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He acts as if I haven’t spoken, tipping his chin toward the couch and sitting astride the nearest chair to face me. “Why are you here?”
I deflate a little at his tone. I knew I wouldn’t be welcomed back byeveryone, but I sort of thought it would be different with him. It used to be.
“Aren’t we going to make friendly chitchat first?” I ask, curling up on the couch. “You ask where I’ve been and I tell you what a good girl I am now?”
He raises a brow. “You?Good?Unlikely. Tell me why you’re in Elliott Springs.”
“My husband is here,” I snap. “We aren’t divorced yet. Nothing’s been done that can’t be undone.” If he won’t feign civility, why should I? I’ve never had to play nice with him anyway.
“I fucking knew it,” he mutters, running a hand through his hair. “Kate, let it go. She works at TSG with him and she’s a nice girl. They’re happy.”
I roll my eyes. “Girlis the key word. She looks like a Disney princess, just waiting for her magical first kiss.”
There’s a glimmer of amusement in his gaze. “And that makes you...what? The evil queen?”
He meant it as an insult, but I warm to the analogy. Calebwantsan evil queen, whether he admits it or not. When we were together, he appreciated my ruthlessness and he loved my filthy mouth, while Lucie’s the kind of girl who couldn’t resist a photo of kittens in a basket or utter the wordcockif her life depended on it. Caleb will be bored any minute now.
“I’m the one he married,” I begin. “I know I fucked up. But if he sees I’ve changed, he’ll—”
“It won’t matter.” His voice is knife-sharp. “He loves her and she makes him happy.”
I let my head fall to the back of the couch with an aggrieved sigh. “Hethinkshe loves her. There’s a difference. And I made him happy once too.” Though it’s been a long while since I made Caleb happy, and it sure didn’t last long. Beck is kind enough not to point this out.
“He blew off the entire merger to go find her yesterday, you know,” Beck says, his voice gentle. “You want to think this is a fling, but I promise you, it’s not.”
He blew off the merger for her. That might really bother me, if I allowed it to. “Whatever.”
Beck sighs heavily. “Great, we’ve now established that Caleb’s moved on and that you don’t give a shit, so why are you here at myhouse?”
My heart restarts its nervous, tripping pattern. I’m comfortable arguing. I’m comfortable demanding. But asking?Begging? It’s not my forte. “I was hoping I could stay with you.”
“It’s probably not the best idea,” he says, prodding his cheek with his tongue.
My stomach sinks. I knew Beck would worry about Caleb’s reaction, but he’s always handled moral ambiguity well. I really thought he’d be the one person who wouldn’t turn me away.
“Fine.” I climb to my feet, shrugging with an insouciance I don’t at all feel. “There are other people I can stay with.”
This is largely untrue. There’s only one person who’d welcome me right now, and he’s the last person I should stay with. Beck knows it as well as I do.
“Stop,” he says. “You can stay. Just until you’re back on your feet. But there are conditions.”
I fight the desire to smile. It’s so cute, the way he thinks he’s in charge.
“Condition one: no drugs.” He waves a hand to silence my protest when I’d barely begun to open my mouth. “Yes, I know you said you’re clean, but I’ve heard that from you about twenty times before.”
My fists clench. This is what I’m in for here—a thousand reminders about how much I’ve messed up in the past. “You have no fucking idea how hard I worked to get to this point, so don’t you dare act like I’m incapable of improvement.”
His expression remains flat,bored. “I know you’re capable of improvement, but that doesn’t mean you’re incapable of failure. None of us are. So no drugs.”
None of us are incapable of failure, but you, Kate, are particularly susceptible to it.That’s what I hear and the fact that he’s right doesn’t lessen my irritation. “Fine,” I reply, blowing my hair off my face, trying to be Good Kate. I’m only a few hours in, and being Good Kate is already tedious as hell.
“Number two: you don’t fuck with Caleb and Lucie.”
Anger steamrolls over Good Kate in a second. “Why are you taking her side?” I demand. “You’ve known me for years. You’ve known her for what, amonth?Aweek?”
“I’m not taking her side. I’m taking Caleb’s.” He rises slowly from the chair. “Do we have a deal or not?”
I click my tongue. “Whatever.”
