A light touch skimmed my back.
“I ordered you a gin and tonic,” I said.
“Not my favorite, but I’ll take it.”
My spine went rigid. That voice didn’t belong to Mia.
I turned and came face-to-face with Harper.
Son of a bitch.
“Romolo,” she said with a tight smile. “What an unpleasant surprise.”
What were the chances we’d run into each other here? Then it hit me. We met here once when I was sleeping with her.
I was so agitated last night that I’d forgotten this very inconvenient fact when I picked the meeting spot.
”Harper,” I acknowledged, my nape prickling. If she saw Mia, she might recognize her from TV.
That couldn’t happen.
“This is a nice place. Quiet.” Bitterness dripped from her words. “I come back here from time to time.”
“Maybe you should come back tomorrow instead.” My voice dropped to the kind of tone that usually made people scurry.
But it didn’t faze Harper. She ignored the suggestion, her gaze flicking to the cocktail the bartender had just set on the counter.
“Who are you waiting for?”
I stood up. If she wouldn’t leave, then I would. Mia couldn’t walk in on this. “I’ve got somewhere else to be.”
Her hand shot out, and her fingers clamped around my wrist. “I took your awful advice and left him. Turns out the prenup was airtight. I walked away with nothing.”
My jaw clenched. “Not my fucking problem.”
She set her purse on the counter and leaned in. “You ruined my fucking life.”
I scanned her over, paying attention to the details. Gaunt frame. Dull hair. Dark bags under her eyes. She looked sharper and harder than the last time I saw her back in Messero’s bedroom.
I hadn’t felt a thing then, not even pity. I used to be good at numbing my emotions. But now, a twinge of regret appeared at the back of my head. “I didn’t do anything you didn’t want me to.”
“You saw an unhappy woman and took advantage.”
I picked up my drink and took a long pull, but it didn’t help. Acid slid down my throat. I didn’t believe in signs or messages from the fucking universe.
But this?
This felt like one.
This is who you are. This is what you do. You really think telling Mia you love her will be enough for her to stick by your side when she finds out?
Harper’s teeth glinted in the low light. “If you hadn’t sunk your claws in me, I might have stayed with him. Instead, you fucked me up, and by the time I came to my senses, it was too late.” She sighed heavily, like someone mourning a tragedy. “I wish I’d never met you.”
A pit opened in my stomach.
Not the first time I’d heard those words.
In my head, their voices synchronized, echoing over each other, growing louder.
