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“I put you first.Always,” I emphasized.“Date nights?Your choice.Wedding plans?All yours, regardless of my opinion.We rarely made it back to the farm for holidays because you had to go wherever your family was.I followed you down here when you refused to consider moving to Maine.I agreed to leave my home and loved ones for you, and how did you show your devotion in return?
“By being unfaithful to the man who self-sacrificed nonstop to make you happy.You were the one person I thought I could trust with every part of me—how wrong I was.But guess what?”I leaned in close, causing them both to flinch back, my tone hard.“I’m thankful you cheated, that I got to see the real you before I committed my life to you.”
Done with a stunned speechless Xavier, I turned toward Teddy.
Big blue eyes peered at me full of fear.
“Once a cheater, always a cheater,” I assured him.“If you were smart, you would get out before Xavier gets bored with you and leaves you with a shit ton of bills that will ruin your credit.But the broken heart?It’ll heal.I can promise you that too.”
Taking my own advice, I walked away, my steps lighter than they had been minutes earlier.
Xavier had never been a big talker, more on the quieter side, but for the first time, I’d never been more thankful he never shared his inner thoughts.That part of him used to bug me, but his close-lipped nature had allowed me to make a spectacle of him, exactly as he’d done to me that weekend our wedding had ended in devastation.
Head high, I walked out of the mall, glad to have the closure he’d never allowed me before.But no grin stretched my lips.No exuberance made my chest feel like Pop Rocks going off beneath my skin.
While I hadn’t been nearly in as deep with JJ as I had with Xavier, his similar silence, his lack of communication with me over the whole Alex affair, fucking hurt like hell.
Almost…worse somehow.
But.
I stopped in the middle of the parking lot and inhaled the freezing cold air filling my lungs.It was time to count my motherfucking blessings.
I’d learned my lesson about men who wouldn’t put me first like I did with them.I’d finally gotten some closure, even last words with my ex.I also only had a few hours before I could leave Boston behind for good.
My loving family waited for me, my nieces and nephews especially excited for my arrival.
Focusing on those truths, I stowed the shopping bags in my SUV and climbed in, heading for the U-Haul waiting to be hitched up and packed with the few things still left in my apartment.
My brother called me as I pulled onto the highway.A smile cracked my face as I thought about the upcoming holiday.
“What’s up, Jacob?”I asked on speaker phone.
“Damn.You sound happy compared to when we last spoke.”
I could hear the smile in his voice, and mine stretched wider.“Damn right.You’ll never guess who I just saw.”
“Who?”
I told my brother about the run-in with Xavier and Teddy, and he laughed, wishing he’d been there to see the short confrontation that had finally put that part of my life to rest.
“That moment was sweeter revenge than my two years of fucking randoms to get back at him,” I said, my grin fading as my mind returned to JJ and what I’d hoped for with him.
“Mom said you quit.”
I shoved thoughts of the detective down deep.“Yep—the other night before coming here.Gonna miss the guys from Elite, but I’m finally ready to move on .”
“What’s going on with JJ?”
Shit.
So much for my plan to avoid going there and dragging my heart down too.
I filled Jacob in on what I’d seen on the news and the lack of communication on JJ’s part.I knew where his priorities lay, why he hadn’t gotten in touch with me, and I would eventually get over him, same as I had with Xavier.
Jacob told me he was sorry for me but once more changed the topic, thank fuck.“So you’re coming home?”
“For good,” I stated.“Like you’ve told me time and again, there’s nothing here for me.I’m almost all packed up and ready to roll, itching to get my ass north.I should make it to the farm later tonight.”
