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“What the fuck just happened?” Adam asks, staring at me with wide eyes.
“We just had a run-in with Ben’s bitch of an ex.”
“Jesus, he has poor taste in women.”
“Hey!”
Adam grimaces. “Sorry, I didn’t mean you. How could he not see the crazy in her when he started dating her?”
“I don’t think he cared much when they got together. Or he just shoved his head into the sand. I plan to find out when I get home, though.”
“Is it safe for you to be there? After the break-in?”
“I don’t have another option. I can’t just uproot my whole life. Ben’s staying with me for the time being.”
“Wait, so you guys moved in together?” Adam’s outrage is almost palpable.
“You can’t have it both ways, Adam. Ben is there to help protect me. It’s either that or I’m alone.” I glare at him.
A growl rumbles from Adam’s chest, but he doesn’t respond.
“I love you, caveman. Thank you for looking out for me. I’m going to go home and have words with my boyfriend.”
Adam kisses me on the cheek. “Tell him to expect a kick in the ass for being an idiot.”
* * *
I walk into my house,the dogs racing like lunatics from the kitchen to say hello. “Yes, hello. I missed you, too.” I give pats out to everyone, even Minnie, then make my way into the kitchen.
The smells permeating the room make my mouth water despite the plate of wings I ate an hour ago. “What’s cookin’, good lookin’?” I ask, stepping around Ben to see what’s on the stove.
“Stir fry.” He plants a quick kiss on my lips before adding some sort of sauce to the pan of sautéed vegetables.
“Sounds good.”
“How was your talk with Adam?”
“It was good. Nice to finally get everything off my chest. I know he’ll call the others to tell them on his way home. He’s always been good at diffusing that bomb for me.”
“I’m glad you told him. Now you just need to tell your parents.”
I roll my eyes. I hate that so many people need to know my business, but I also recognize that I’m being a petulant child about this. I’m just ready to move on from the whole thing, even though I know it’s not possible.
“Soooo, you talked to Rebecca recently?”
Ben freezes, then pulls the pan off the burner before turning around to look at me. “Why in the fuck would I have talked to Rebecca?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug my shoulders. “She just seems to have some ideas that I’m temporary, and when you find someone to take over the clinic, you’ll come crawling back to her, begging for forgiveness.” I raise my eyebrows at him, waiting to hear what he has to say about that.
There’s a small part of me that’s still a little worried he’s going to do just that. That Sonoma is going to get too small for him, and he’ll go running back to Greensboro the minute he can.
“Did she confront you? Fuck, she’s such a bitch. I wouldn’t put it past her. She was so mad when I told her no the day she came to the clinic.”
A little of the steel that had been in my spine leaks out at his words. He immediately made her the bad guy, despite the way I asked him about her. “I think she’s still mad. Adam and I ran into her when we left Donna’s, and she started spouting all this nonsense about how I was nothing and she would end up the winner. All while eye-fucking Adam, which was strange to watch.”
Ben’s hands run down my arms. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I can talk to her and tell her to leave you alone. Being told no isn’t something Rebecca is accustomed to, so I’m sure she’s trying to do whatever it takes to win.”
“No, if you talk to her, it’ll only add fuel to the fire. Eventually, she’ll go away.”
