Page 66

“No!” she said sharply, pushing him away.

He gave her a hurt look. “Cupcake, you can’t still be angry. If you’d let me explain, you'd know that it was all a big mistake. You were the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Looking at him now that she was with Carter and Gio, she could see all the ways Brad didn’t hold up. He was a handsome man, but he had cruel eyes and a smile that never seemed real. His teeth were a little too bright and perfectly aligned. His hairwas flawlessly styled and his outfit looked casual, but she knew he would’ve put a lot of effort into matching everything.

In a word, he was fake. He’d always been fake, but she hadn’t seen it at first. It made her sad to realize that she wasn’t the first to fall for his façade. She probably wouldn’t be the last.

“You should get fixed,” she said.

He was in the middle of telling her how sad he was when those words popped out. “What?”

“You should be fixed, like a dog,” she said, warming to the theme. “You run around trying to hump everyone. Eventually, you might get some poor woman pregnant. If we can’t put you in a kennel, you should really get fixed.”

His jaw tightened. “Would that make you one of my bitches?”

There it was. The nastiness that was always right under the surface of his charm. She’d made so many excuses for his mean remarks.

He was tired, or frustrated, or hungry. Now she could see the truth. He was an unrepentant asshole.

“Thank you for proving my point,” she said. It felt good to be angry instead of hurt. She didn’t have the urge to cry at all. If anything, she wanted to punch his nose, maybe break it. He could use the character in his face.

“Cupcake, I didn’t mean it,” he said, backtracking. “I'm fasting right now so we can’t eat, but let me take you for a drink. There’s a place near here that makes really good sugar-free margaritas.”

“Never,” she said. “I don’t know why you’re interested in me again, but it’s never going to happen. Now go away.”

A vicious expression crossed his face before he covered it with a smile. “Aw, cupcake, I know I hurt you, but there’s no need to be like that. You’ll never get someone as good as me and you know it. Now let me talk to you, and we can get back together.”

He went in for a hug that was more of a dive than an offer of friendliness. He grabbed her and tried to pull her close even asshe tried to hold him off with straight arms against his chest. His cologne overwhelmed her, immediately giving her a headache.

“Get away from me!” she screamed, uncaring if she made a scene.

People turned, and Brad gasped but didn’t let go. “I only want to hold you!”

“Help!” she called out, struggling in his grip. Her mother would’ve scolded her for yelling. Barb didn’t believe in drawing attention to yourself. Ever. Even if she was being mugged.

Old Mila wouldn’t have made a scene. That Mila was gone. In her place was the Mila who refused to be taken advantage of any longer. She drew her leg back, getting ready to try and kick him even though she was only wearing sandals.

“Get away from her!” Carter’s roar made Brad finally let go of her. They both turned to find Carter closing in fast.

Brad stepped behind her. “Who the hell is that?”

“My boyfriend,” Mila said. Was that smugness in her voice? Yes it was, and she loved it!

“Him?” The incredulity in Brad’s voice wasn’t flattering. “How did you–akk!”

Carter grabbed Brad by the throat and pushed him back until he hit a map kiosk. “You touched my Mila. I should break every bone in your hand.”

Brad couldn’t answer because he was struggling to breathe through Carter’s grip on his throat. He was pulling and scratching at Carter’s hand, which had zero effect on Carter's hold. Even though they were roughly the same height, Brad couldn’t match the other man’s strength.

As much as she loved seeing Brad put in his place, she didn’t want Carter to get arrested for assault.

Stepping up, she tugged on his arm. “Carter, let him go.”

Carter didn’t take his eyes off Brad. Good god, were they glowing? “He was touching you. You didn’t want it, but he was touching you!”

Not only did Carter’s eyes look like they were glowing, but he leaned in close and pulled his lips back and snarled. It was the same sound a large dog would make.

Or a wolf.