Page 53 of Miss Belief

I loathed his smugness.

“Fuck off.” I turned to go, not intending to say more than the two words to him. The simple sound of his voice triggered the feeling of betrayal all over again. I took one step before he spoke.

“Wait.”

I didn’t stop until his next word.

“Please.”

I halted, but I didn’t bother to turn around. “What do you want?”

His heavy sigh permeated the air. “To see you happy. Which begs the question of how well you know your new girlfriend.”

I turned around, anger lacing every word. “You stay the hell out of my business and leave Teagan alone. You don’t know the first thing about her.”

“I know Mother can’t stand her, the bride stares daggers at her, your ex is green with jealousy, and she basically told me to fuck off, so clearly Teagan has more going for her than anyone else you’ve dated.”

My eyes narrowed at the unexpected compliment. “Exactly. So leave her alone.”

“What did the ex want?”

“To get back together. To tell me how you set her up. It isn’t happening.” I’m not sure why I chose to share the words with him, but there was no mistaking the way his shoulders relaxed.

“Glad to hear it. You speak with Aiden lately? Have you heard how he’s doing in Iraq?”

Since Aiden was a childhood friend of both of ours, it seemed petty to withhold information about him. “He should be back in the States this weekend.”

“And the girl? What was her name—Chloe?”

I wasn’t shocked to hear he knew about Aiden’s girl. “He’s moving to LA to be with her. It’s a secret, though, so don’t go and ruin anything.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I need to go.”

He gave me a curt nod. “You look good, brother. Happier than I expected to see you.”

My molars ground together. “Must be the tropical air.”

He shrugged. “Or the redhead. Good night.”