Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“That’s really fucking weird. Is he pushing her to do it because you were successful? I did see in the court docs that he seemed rather money-hungry and was salty he couldn’t take away your social media accounts.”
“I’m actually impressed you did your homework.” Her smile is back and I would do fucking anything to keep it on her face. “And I think so. I have this morbid curiosity about it. Like it doesn’t matter, it doesn't affect my life, but I can’t help but wonder why?” She shakes her head. “Does she have no self respect? I wouldn’t want to try to become my boyfriend’s ex-wife, ever.”
“Well, if you go missing I’ll know whose basement to check.”
She laughs. “Seriously. A few friends happened to stumble on her posts and called to make sure I still had my skin because she wants to wear it.”
“A narcissist and someone with a personality disorder are a match made in heaven in the narc’s eyes.”
“Right? I actually feel sorry for her.” Mira’s face grows somber. “It’s sad to be so broken you’d stay with someone cruel. I don’t know the extent of the manipulation, but I’m sure she believes I’m the bad guy and he’s a poor innocent victim. And I can’t fault her too much since there was a time when I thought Cory really loved me too.” She bites her lips and shrugs. “I pray for her. Like really, at night when I say my prayers, I pray that they’re both happy because if they are truly happy, they’d leave me alone. So it’s a little selfish, but everyone deserves to be happy. Cory and I met when we were young, things didn’t work out, and that’s okay. I moved on and I really wish he could find it in himself to let go and live a life without me in it.”
I look at her again, taken aback by her emotional intelligence and general kindness. While she said the girlfriend’s behavior is odd—which is really fucking is—she hasn’t said anything bad about her, or really even her ex.
No…you don’t come across people like Mira often, so when you do, you’ll do whatever you can to hold onto them.
Which is exactly what Enzo Moretti is going to do.
Chapter
Eighteen
MIRA
There’s not much traffic by this hour but I still have a good amount of time left in the car with Mason before we reach my house. It’s odd how he can go from being extremely irritating one second to letting his mask slip and showing me that there’s a caring man underneath.
Still, he’s someone I would warn my clients to stay away from. Because while I’m pretty sure there’s a good man beneath his tough guy exterior, you want a partner, not a project and one thing I refuse to do is teach a grown ass man how to express his feelings.
Maybe it’s a little unfair to judge Mason so quickly; I don’t really know him, but he’s a man and all men are fundamentally the same.
“Maybe he’ll just ghost me,” I say hopefully.
“Hmm,” Mason starts, thinking it over. He’s doing the same thing I’m doing, creating a profile in his mind for Enzo. “If he found someone easier, then yes, I can see that.”
“Have you ever ghosted anyone?” I ask, tapping the ends of my acrylic nails on my phone case.
“Nope,” he answers right away. “Ghosting involves getting in a relationship first, and I tend not to do that.”
“Ah,” I say and imagine a big red flag being waved in my face. Mason is literally telling me he’s not the kind of guy who wants a relationship—which doesn’t matter anyway. We are working together and everyone knows you don’t sleep with coworkers. “I haven’t, but I’ve been ghosted.”
“Really?”
“Yep. I didn’t mind. I was dating this district attorney at the same time I was dating a doctor. Both were from out of town and I liked the doctor more so it was a relief when the DA never replied to set up plans. Though I did realize I left my favorite pink shirt at his house like weeks later. I took the loss.”
Mason looks at me curiously for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the road. “And what happened with the doctor?”
“He was really just a FWB.”
“A what?”
“Friends with benefits. You need a handbook for these things.”
He chuckles. “Apparently, I do.” His eyes go from mine to my breasts. I hardly notice in the dark, and if it wasn’t for the heat that rushed through me when our eyes met for just a millisecond, I wouldn’t have known. “I wouldn’t take you for someone who’d have a friend like that.”
I swallow hard, wondering if he’s thinking about coming inside with me and getting friendly. Because—shit—I am. “He was the only.” I shrug. “After I filed for divorce, I casually dated a bit and then went into another relationship that ended pretty badly. He cheated, lied about it, of course, and then got so drunk at a strip club he couldn’t pick me up from the airport when I flew out to see him—since I know you’ll ask.”