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Oh." I swallow. For some reason tears prick the backs of my eyes. "I’m so sorry." I swallow down the ball of emotion in my throat.
He searches my features. "You don’t look great."
"I don’t feel great," I confess.
"You look like you want to be anywhere else but here."
I half laugh. "Sorry, it’s not you. Honestly. I’m…not in a good space, is all."
"Whoever he is, I hope he knows how lucky he is," he murmurs.
"Not likely," I mumble. I glance away. I doubt Rick has spent any time thinking of me, at all. I need to stop trying to date other men. This pretense that I’m not married is not working. I might try to convince myself I’m over Rick, but the fact is, I fall asleep every night with his name on my lips. And dream of him. And wake up from some very X-rated dreams, horny and sweating.
"Would you like some dessert? How about some chocolate cake?" Kevin asks.
My stomach protests. I shake my head, then jump to my feet. "I have to use the ladies' room. I’ll be back."
He opens his mouth to say something, but I rush past him, across the floor of the restaurant, up the short hallway and into the ladies' room. I pause in front of the sink, grip the edge, and take a deep breath.
I can do this. I can move on from Rick.
I stare at my reflection in the mirror—hollowed out cheeks, dark circles under my eyes. My hair flows down about my shoulders, but it’s lost its luster.
My life has lost its luster, Grams. I knew you for such a short time, but you became my family. What little time I spent with you showed me what it was to have someone who loves you. If only your grandson felt the same way. I’m sorry, I couldn’t make it work with him…
No… I wasn’t the one who couldn’t make it work. That’s on Rick.But you know this already. You know what he did to me. You know how he tried to apologize, and I might have even forgiven him. I was so close to making a fresh start with him, but he decided he didn’t want it. He didn’t want me, Grams. And you weren’t there to knock some sense into him, either, so—I raise a shoulder.So…
The pressure builds behind my eyes. My stomach creases in on itself, bile boils up, and I swallow it away. And now, to top it all off, I feel sick. Just great. I run water over my wrists, and splash some on my face, not caring about my makeup. I pull out some paper towels and pat my forehead and hands.
The door opens, I glance up then pale.
"Dennis?"
He bares his teeth, then deliberately shuts the door behind him and locks it.
"Getting a little repetitive, aren’t you?" I manage to infuse a bored tone into my voice.
His smile widens. "Your fiancé, or should I say, your husband is not here to save you this time."
Adrenaline laces my blood. My pulse booms at my temples.
He moves toward me. I watch him approach, and force myself to breathe, breathe. Iam not helpless. I am not. I will not let this asshole touch me.
When I flutter my eyelashes at him, he blinks. When I lick my lips, he comes to a stop, mesmerized. And when I bring up my hands and squeeze my breasts, the asshole pants. This…is true power. To take things in your own hands.
I meet his gaze in the mirror and aim a sultry smile at his reflection. "You need to come closer," I say in husky voice.
He steps forward, stopping at what I gauge is the right distance. That’s when I turn, grab his waist, fold my knee and swing it up. It connects with his crotch with a satisfying thunk.
"What the fuck?" he yells.
I release him, then brush past him, only he grabs my hair and tugs.
Fire races across my scalp, and tears squeeze out from the sides of my eyes. "Let go of me."
"Not until I’ve taught you a lesson, you tease." He shoves me with enough force that my hipbone smashes into the edge of the sink. Pain slices through me, but I refuse to let a groan escape me. I will not give him the satisfaction, will not.
"Release me, or I swear, my husband will kill you." As I say it, I know it’s true. Regardless of the fact he asked me to leave, Rick would never let any man who touched me live to see another day. A calmness descends. "You’d better let me go, if you want to keep your sorry life intact."
