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I flashed him a bitter smirk. “She ditched me after the Claire Larsen bull crap, after I missed the concert…and other stuff. I tried to make her stay. Tried to explain myself. I was willing to get down on my knees. But it tapped straight into her trust issues, and she couldn’t get past that. So yeah, thanks for that.”
“You’re welcome.” He ignored my sarcasm. “And the ring? You got her a pretty thing, didn’t you?”
“She returned it,” I said bitterly.
What I didn’t mention was that I’d kept it. Taking it back to the jeweler meant accepting defeat and admitting to myself that we were done.
“She’s on her way to Maine now. Her mom’s place. Looking for premed college programs there.”
Row had volunteered this information after I grilled him like a well-done steak.
“I see.” He stroked his goatee. (Those should be illegal, by the way.) “What do you think I should do about the contract now?”
I shrugged. “Frankly, I don’t give a shit. I’m not really invested in anything that doesn’t include winning her back.”
I was thinking to start things off by buying her a university or something. And a daycare for Gravity. I was new to grand gestures, but I wanted to go big.
“Well, Coltridge, if you’re trying to win her back, you’re doing a shit job of it, sittin’ around sulking in your penthouse like a Jane Austen character.”
Bruce Marshall had jokes. Too bad he managed to crack them only when my life was a hot, flaming dumpster fire.
“She’s literally in her car on her way to her mom.”
“In that piece of junk car I saw the other day?” he snorted. “You can beat her to it.”
I mulled his words over. Trying to beat her to Maine was probably impossible, unless she was walking there by foot, butarriving soon after was probably a better idea than buying her an entire college.
“I’m going to keep the contract intact and maintain all working business with you, so don’t you worry your pretty lil head ’bout that.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Well?” He smiled big. “Aren’t I getting a thank you?”
“You put me in this position. It’s your fault I pretended to be in love with her in the first place.”
You tricked me into falling in love with a woman who warned me not to fall.
Even as I said these words, I knew they were bullshit. Falling for Dylan was as inevitable as falling asleep. A natural, feral instinct.
A beat of silence stretched between us before snapping like an elastic band when he said, “I knew it was all an act.”
“Come again?” My head shot up. I remained calm, but inside, my blood was sizzling with rage.
He pushed off the counter, sauntering toward me. “I’d met you a few times by then. You were charming, dazzling, handsome, and sought-after. You had a great idea. But your eyes. They were…subdued. There was nothing behind them. They were empty. Pair that with your wild antics, general laziness, and the fact that people had been sayin’ you got too many cobwebs in the attic, and I wasn’t too sure about that deal.
“Then I walked into that meeting with you, and you were standing on the street, bickering with this pretty lil miss. And you looked irritated and furious and…well, alive. You looked alive. Your eyes were no longer dead. And in that moment, I realized I couldn’t get into business with you if you had nothing to lose other than money. Money is a terrible motivator. You needed fire beneath your feet. Something to up your stakes. And she was so dazzling. As pretty as you are, if not better-lookin’.She was flustered and panicked, but she still stood her ground. And those sparks were flyin’. I could feel their heat. Thought it’d be a good idea to set you two up. What you needed was someone to take care of. And it worked.”
“No, it didn’t work!” I roared when he was close enough for me to grab and bash his head against the wall. I didn’t, though. Solely because there was still a slight chance Dylan might decide to change her mind about us. “For the millionth time, she dumped me. Because of you.”
He patted my shoulder fatherly. “You’ll get back together.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve got good instincts.”
“You knew we were lying to you?” I followed him with my eyes as he returned to the counter to grab his hat.
“Yes.” He screwed said hat over his head. “And I saw you falling in love right in front of me. It was beautiful to watch. Best show in the world.”