Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 121578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Jerking my head to the side, I indicate Daniel can follow me.
A teenager dressed in black jeans and a black sweater is bent over staring into the refrigerator. “Can I help you?” My tone’s sharp. No one’s supposed to be in here.
“You got any snacks?” she asks.
Working with the public sure is a pain in the rump sometimes. I guide her into the parlor and point her in the direction of the table with cookies and a few other items.
Once we’re alone, I turn and face Daniel.
And suddenly wish I hadn’t chased the teenager away.
“What’s on your mind?” I walk over to the refrigerator and pull out a cool bottle of water, stopping to roll it over my forehead for a second before uncapping it.
Daniel stares at me with his mouth agape, as if I’d rubbed the bottle through my cleavage.
“Your father told me to talk to you.”
“About what?” I take a quick sip of water.
He steps forward and tugs the water bottle out of my hands, setting it on the counter.
What the hell?
“I miss you.” He holds out his arms as if he expects me to leap into his embrace.
He wasn’t that touchy-feely when we were an actual couple.
My glare remains in place until he slowly returns his arms to his sides.
I arch an eyebrow. “What about Danielle?” Last I knew he had a girlfriend. Not that I care one way or another. The question is my weak attempt to shame Daniel for telling me he misses me when he’s with someone else.
“We broke up.”
“Why? You seemed perfect for each other.” Oof, that came out a few shades snottier than I intended.
He frowns, then shakes his head. “No. You were perfect for me. And I threw that away.”
Bile burns the back of my throat. A year or two ago I would’ve relished this apology. I still wouldn’t have wanted to get back together with him, but it would’ve felt vindicating.
Now, I just feel sick.
And angry.
“We make sense, Margot.” He aims his scowling face in the direction of the back parking lot. “You can’t be serious about dating some lowlife biker.”
One thing I’ve learned in this business—guilty people are mean people. Relatives who are drowning in guilt because they didn’t spend enough time with their loved ones are always awful. So are ex-boyfriends who suddenly feel bad about the way they treated you, now that you’re with someone else.
When I don’t react or comment on Daniel’s insult he frowns and shoves his hands in his pockets. He’d wanted to bait me, and I won’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, I keep my face blank. Emotionless. Letting him know he’s not worth the effort.
The longer we go without speaking, the more Daniel fidgets.
“Your father said I should talk to you.” He crosses his arms over his chest, then drops them to his sides.
“So you said.”
“I want to get back together.” He lets out a snotty chuckle. “He can’t want that guy for a son-in-law.” Daniel holds out his hands. “How could having a grungy-looking gangster hanging around here be good for the family business?”
Ignoring the insult, I keep my face smooth and calm. “Is that what you said to my father? You’d be good for our family business?”
“No. Not exactly. I just asked him why he was letting you run around with that guy—”
“You what?”
“He said he makes you happy.” Daniel pulls an annoyed face, like the concept of happiness is too trivial to ponder. “Come on, Margot, I can make you happier.”
Dad actually said that?
Finding out my father feels that way is more important to me than anything else I’ve learned in this conversation.
Time to wrap up our chat with a hard dose of the truth. “You made me miserable every second we were together, Dan.” I shorten his name just to piss him off, then speak slowly, so he understands how serious I am about this next part. “I’d rather die alone and be eaten by mice than waste another second of my life with you.”
His eyes widen, as if he’s stunned I don’t have fond memories of our time together. “Be serious, Margot.”
“I’m deadly serious.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Do you remember what you said about me?”
Red crawls up his neck and over his cheeks. He averts his eyes, maybe remembering the long, long list of shitty things he said to me during our time together. “We were engaged. We said lots of things to each other.”
I step closer and lower my voice. “You compared me to a corpse. Which, in hindsight, is hilarious since you were the one who was so awful in bed,” I finish in a harsh whisper.
“Wh…what?” he sputters. “What did you want me to do?”
“Gee, I don’t know. Maybe give me an orgasm, just once.”
He wrinkles his nose like a child who still thinks girls have cooties. “Don’t be crass.”