Page 47 of Golden Ruin

My jaw ticks when she turns this around on me. She’s pretending we were in a good place before my decision about Lexi, but we both know the truth.

“Do you have any idea what people are saying about me online?” she asks. “They think I’m pathetic, Sterling. They think I stood by while my fiancé moved his ex in with him. So, yeah, maybe I needed to let people know that I was totally blindsided. Not just some idiot doormat who buried her head in the sand and let this happen.”

“Then stick to talking about our shit,” I snap. “Drag me all you want if you need to sacrifice someone for clout and follows but leave everyone else out of it.”

“You mean leave her out of it,” she cuts in, and my shoulders heave as I grip the edge of the railing.

It’s taking everything in me to keep a lid on my rage, but she’s pushing me to my limit.

“You know what the sad thing is?” she scoffs. “I saw this coming from a mile away. The day we touched down in Cypress Pointe, then walked into that diner.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

She laughs again, but it’s a quiet, bitter sound as she sniffles on the other end of the line. “Women don’t cry when their exes get engaged unless there’s still love there, Sterling.”

I don’t speak, staring out at the trees, remembering that night.

“But the problem is, I didn’t know what I was up against. I had no idea you still felt something for her, too.” She sniffles again, and I hate the sound of her crying as much as I ever have.

My heart skips a beat, but you’d never guess it. I’m completely still, not even blinking as that sits with me. I want to respond, want to put her in her place, but… I can’t.

“Wow. Silence. Big surprise there,” she sighs. “I stand by everything I said tonight, Sterling. If the truth bothers you so much, then I suggest you work on being a better man.”

The line goes dead, and I stand frozen long after the call ends. Because for the second time tonight, I’m forced to confront something I’ve spent years running away from.

First, it was the guys.

Now, it’s Tiffany.

And whether I’m ready to admit it or not… I’m terrified they’re all right.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Lexi

It doesn’t matter how many times I tell myself this isn’t a big deal, the truth is that having a dozen or more paparazzi posted outside Sterling’s home is far from normal.

“Mommy, why are you scared?”

I finish tucking Jax’s shirt into his pants as I tear my eyes away from the window and focus on him. Hopefully, he doesn’t realize that my smile is forced, and that I am in fact a little freaked out.

“I’m not scared, baby. I just want to make sure we get you to school on time.”

He nods, and I stand up from my seat on his rug, running through my mental checklist.

He ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and has his backpack. Sterling packed his lunch and helped him tie his shoes.

Everything’s done.

“Ready?” I ask, and Jax nods, but the question is as much for me as it is for him.

We start toward the hallway just as Sterling steps out of his room. He’s clenching the brim of a black baseball cap between his teeth, quickly working his arms into the sleeves of a t-shirt. Half his chest and his entire abdomen are exposed as he straightens the fabric, and I force my eyes away, focusing on Jax instead as we walk toward the steps as a unit.

“Sorry about the madness,” Sterling says, placing the cap on his head as he jogs down the steps beside me. “These idiots think the gate is just suggesting that they stay out. I’ve already called the police to escort them off the property.”

I nod. “Okay. Good. Means I don’t have to chase them off the lawn with a baseball bat. Although, I’m sure your neighbors would enjoy the show.”

Sterling laughs as we split up at the bottom of the stairs. He stops at the front door, double-checking the locks, and I head toward the back door to grab shoes. I slip my purse crosswise over my chest before dropping my phone inside it, then I check for my wallet. My doctor appointment is today, and I wouldn’t get very far without ID.