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Brian sighed long and loud. “Now, Annie...we’ve talked about this. Your business cards and letterheads have already beenprinted. It’s best you get used to Annie because as long as you work here, that’s not going to change.”

“I’m not coming back, Brian.” Billie Ann’s voice turned hard. She was so sick and tired of having to suck up to this asshole.

“Excuse me?” Brian’s voice lowered to a hiss.

“I’m staying here,” she said, forcing steel into her voice. “I inherited the bar, and I’ve decided to run it. So yeah, this is my quitting call.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

“You’re not fucking serious.” The anger behind those words came loud and clear over the phone.

“I am,” Billie said and even nodded, though he couldn’t see her.

Another pause. When he spoke again, all charm was gone from his tone, replaced with that sharp edge she’d come to dread. “You’re giving up a career in real estate for a rundown bar in the middle of nowhere, Virginia?”

Her throat burned. “It’s not just a bar. It’s mine. And it meant everything to Davey.”

Brian laughed, but it was bitter now. Ugly. “This is about your dead stepdad? You’re going to throw away everything because your drunken stepdaddy left you his wasted dream. What about whatwebuilt, Annie?”

“We didn’t build anything, Brian,” she said, her voice tight, ignoring the fact that he called her Annie again. “Iworked for everything I earned. You only helped when it made you look good. And when I didn’t want you, turned you down over and over again, you made sure I paid for it.”

“Bullshit,” he snapped. “You wanted me, and everyone knew it. You wore those skirts...led me on like some goddamn tease?—”

“Don’t,” she hissed, her voice cracking. “Don’t youdaretry to turn this around on me.”

“You’ll regret this, Annie,” he said, venom curling around every word. “You’ll call me in a week, maybe two. You’ll be begging for your job back. And I’ll be there. Waiting.”

She swallowed hard. “I’d rather scrub toilets in this bar...my bar...for the rest of my life than ever work for you again.” She growled, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “And my stepfather was more of a man than you will ever be, asshole. And my fucking name is Billie Ann!”

She hung up.

Her whole body trembled as she lowered the phone, her chest heaving, her eyes burning with unshed fury and too many years of silence.

Behind her, the screen door creaked again.

She turned to find Rafe standing in the doorway, one shoulder braced against the frame, arms crossed over his chest. He didn’t speak right away, just watched her with a look she couldn’t quite read.

“How much of that did you hear?” she asked quietly, her cheeks heating with embarrassment.

“Enough,” he said, his voice low, rough. Rafe stepped forward, the screen door groaning as it swung shut behind him. “Your boss, I take it?”

“Ex-boss.” Billie Ann snorted with a shrug.

“Ex anything else?” Rafe cocked an eyebrow at her.

“He wishes,” She frowned, then shook her head. “We never dated; he tried, but something was off with him. I did my job and went home. Plus, someone who changes my name is a big red flag.” She snorted in disgust.

“He sounds like the kind of guy who gets turned on by his own reflection,” Rafe muttered. “I bet he flexes when he walks past windows.”

A startled laugh burst out of her then, quick and unexpected. She slapped a hand over her mouth. “God, don’t make me laugh right now. I want to stay pissed.”

“Why not? That prick doesn’t get to be the last voice in your head today.” Rafe replied with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“He said I’d come crawling back for my job. There were so many times I wanted to quit, but it was a great job...just a lunatic boss.” Her smile faltered, just a little as she looked at the bar. “I can’t fail.”

“Yeah, well, he also sounds like the kind of guy who thinks ‘no’ is just a challenge and ‘independent woman’ is a personal insult. So, excuse me if I don’t put much stock in his prophetic vision.” Rafe stepped in closer, his expression shifting into something fierce, like fire behind his eyes. “You won’t fail.”

She blinked, heart tightening at the way he said it, like hemeantit.