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A dark part of me takes immense pride in the fact I know exactly how to piss off my husband. My lips twitch as I struggle to contain my satisfied smile.
Now it looks fake. Like so much of my life with him has been.
“It’s funny,” I start, ensuring that I keep my tone cool and even. “It’s almost like . . . you are the very last person I would ever consult about my life.”
He’s not worth the energy.
He broke my heart far worse than I’ll ever let anyone know.
Fool me once, never again. That’s the new saying.”
My name isn’t an accusation on her lips though. It’s . . . hopeful.
I might be a doctor, but Summer has always been a healer.
I kept thinking of divorce as a failure. But leaving tonight didn’t feel like failing. It felt like relief. Like someone has been standing on my chest and I finally got my shit together enough to push them off. My muscles are tired from pushing, and I’ve got some bumps and bruises from the fight. Leaving hurt, but I can finally breathe through the pain.
Because the very last thing I need in my life is someone who makes me feel like there’s not enough oxygen in my lungs when I’ve only just caught my breath.
his family has become a little like my own over the holidays.
I want to know more about Winter Valentine.
Like when that divorce is happening.
Pathetic as it sounds, it’s nice to have someone look at me that way.
This is different. I want Theo to admire me, but I also want to kick him in the shins.
It’s like getting the hell away from Theo Silva—the sexy bull rider maniac driver—and his perfect bone structure pushed me this far, and now I’m between a rock and a hard place.
the man who is sitting beside her, staring at her like she can shoot rainbows out of her vagina or something.
It makes me realize all the things I don’t have. The things I never will.
“Let’s go, Tink! We’re off to Neverland!”
I have this thing where if I’m shitty to someone, it eats me up inside. So, if I’m just nice, it makes me happy. Being negative is exhausting, ya know? And I don’t have time to nap.”
But I’m drawn to her, and not just because she’s beautiful.
Tequila is not my friend. But for this girl, I’ll make an exception.
Because men don’t look at me like that. Not the one I’m married to. And definitely not ones like Theo.
“I think I like you because you are a heart-stopping, jaw-dropping type of beautiful.”
When I glance back up, the expression on his face is primal. He’s beautiful, and I’m instantly struck by the realization that I’m an idiot. This man is out of my league. He’s too good looking. Too experienced.
“Winter. I’d have properly fucked you in the back room of that gas station if you’d asked me.”
Winter Hamilton.
My maiden name. He registers it too, because when I look back up at him, his gaze remains fixed on the coaster. “I thought it was Valentine?” “It’s not. The divorce papers are stashed in my car. On my way out here, I picked them up.
One night only. We never tell anyone. But I’ll probably beg you for another shot, eventually. - Theo Silva
His eyes lock on mine with a level of intensity that screams at me to be careful. And then he says, “I’m going to ruin you tonight.”
He looks me straight in the eye and grabs the back of my skull roughly with one hand while the other pulls at my bottom lip. “I can’t wait to see how fucking pretty you look when you come with my name on your lips.”
“Probably making babies all over North America at this rate.” “Please. I always wrap it up.”
She wants to forget about me, and right now I can’t stop thinking about her. Her softer side. The way she opened up with me. The way she whimpered my name when—
Though they’re meant as a joke, his words sting. They’re also the nudge I need to get motivated, because I want my mentor’s respect. I don’t want to be the butt end of a joke or seen as the child who never grows up. I want to chase my dreams and prove to myself I can do the things I set my mind to. I don’t want to be the one-night stand who’s used to scratch an itch. I want a woman like Winter Hamilton—beautiful, and smart, and sharp-tongued—to look at me and see a future.
Wishing Well Ranch is where I met Theo Silva.
I lost him. Then I lost the baby. Then I lost myself.
And then his eyes open, long dark lashes flicking up to reveal those dark onyx eyes. They take a minute to focus in on me and then a small, confused smile touches his lips. “Hi, Tink.”
“People were there to see you, Theo. Don’t kid yourself.”
“People are there to see me because I’m Gabriel Silva’s son and your protégé. Not because I have any accolades of my own.”
The shreds of dignity I kept in my grip when I left Rob were all I had and admitting to anyone that Theo didn’t want me either was more pain than I was equipped to handle.
“Shut your dog up, Theo. If it wakes my baby up, I’ll castrate you.” Then I slam the door on them in a fit of frustration. Then I hear Vivienne’s startled cry. Then I sink to the floor and cry too.
I approach the front door with a cool level of detachment taught to me in med school. One I’ve spit-polished into a perfect shine working in the emergency room. One I mastered as a child, if I’m being honest.
“Hi, baby girl,” he murmurs. “It’s so nice to meet you.” The sweet cooing noise she makes back at him, like she’s an instant goner for this man, makes me want to cry.
“Look how beautiful you are.” The sun lights Theo and Vivienne’s faces in the same warm, golden hue. “You look just like your mom.”
“I could fucking bury whoever made you believe you’re as unlovable as you seem to think.”
“Ya know, I’m in the middle of something. Something I have a good feeling about. So it’s a no.”
His eyes slice over to mine, busting me. Again. “I’m not. Yet.”
There’s disbelief in his voice, but also accusation. Of course, he’d think the worst of me. I might be sitting at the table with this family, but I’m not one of them. No matter what I do, they’ll always regard me with a hint of suspicion.
He went from looking amused to downright murderous. “Watch your fucking tone when you’re talking to the mother of my child.”
I don’t deserve it, and there’s a part of me that still feels like I’ve saddled him with something he can’t possibly want.
