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“Now. But once upon a time, she could have been my daughter-in-law.”

The way my parents felt about Ximena was a direct reflection of how differently they viewed things. My father wasn’t a fan of Xi’s free spirit, but my mom loved her to death.

“It’s not happening,” I grinned. “Let it go.”

Digging through her purse to retrieve her phone, she rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright. Sheesh.”

Mumbling to herself, she left me alone, going back to whatever she was doing in the kitchen. As annoyed as I initially was with our conversation, I was glad she’d stopped by to talk. Our talk wasn’t as terrible as I anticipated it’d be and I was looking forward to spending some time catching up with my mama.

Chapter Nine

NYX

Life had been throwing me curveball after curveball lately, and the clientele at work wasn’t an exception. The weekend had been unusually rough, and some of the men seemed to have found comfort in aggressive behavior.

I was tired, stressed, and finally at the end of my rope. The positivity bullshit wasn’t working, and the way I was feeling, I didn’t mind adding another charge on top of the ones I had pending.

“Xi, I know you’re supposed to be leaving in a few, but I need a break,” I yelled over the music. I’d just pried myself away from a privileged jackass, who, no doubt, wasn’t used to women telling him no regularly. “Just fifteen minutes to pull myself together, I swear. Then I’m back.”

“No problem!” she called over her shoulder, in the midst of mixing a drink. “I’m not in a hurry. Take your time.”

Sighing with relief, I thanked her and immediately beelined for the door. I didn’t care that it was cold outside, and I hadn’t bothered to grab a jacket. I needed to breathe.

I’d barely been outside for five minutes when that same customer came strolling out of the door, sporting a twisted grin.

“There you are, beautiful. I’ve been looking for you.”

“I don’t know if it was the music or a lack of brain cells,” I snapped. “But I told you inside that I’m not interested. Please leave me alone.”

“Not interested,” he repeated my words with a slur. “You’re not interested in me?”

I wanted to cuss and give him a list of exactly why I wasn’t attracted to him. But we were alone, and as packed as the pub was, I didn’t want to take a chance on someone not hearing me if things went left.

“Listen, I appreciate the attention.” A lie. “But I’m not looking to date anyone in general. It’s nothing personal.”

He placed his hand at my waist, sending a wave of disgust through me. “And who said I was looking to date you?” he asked. “Like I’d stoop to the level of a bartender. You’re fine as fuck, though. I’m curious to see what you can do in the bedroom and don’t mind compensating you for your ti⁠—”

Smacking his hand away, I glared at him angrily. “Are you serious? I’m not for sale. And don’t ever touch me again.”

This time, his hand found my wrist. “Do you know who the fuck you’re talking to? I⁠—”

“Ay,” a baritone gruff enough to send a shiver down my spine barked.

Snapping my head towards the parking lot, I was thoroughly relieved to see Jamie barreling over to the two of us. Thank God we’d seemed to have gotten into a knack of running into one another over the past few weeks.

“Nyx, you good?” he demanded, the moment he made it over.

“She’s fine.”

Slowly turning his head, Jamie pinned the corporate douchebag beneath such a lethal glare that he let go of me.

“I wasn’t fuckin’ talkin’ to you.”

“Hey,” I reached out, gingerly placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m good. Everything is cool.”

Jamie refused to back down. “You sure?”

“Positive.”