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13
Faith and Meganwere closing up for the evening when a woman appeared in the entrance of The Shack. She had unnaturally blonde hair, a gorgeous complexion, and a body that was literally the fantasy of hundreds of thousands of men across the world.
Diana Monroe.
Faith would recognize her anywhere, and not only because she was Shane’s ex. She was a star. Movies, TV, music videos, advertisements—you name it, she’d done it. While she may not be an A-list celebrity, she was firmly in the B-list. Diana hadn’t seen her yet, so Faith dropped behind the ice cream cabinet, pretending to pick something off the floor. The other woman hadn’t been to Haven Bay since she’d hightailed it out of town four years ago, and her return couldn’t mean anything good. At least, not for Faith. She might be here to win Shane back and reclaim her family.
“What are you doing?” Megan hissed, joining her on the floor.
“That’s Diana Monroe,” she replied, scooting closer as the doorbell sounded.
“So?” Megan asked, raising a brow. “You’re Faith St. John. Badass boss babe. Entrepreneur. Scared of no one. Get back up and face her before she sees you being silly.”
Faith straightened. Megan was right. She didn’t roll over and play dead for mean girls. Not these days. She’d done it once, pulled herself up by her bootstraps, and made the decision never to do it again. Over the counter, she gave Diana Monroe her widest smile. “Can I help you?”
Instead of addressing Faith, Diana looked at Megan. “Will you excuse us for a moment?”
Megan thrust her slender shoulders back. “I’m afraid not. We’re about to close, and I have work to do. You won’t even notice I’m here.”
Faith sent her a grateful smile. At least she wouldn’t have to face the wicked witch alone.
“Okay, if that’s how you want it to be,” Diana continued, unconcerned. “I’d rather do this without an audience, but needs must.” She looked down her nose at Faith, which to be honest, wasn’t a great feat as Diana was a good few inches taller and also wearing heels. “Faith, is it?” She didn’t wait for a reply. “I’m back to remind my family who they belong to.” She swept a lock of hair behind her ear, exposing a long, elegant neck. The kind of neck Faith would never have. “Shane is mine, and so are the boys, whether they know it or not. So you can take your chunky ass and stay far away from my husband.”
“Excuse me?” Faith demanded, flabbergasted. Was a film star actually in her ice cream parlor, telling her to stay away from a man because she saw her as a threat? On what planet did that make sense? And why would any man want her when they could have Diana? The woman was nuttier than a fruit cake if she didn’t see that there was clearly no contest.
“You heard me,” Diana snapped. “You’re a nobody. Who do you really think he wants?”
Faith leaned over the counter. “You want to know what I think?” she asked, pleased when her voice didn’t waver.
“I don’t care what you think.”
Faith ignored her. “I think that you can’t handle the fact Shane divorced you and now he and the boys have their own lives.” She rested on her elbows because otherwise she might reach into the chiller and fling a scoop of chocolate mint at the hateful woman. “You ran away from everything and expected it to all be waiting when you were ready to take it back. Guess what, girlfriend? Life doesn’t work that way, and you have no ground to stand on. Unless you plan to buy something, I’d appreciate it if you’d get the hell out of my shop.”
Diana whirled, her blonde hair forming a halo as a ray of sunshine struck it. She glided out, holding her head high like a goddamned queen.
Megan scoffed. “Is she serious? Something is crammed way too far up her ass.”
Faith dropped the ice cream scooper, which she only just noticed she’d been clutching. “I have to say, that wasn’t on my list of things I thought I’d be doing today.” She looked at Megan. “Do you think she’s been in town long?”
“There were a ton of suitcases in the taxi outside, so I’d say she just arrived.”
“This can’t have been her first stop.” Something about that didn’t add up to Faith. “Where do you suppose she’s staying?”
“Well....” Megan drew the word out hesitantly. “Based on the way she came at you, it seems like she’s planning to spend time with Shane and his family.”
An icy tentacle wrapped around Faith’s heart and squeezed. She’d had the same thought but hoped she’d been mistaken. “I need to ring Shane and make sure he knows she’s coming.” She didn’t want him to be blindsided. Having his starlet ex turn up on your doorstep would be hard enough with forewarning. She paused. Had he known she was coming? He hadn’t mentioned it. Shaking off her uncertainty, she dialed his number.
“Faith?” He sounded stressed, and she hoped she hadn’t been too slow.
“Diana is in town, and I thought you should know, if you didn’t already.”
“Shit,” he said, then muttered something worse under his breath. “Yes, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing her. She turned up half an hour ago and I sent her away, but I never dreamed she’d hunt you down. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
“I will be.” Once her heart rate returned to usual. “I think the bigger question is: are you?”
He sighed, the sound so weary that she wanted to wrap him in a hug and never let go. “I haven’t seen her since she signed the divorce papers.”
She leaned against the counter. “I thought as much. Any idea why she’s back?”
