Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“What money?” I asked without thinking.
Ted cleared his throat and looked at Sutton with an expression that said he was sorry for letting it slip.
She turned to me. “Um, part of the divorce settlement is that Jack has to let me buy him out of his half of the store. We worked out an amount, and my mom and dad helped me come up with part of the money. I had to have it in my account before the divorce was final. It’s pretty much all the savings I have left, plus what my parents helped with.”
Anger boiled up inside of me. Instead of signing over his half, like a decent man would do, the dickhead was literally taking all of Sutton’s money and then some.
“When is it happening?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.
Sutton shrugged. “We’ve been running into some issues.”
“He won’t come back to Seaside for us to close on the sale,” Ted explained.
I frowned. “Sounds like Jack.”
Ted started to gather up his things. “Remember, if he does come back, Sutton, you still have the restraining order in place. He needs to communicate with me, not you.”
She nodded, and I felt my stomach lurch at the words “restraining order.” It had clearly gotten so bad that she didn’t want her ex anywhere near her.
Sutton walked Ted through the house, and I trailed behind them.
Before leaving, Ted raised his hand toward me. “See you around, Brody.”
“Yeah, good seeing you, Ted.”
Sutton said her goodbyes, shut the door, and turned to me with a fake smile on her face. “I’m starving.”
She started for the kitchen, and I gently reached for her hand and brought her to a stop. “Restraining order?”
Her cheeks turned bright red.
“Did that bastard hit you, Sutton?”
“No,” she said quickly. “But…he was verbally abusive, and let’s say he changed toward the end of our marriage—especially after I found out about his affair. He started to threaten me, and…he made some comments that scared me.”
I balled my free hand into a fist. “What kind of comments?”
“It doesn’t really matter, Brody.”
She tried to walk off, but I stepped in front of her. “It matters to me, Sutton. What did he say to you?”
With a one-shoulder shrug, she attempted to downplay it. “He said I was making a mistake, that he’d make me regret leaving him. Then he accused me of having an affair.”
Laughing, I asked, “With who?”
When she wouldn’t meet my gaze, I knew the answer. My stomach felt sick, and I had to force down the bile at the back of my throat. “Me?”
She looked up and nodded. “He was always jealous of you, and he used to accuse me of…”
“Of what?”
With a quick shake of her head, she let out a bitter laugh. “It really doesn’t matter. It’s over, and I just need him to sell me his half of the boutique so I can be done with him for good.”
I let her go by me as she walked back toward the kitchen. I pushed a hand through my hair and cursed under my breath. This is all my fault.
What in the hell had Sutton gone through because I’d been too scared to admit my feelings?
Sutton
June
“What is it with you and lights?”
Excitement filled my chest at the sound of Brody’s voice. I looked down from the ladder I was standing on and laughed. “I can’t figure out why this light stopped working.”
He winked. “Good thing I’m here. And I brought food.”
My pulse picked up some as I continued to stare at him. Why was his wink so freaking sexy?
“You brought me lunch?” I asked, finally climbing down the ladder.
“I did, indeed. I ran into Palmer at Seaside Grill, and she said she’d left your shop to grab lunch for you guys. Then she got a call from the vet’s office, asking if she could come in and cover for Judy at the front desk since she’s not feeling well. So, I offered to bring you lunch.”
He handed me a brown bag, and I took it from him with a smile. “Thank you so much, Brody. It was sweet of you to bring it by.”
“No problem.”
I walked over to the counter and opened the bag to find a turkey and swiss on rye with a bag of chips and a small piece of pie. The sight made my stomach growl.
“Where’s your breaker box?” Brody asked.
“It’s in my office, right behind my desk.”
He nodded and headed that way as I dug into my lunch. A short while later, Brody walked back out into the store. He glanced around the place, and I wondered what he thought of it.
Whenever I looked at my little boutique, I was filled with a sense of satisfaction. I’d worked so hard to open this shop, and it was my pride and joy. My favorite part of the store was the front window display. I’d decorated it with an old dresser that Palmer had painted white and distressed. Each drawer was open, holding different items. Next to the dresser was a display of hats. I loved hats. All different kinds of hats. Next to those, I’d placed a beautiful piece of artwork that a local artist had made.