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“She was at a family barbeque my parents were throwing,” he muttered. “And yes, before you ask, she was charming and beautiful all the way up until I called her psychotic and she decided to drop the bomb on me.”
“You called herwhat?”
“In my defense, she was just standing there next to her cousin, and I was trying to figure out who was responsible for opening up the shop across the street.”
“You called her…that…”
“You’re missing the point. She was at my house having dinner with my family, Corbin. She completely infiltrated them and now she’s staying there.”
Corbin’s mouth dropped open. “You’re joking, right?”
“I wish I was. Her cousin is Gabby. And since Gabby and Bo moved back home and they said she could stay with them, guess who’s staying at my place?”
His friend’s stunned silence said it all.
“Exactly. So that’s really why I didn’t go home. That’s why it looked as though we have a history even though we don’t. Not really. And it doesn’t matter how confident and charming she is. She’s still the villain in this story and I’m not going to hesitate in taking her down.”
CHAPTERFOUR
Megan enteredher bookstore then shut the door. She grinned like the villain she was. The guilt over her teasing hadn’t set in and she wasn’t sure it ever would. Daniel had started this fight, not her. She had been willing to leave him out of it when she bought the place.
That was why she didn’t feel bad. Not at all.
He’d called her psychotic. He’d refused to stay in the same house where she was visiting—though she couldn’t really fault him for that part. It was actually a relief that she wasn’t going to bump into him at the breakfast table.
Daniel might come to his senses about that, though and she’d have to be prepared.
“Megan! What were you doing?”
Her head snapped up to find Gabby with her hands on her hips scowling at her. Gabby’s eyes flitted toward the large clear windows at Megan’s back then returned. “Please tell me you didn’t go over to Mountaintop Java.”
Megan pressed her lips together but failed miserably at hiding her smile from her cousin.
“Megan! What did I say?”
“I know you think that leaving him alone is the best thing I can do right now, but it’s not.” And even if it were, she probably wouldn’t be able to restrain herself. “He needs to know that I’m here to stay. I’m not going to just run away because one coffee shop owner says I’m stepping on his toes.”
“But he’s family.”
“He’syourfamily, Gabbs. Not mine.” She gestured around them at the quaint little bookstore. “This is my dream. This is what I moved all the way here for. I wanted to do something great and I finally have a chance. Daniel is going to have to accept that one way or another if we’re going to get through this.”
Her cousin groaned.
“Relax,” Megan laughed, “it’s not as bad as you think. I’ll play nice… just after I have a little fun first.”
She got that death stare her cousin was known to give her.
“Fine. I won’t have any fun. But I’m not backing down either. Whatever Daniel wants to throw at me, I’ll throw back.”
“You don’t know the Reeses like I do. He’s not going to do anything to you.”
Megan shook her head, moving farther into the bookstore. Gabrielle didn’t know people like Megan did. Small business owners were some of the more ruthless people there were in the world. They had their claws into their business so deep that they’d do anything to keep it.
And she would know.
Because she was one of them.
“You’re letting your connection to these people cloud your judgment. Heck, you’re letting your connection to me do the same thing. You don’t know what I would be willing to do to make this place succeed.”
