her,” I say. My voice is deadly calm. “After she told you to leave. After you spent five minutes tearing her down. You stepped toward her.”
“I’m pressing charges.”
“Go ahead.” I flex my hand. “I’ll tell them how you’ve been harassing her, how you forced your way into her apartment. How you destroyed her bookshop and home.”
