Page 46 of Stud

Caroline’s smooth ponytail and suit were as polished as every surface in the place. She sharpened her scowl. “Save the bullshit for someone who cares.”

With that, she marched off, heels clicking, anger billowing. And my temper flared. No. Not flared. It erupted. All my serenity vanished, all positivity obliterated by white-hot fury. The emotion was potent. Raw. Tessa was the one who’d chosen work over me. She was the one who’d forgotten our anniversary and cancelled dates. Yet here I was, painted the villain.

I clawed at my tie, my breath coming hard and fast. Why would she ruin me like this? How could my close friends believe her? It all hurt so damn much.

Rage pumping through my veins, I plowed ahead and smacked shoulders with some asshole in a suit. I ignored Tessa’s secretary as she called for me to stop. I barged into the office I’d visited hundreds of times prior, my vision darkening at the edges. Gone was my inner calm. Annihilated were all happy memories of our time before.

All that remained was wrath.

Tessa glanced up from her desk. Her blond hair was shorter, her blunt bangs framing a symphony of expressions flitting across her face—surprise, fortitude, and something that resembled…hope. Which was odd. Probably another tactic. Manipulation Queen. She went to open her red lips, but I was faster. Or my temper was.

I didn’t speak nicely, couldn’t find my voice of reason. I curled my hands into fists and shouted, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Me?” She reared back as though I’d slapped her. “You have some nerve, storming in here and hurling insults.”

“Nerve. Honest to God, you could teach a course in nerve. And I don’t get it. After years of neglecting our relationship, why the hell are you investing so much energy in it now?”

She leaned into her chair slowly and considered me. “I wasn’t the only one in our house. It takes two to tango. Don’t pretend like you hadn’t checked out of our marriage years ago.”

Always back to her same insanity. “I didn’t cheat on you.”

She steepled her fingers, exuding outward calm, but she couldn’t hide the telltale blotches at her neckline. “That’s not what I said, but, as usual, you hear what you want to hear. It’s amazing, though. After all this time, you’re still clinging to your lies.”

“Jesus, Tessa. We’re done. Finished. And I never once betrayed you. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can end this mess. I’ve met someone, am finally finding some happiness. It would do you some good to stop obsessing over me and do the same. Move on, for God’s sake.”

A calculated glimmer lit behind her darkening glare, the same sharkish feature she displayed when she had an ace up her sleeve in a big case. Before she’d execute the killer blow.

“I will be moving on. From my lawyer. She suggested I accept our recent house offer, a ludicrously low amount. I was debating it, but after this lovely conversation, I’m having second thoughts. I’m wondering if my counsel has my best interests at heart. I think I’ll fire her.” A grin slithered across her face.

I nearly punched a wall. Finding a new lawyer and getting him or her up to speed meant things would be delayed for another eternity. More games. More tactics. Just to infuriate me.

Mission accomplished.

My flight home was a blur. My gums and teeth ached from clenching my jaw. My shirt and jeans itched at my skin. A sharp headache pierced the base of my skull until my temples felt ready to rupture. Goddamn Tessa. And fuck me for letting her scheming screw with my head.

All I’d done the past hours was replay our argument, and my stupidity in giving her the upper hand. The urge to contact Summer Daniels had also resurfaced.

Since thinking about her at the bar with Jimmy, she’d been on my mind, but it would have been selfish. When we’d met on the D.C. Habitat build, we’d both hit low points in our marriages, confiding in each other as we’d weathered our respective storms. Talking with someone going through similar turmoil had given me clarity, but I’d overstepped my bounds and had broken her trust back then. It was no surprise she’d shut me out, but it was because of her I’d found the courage to end my marriage. I needed to thank her for that one day.

By the time I landed and reached my truck, I could barely see straight. I moved by rote: Key. Ignition. Gas. Brake. It wasn’t until I was nearing the Habitat build that I realized my headlights had been pointed there. I’d planned to go home, wash the fiasco and disappointment from my skin, but there was something I needed more.

I parked opposite the site and turned off my truck. I sat. The thrum of the engine subsided, leaving a heavy stillness in its wake. I dragged a hand down my face.

Then I saw her.

Workers had begun heading home. Ainsley stood with her pink tool belt on and pink Converse, grinning, ponytail hanging out the back of her hardhat as she chatted with a volunteer. She was a vision, all bright smile and cupid lips. She was a breath of fresh air.

She was also my girlfriend.

Such a juvenile word to define our relationship. It didn’t come close to describing how one glimpse of her uncoiled the muscles in my neck and sent my heart beating back to life.

There was something else, too. It was unfamiliar, this intense ache migrating through me. A vise grip stopping my breath and clogging my throat. Not with anger. Not anymore. This was longing and rightness and fear that we were fleeting, too fragile to last.

I shoved open my door, needing to get her in my arms. Ainsley’s attention shot to me. Without looking away, she said something to the volunteer, who then laughed—probably at some dirty joke—and left Ainsley waiting for me.

My girl’s rounded cheeks shone, like she’d devoured a secret stash of Halloween candy. That vise grip on my lungs tightened. Mine. She was mine, and I wouldn’t let Tessa or her lies ruin us the way they’d ruined the other relationships in my life. God, did I need Ainsley in my life.

Instead of giving Nick and the remaining workers a show, I grabbed her hand and hauled her after me toward the nearest townhome.