Page 12 of Loving Her Enemy

“So, a perfumery, huh?” he said, but she started shaking her head before he could get all the words out.

“Forget I said anything. It’s a long-term dream that I hope to one day pursue, but right now I have more pressing issues to focus on. And no, I don’t want to talk about them.”

Sloane laughed though she didn’t crack a smile. Apparently, their easy conversation was coming to an end.

“Well, all right then.” He took a swig of his beer and set the bottle back on the counter as he prepared to do something he didn’t do often. “I’m sorry for what I said yesterday. I was way out of line, and commenting on your weight loss was highly inappropriate. I hope you can forgive me for being insensitive.”

“I forgive you, and I get it. I look different, but just so you know, I don’t have an eating disorder. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and I haven’t had much of an appetite.”

Sloane nodded. “I understand. Still, I was wrong to say anything, and while I’m at it, I’m sorry about how things turned out between you and Owen. At least the part about me having him investigated when you first started dating him. Maybe I should’ve minded my own business back then, but—”

“Sloane, there’s no maybe about it,” Halayna said with more steel in her tone than he’d ever heard from her. “My personal relationship was none of your business, and you were way out of line butting into my life like that.”

A spark of anger ignited. “I beg to differ. I had an obligation as a friend to tell you about that asshole you were dating, and I did. And from what I understand, I was right. He lived up to my low expectations of him!” he snapped.

She should’ve been happy he respected her enough to warn her away from that piece of scum. Not that she had heeded his suggestion. Instead, she viewed Sloane as the bad guy, as if he was the one to dump her, crush her dreams, and walk away without a backwards glance.

Halayna growled and shot daggers at him with her eyes as she lurched off the bar stool. “You have a lot of nerve calling someone an asshole, but I guess it takes one to know one! You’re no better than he was.”

Sloane shot out of his seat. “Don’t ever compare me to that bastard,” he seethed and stood over her, but the anger in her eyes and her stiff spine let him know that, despite their height difference, Halayna wasn’t intimidated.

Good. He was glad to see she still had some fight left in her, but comparing him to her low-life ex was hitting below the belt.

Sloane struggled to get his anger under control, especially since he knew exactly the type of man Owen was, even more than what Halayna knew. The guy was a piece of shit. The fact that he was no longer in her life was a good thing. A very good thing.

“For the record, I would never use or disrespect a woman. Can you say the same for your ex-fiancé?”

“Ugh! I can’t stand you!” she yelled. “You don’t know anything!”

“Come on, Halayna. I know more than you think, but I’m sure Owen showed you who he was early on in your relationship. You just didn’t want to see or hear the truth about him. You should’ve been smarter than that.”

“Oh, so now I’m dumb? You know what, Sloane? I don’t accept your stupid apologies. You’re an arrogant, condescending jerk who lacks the ability to read a room. Do you honestly think I want to be reliving what I went through with Owen? Yet, you spoke his name anyway. If anyone should be smarter, it should be you!”

She ripped off the chef’s jacket and threw it in his face before turning on her socked feet and storming out of the kitchen.

“There you go running away again!” he yelled after her, then pounded his fist on the counter.

Dammit! What the hell was wrong with him? He was a grown ass man sounding like a petulant child. The last forty-five minutes had been great until he had to open his big mouth and ruin it.

Halayna was right about one thing. He should’ve known not to bring up Owen’s name, knowing it was a touchy subject.

“Whoa! Who was that gorgeous specimen running past me, and where can I find one for myself?” Reece said as he swaggered into the kitchen but pulled up short. “What did I miss? You look like someone just peed in your grits.”

“Man, shut up,” Sloane snapped, then huffed out a breath. “I can’t stand infuriating women, and that one,” he pointed toward the stairs, “is the worst!”

Reece leaned a hip against the counter, crossed his legs at the ankle and his arms across his chest. “I see.” He narrowed his eyes, staring at Sloane as if trying to figure something out. “And what makes her the worst? But before you answer that, who exactly is she?”

Sloane rubbed the back of his neck as his irritation settled. “Bristol’s best friend—Halayna Tanaka. She’s staying here for a while.”

“And you guys had a fight?”

Sloane, slow to respond, started clearing away their dishes. As he loaded them in the dishwasher, he finally said, “Yeah, I guess we did.”

“I see.”

“Man, will you knock it off with the, I see. You don’t see or know a damn thing,” Sloane grumbled, getting angry with himself all over again.

He’d been given the perfect opportunity to get to know Halayna better, and he blew it. His sister was right. He said and did the dumbest things when Halayna was around.