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She wouldn’t be intimated by him. “Who do you think you are to dictate who I am friends with—or, for that matter, who your friends want to spend time with? Last I checked, you don’t control me. No one does.” She put her hands on her hips, defiantly.
His jaw clenched as her own anger rose. How dare he think he can just come over here and say these things to her. She had no one here, and he wanted to take the few good people in her life away.
“You know Bently probably won’t want to see you again. You’re embarrassing yourself if you think he wants more. He’s a one-and-done type of guy.”
Her expression morphed into confusion. Andre thought she’d slept with Bently. Was he . . . jealous?
“Fuck you!” She was at her breaking point.
“No, thanks. You’re not my type.”
“You’re a bully. And if you keep on treating people in your life like this, you’re going to end up a sad and lonely man with nothing but regrets.” She jabbed her finger at his rock-hard chest. The contact sent a jolt of electricity through her arm.
“I wasn’t very lonely last night.” He smirked.
Ugh! This man was infuriating! Everything inside her became untethered as she quaked with rage. Two could play this game.
“That makes two of us, then.” She smirked.
His breathing became jagged as his eyes blazed with the intensity. “I don’t care if you want to spread your legs for the whole goddamn town—just stay away from my friends.”
“It’s a shame someone as good-looking as you is so horrible on the inside.” Mia twisted her face in disgust, the fire in her eyes blazing as she met him blow for blow.
“I could say the same about you,” he growled.
“Oh, you like what you see? Take a good, long look, because that’s all you’ll ever get from me.” She crossed her arms over her chest, knowing she was giving him a nice view of her ample cleavage. So, this is the way to drive him mad.
His eyes moved lower, caught in her trap. Andre’s lips flattened as his eyes shot back to hers with a renewed disdain. He leaned closer to her face as he said, “I don’t do sloppy seconds or desperate and, honey, you’re both.”
Her hand met his face with a loud slap. Mia’s mouth gaped open. Her face heated as her body trembled with an overpowering need to flee. Andre seemed just as stunned for a second before his gaze turned victorious. What the hell had she done? Since when had she become so physically violent?
Since Andre Stone.
Mia didn’t like the version of herself that she became whenever he was around. Ashamed she had slapped him and angry that she let him get to her, Mia steadied herself with a shaky breath. She couldn’t keep doing this. She had to get him out of her life.
“I want to terminate my contract with your company—effective immediately,” she said.
His smile quickly faded, but her emotional turmoil over her actions and how she’d let him affect her muted any satisfaction. She turned quickly, fleeing from him.
***
Mia focused on the sand, searching for sea glass to keep her mind occupied. Find the joy in all things.Look for the bright colors amidst the gray.Mija, there’s always a rainbow after the storm. When the world is heavy on your shoulders, create your own happiness. Her mother’s words echoed in her mind as she fought back tears. How was she going to face Remy? She cared about the woman too much to put her in the middle of her hatred for her brother.
Lyra joined her a few moments later. “Mia! What are you doing?”
“I’m looking for sea glass.” Mia held out her hand to show the little girl a few small pieces she’d found.
“Why? It’s just broken bottles. That means it’s garbage.” Lyra scrunched her nose curiously.
Mia bent and picked up a piece of green glass that was still sharp around the edges. “You see this one?”
“Yeah,” Lyra answered.
“This one isn’t ready yet. Sometimes you can take something broken and shattered, something someone else would just throw away and treat like garbage, and turn it into something beautiful. It takes a lot of pressure. Waves must beat it against the sand and rocks, but eventually the jagged edges are smoothed and it becomes sea glass—something more beautiful than it started, and a whole lot stronger.”
The little girl’s eyes grew wide. “Can I have one?”
“Absolutely.” Mia handed her the few pieces that she’d collected that were smooth before tossing the unfinished one back into the surf.
