Page 40 of Bad Boy Husband

SADIE

The shelter was quiet, only the occasional whine, sniff, or snort coming from the main kennels.

I sat cross-legged on the floor in the puppy room, dim light casting long shadows across the tiles.

One of the newer pups, a scrappy terrier mix who had been brought in earlier today, had dozed off with his head on my foot like I was the safest place in the world.

Meanwhile, I felt hollow. At least this puppy had me, even if just for now, but I had no one. No safe place to curl up tonight.

I could’ve probably gone to Laney’s, but it was late and I knew how sick she’d been feeling. Gwen was probably out dancing with Nathan. I didn’t know Lisa or any of my other coworkers well enough to show up unannounced at their houses in the middle of the night.

Not knowing where else to go, I’d come here.

Jameson had told me to keep using the Mercedes he’d let me take the night I’d brought Winkle home, but I didn’t even really have a car to sleep in.

I just had his car, a vehicle he could probably trace if he was so inclined.

I would keep using it for now, desperate times and all, but even that wasn’t mine.

Deep inside, my chest ached with something I couldn’t name. Something I didn’t want to name right now. It hurt way, way too much.

I let my head fall back against the wall, the cold of the tiles against my back bleeding through my hoodie. The silence should’ve helped me make sense of things, but my brain wouldn’t function.

Echoing around in my head was Jameson’s voice. Carson’s voice. Collins’ voice. The look on Jameson’s face when he told me she’d shown up to his office to threaten him. The hurt in his eyes when I asked him if it was true. When I didn’t believe him.

Back in that dark, clinically clean house, I’d told him he’d broken my heart and I’d meant it. He had done that. Twice now.

It was a testament to how truly screwed I was that I was still considering going through with the wedding. Ours would be an arranged marriage. Love didn’t have to factor into that. Trust didn’t really have much of a role to play either.

As long as we were both there and we both said our “I do’s” that day, my inheritance would open up. I could use it to buy myself a small apartment. Become self-sufficient again. At least it would allow me to have a home I could go back to instead of sitting on a cold concrete floor.

By midnight, I was no closer to figuring out what I was going to do, but I couldn’t stay here until morning. I couldn’t move into the shelter, so I heaved myself off the floor. At least Jameson’s house was so big, he might not even realize it when I got back.

The air outside was cold and heavy with that pre-rain stillness, lightning flashing across the sky in the distance. I locked the front door behind me with numb fingers and was halfway back to Jameson’s car before I realized someone was waiting for me.

Carson .

He straightened when he saw me, giving me a carefully crafted smile. “I was starting to think you were sleeping in there with the mutts.”

I stopped short, frowning as I internally alternated between caution, alarm, and relief. “What are you doing here?”

“I needed to see you,” he said. “Can we talk?”

“How did you find me?”

Regarding him from where I’d planted myself on the sidewalk, I watched as a streetlight cast half his face in shadow when he stepped forward. “Trent called to ask if I knew where you were. He said you took off and he knows I’m in town. It wasn’t such a stretch to guess you would’ve come here.”

“Oh.” But still. “How long have you been waiting?”

He shrugged. “A couple of hours, maybe.”

My eyes widened. “That isn’t even my car. How did you know I was in there at all?”

“That’s Jameson’s car,” he said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“I decided to drive past the shelter just to check if there were any signs of life, saw the grotesquely expensive Mercedes, and knew it had to be you. How many other people in this neighborhood are engaged to guys who can afford a nearly half a million dollar ride?”

I swallowed past my nerves, my heart suddenly thundering.

Honestly, I hadn’t realized the car Jameson had so flippantly told me to use cost that much.

I never would’ve put my hands on that steering wheel if I’d known, but Carson’s presence here was disarming.

I wasn’t sure if it was creepy or real platonic concern.

“You should come back to Dallas,” he said, shifting on his feet. “Just for a while, at least. Come see your family. Figure things out someplace safe and comfortable that isn’t an animal shelter in a rough part of town in the middle of the night.”

I didn’t want to. Every instinct screamed no . “Maybe I will, but I need to talk to Jameson first.”

Thunder rumbled overhead and Carson’s gaze flicked up to the sky before he looked back at me, pulling open the passenger door of the car he was standing next to. He gestured me in like this was some normal catch-up session.

I didn’t get in, just standing near the hood with my arms crossed over my chest. “It’s late, Carson. I want to go home to my fiancé. Thanks for checking in, though.”

“Your fiancé?” One of his eyebrows arched. “When Trent called me earlier, he told me he’d spoken to Jameson. That’s how he knew you’d taken off.”

“They talked?” My frown deepened. “Why?”

He looked at me carefully, like he was trying to decide how much to say. “Jameson’s about to end it, Sadie. Trent said he’s telling his family the engagement is off.”

My heart dropped, crashing hard and shattering into pieces in my chest. It left a hollow ache behind that I already knew would be there for a long time. “He wouldn’t?—”

I cut myself off because, as the words had started coming out of my mouth, I’d realized that maybe he would. I’d accused Jameson of cheating. I’d told him I didn’t trust him, wasn’t sure if I knew him, and then I’d walked out.

The more I thought about our fight, about how hurt he’d been and about how he’d practically begged me to believe him, the more I realized it was entirely possible that he would call off our engagement. Hell, maybe he even thought it was what I wanted.

Confusion made my head swirl, the exhaustion after the day I’d had not helping.

Carson watched me, his features soft with sympathy.

“I’m not trying to upset you. I just think that maybe you should really consider coming back to Dallas for a while.

Take a breath. I’m heading home early tomorrow morning myself.

I figured I’d offer you a ride if you wanted it. ”

I shook my head weakly, the movement lame as my thoughts spun, only one really standing out. “I want to be with Jameson.”

“I know, but he’s not who you think he is, Sadie. He’s been lying to you and cheating on you. I hate seeing you like this. At least at home, you’ll be able to heal without him popping up all over the place.”

I looked down at the sidewalk, blinking hard in an attempt to fight the tears. My chest was burning, my very soul feeling wrung out and like it had been torn to shreds. “I can’t just leave. The adoption fair is in a few days. There’s still so much to do.”

He waved a hand like I was talking about a brunch I could just reschedule. “It’s just dogs. Someone else can handle it.”

I stiffened. “It’s not just dogs , Carson. This is my work. My life.”

He sighed, almost like he thought I was being stubborn simply for the sake of it. “I’m trying to help you.”

“If that was true, you wouldn’t dismiss something that truly matters to me,” I snapped, but then I inhaled a deep breath and lifted my gaze back to his. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a long day. Let’s just talk more in the morning.”

He stepped closer, not stopping until he was a couple inches too close.

“What matters is you . The fair and the adoptions? Someone else can oversee all that, but it’s after midnight, it’s cold, and you’re hanging out at an animal shelter just so you don’t have to be with him.

Get in the car. We’ll go to the airport, and I’ll fix everything. ”

I backed up, my heartbeat kicking into overdrive. “No. I told you?—”

He grabbed my arm and my breath caught, but then his grip became gentle and his expression pleading. “Do you really want to marry a man who cheats on you? Who only wants you for your inheritance? Open your eyes, Sadie.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Grateful for the interruption, I pulled it out and saw Trent’s name on the screen. Since I was sure he was calling to convince me of the same thing Carson was trying to, I didn’t pick up.

“Even your brother agrees with me,” Carson said, obviously having seen who had called me. “Jameson’s his best friend and Trent still doesn’t trust him with you. That should tell you something, Sadie. Maybe you should’ve listened to him from the start.”

My hand was shaking when I pulled my arm free. I really didn’t know what to think anymore. What to believe.

Jameson had kept something from me, sure, but that didn’t mean he was cheating. His reputation, who he used to be, none of that meant he hadn’t been faithful now. But I was tired. So tired. I felt like I’d been standing in a storm for hours, trying to convince myself I wasn’t getting wet.

“I just… I need some time,” I whispered.

Carson didn’t argue. He didn’t smile, either. He just opened the car door and once again gestured for me to get in.

Heartbroken, beyond confused, hollow, and too exhausted to keep fighting, I got in. Jameson was calling off our engagement, and in the end, that meant I truly didn’t have anywhere to go but home.