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She arranged herself with her arm under her chin, watching me. “You know how Scarlet is looking into my issue with the Winchesters? I’ve been on edge about it for a number of reasons.”
“What scares ye the most?”
I’d burn the whole fucking family down if they tried anything.
“I’m worried that they are planning to use my mental health as a lever in some way. Logically, there’s no case for them, I’m almost certain, except that one really bad night I had after mom died is on record.”
I nodded. “No judge is going to do shite with that.”
“Right? But if I have to go face to face with them in a room with lawyers and they use that against me, I’m scared I’ll burst out crying and prove their point.” She said the words fast like they had been haunting her.
I interlaced our fingers. “I’ll go with ye, if it helps. I’ll hold your hand, and if they attack ye, I’ll be there to remind ye there’s nothing they can do. The lawyers will do the talking, I’ll glare them down, and they won’t be able to touch ye.”
Mia’s gaze intensified. “You’ll really come?”
I flashed a grin. “Anytime. Now what else is there? Ye said a number of reasons.”
A heavy sigh followed. “Only that I fully expect them to be vicious. Greg particularly.”
“Orange car guy. The oldest, aye? Therefore probably has the most to lose. I’ll handle the bitter little fuck. We have a score to settle after he pursued my car anyway.”
Mia took a breath like she had something else to say, but then her gaze shuttered. “I have a score to settle with him, too,but I don’t want to talk about them anymore. Your turn for a conversation starter.”
Getting fired up to defend her had somehow loosened my tongue. The words that didn’t come earlier were right there and ready. I took a breath.
“How about the time I stood by, my whole family around me, and watched my brother kiss my fiancée?”
Her jaw dropped. I reached to tap it closed.
“It’s that or I fuck ye seven ways from Sunday again. Your choice.”
Mia gave up a sound of frustration. “I pick both but talk first. Ben really did that? I’m horrified. I thought he was a good brother.”
I tracked back through my words, realising where I’d gone wrong. Then I sighed, because wasn’t that the core of the problem between us? “I misspoke. Kelly kissed him. Sit up a minute. I need some space so I can get this off my chest without it spoiling how I touch ye.”
She obliged, arranging herself cross-legged facing me. I’d already teased her hair out of the braid, loving how the yellow lengths framed her face. She rarely wore it down, and I loved that it was something private only I was seeing.
“I told ye already that Kelly had no issue with our long-distance relationship? For one thing, she loved my family and was content being a part of it. For the second, she was actually in love with Ben and had been the whole time we knew each other.”
Mia squinted. “But she dated you. And agreed to marry you. Why would she lie like that and for so long?”
“I can’t answer that. I never asked. All I know was the duration. She wanted him, couldn’t have him, so she turned to the next best thing—his younger brother. I was a safe option because I wasn’t there, plus she liked the vibe of being a militaryspouse. I paid her rent, too, so she only needed to work part time. It was a sweet arrangement.”
Red flushed Mia’s cheeks. “Sweet? She was using you for everything she could get. How long did this go on for?”
“Years. I was the idiot who couldn’t see what was happening under my nose. Right up until the moment when it all came crashing down.”
Her gaze gentled. “What happened?”
“There’s four of us siblings, another brother and a younger sister alongside me and Ben. Our brother was getting married, so I’d applied for leave, but it hadn’t been guaranteed, and I only knew I would make it at the last minute. Instead of being happy, Kelly acted weird with me, blaming me for not giving her notice. Like I had any control. Military leave can be shaky at the best of times, and I had been fucking elated to see my brother and his bride walk down the aisle. Anyway, barely talking, Kelly and I went to the wedding together. At the reception, my mom gave a speech about the happy couple, then Ben stood up for his. He cracked everyone up with making jokes, one of which was about him being an even sadder single man now his brother had fallen.”
I swallowed, and Mia’s gaze became stricken like she could predict the coming train wreck.
“Kelly left our table and marched up to Ben, right as he was finishing speaking so all eyes were on him. She grabbed his lapels and told him he didn’t need to be sad. She loved him. It had always been him. True love only came once in a lifetime yada, yada.”
Never once had I talked this out with anyone. My voice grated.
“Then she kissed him. One by one, people turned to stare at me, as if expecting some big argument or a fight. But I’d frozen.Kelly spared me one glance and said, ‘Sorry, Valentine, it was never you’, so I did the only thing I could and walked away.”
