Page 46 of Bad Boy Husband

SADIE

Collins waved like we were two old friends meeting for mimosas and gossip, not a showdown. I was already seated at a table on the terrace when she strode up to me, glossy sunglasses perched high on her head.

A glass of rosé was waiting for her on the table, my own already sweating in my hand. I smiled sweetly, blowing her a kiss through the air. “Collins, thank you for meeting me.”

“Of course,” she said brightly, but I noticed her sweeping her gaze across my features, as if she was trying to find traces of my tears. “You look amazing. I wasn’t even sure you’d show, but here you are, looking like a million dollars.”

I cocked my head at her as she sat down. “Why wouldn’t I show up? I asked you to meet me here.”

Her answering smile seemed almost rehearsed, one of those perfectly symmetrical ones that she used when she was trying to get her way. In my experience, it had always worked for her, but it was going to fail her today.

“Well, everything’s just been so intense lately,” she said with a hushed undertone in her voice. “I wasn’t even sure you’d want to see me after all that nastiness back in California. I really am sorry, you know.”

“Oh, of course,” I said softly. “You’re my friend, though. Right? Friends work through these kinds of things together. Besides, I’m sure you’ve broken it off with Jameson by now yourself.”

Her smile flickered but just barely. “Of course.”

She leaned forward like we were sharing secrets, her gaze intent on mine. “Sadie, I’m so glad you reached out to me. I’ve been dying for an opportunity to talk to you about all this.”

“Of course,” I echoed her sentiment, sending her a rehearsed, fake smile of my own. “Us girls have to stick together.”

“Exactly. I did all of this for you for that exact reason.”

“You did?”

“Oh, darling. I just didn’t want to see you get hurt. Jameson was using you all along. He’s simply a terrible guy for someone like you. I mean, if you’d heard half the stories I have about him, you would’ve stayed far, far away. I couldn’t bear to see him do all that to you.”

I tilted my head. “He was using me?”

“Yes,” she said, nodding emphatically as she picked up her wine. “You were just a distraction for him. From what I’ve heard, he’s never taken women seriously. I know what I did was drastic, but someone had to step in and no one else was volunteering.”

I took a sip of my wine and gave her a moment. Obviously, she thought I was still piecing my broken heart back together. She thought she still held all the power.

“You must’ve been so worried about me,” I said, voice syrupy as could be.

“I was.” She put her hand over mine. “You’ve always been more like a sister than a friend to me.”

“A sister, huh?” I looked down at her fingers, perfectly manicured with pale pink polish. Then I withdrew my hand and brought my eyes up to hers. “In that case, I should’ve known that you’ve been dating Carson. How long has that been going on for anyway?”

Collins froze. Her hand retracted from my side of the table like she’d touched something hot, and in her eyes, I could almost see the recoil. “What?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Did it start before or after you tried to push him on me?”

“I—” She interrupted herself with an unconvincing laugh. “I don’t even like Carson. You know that. I told you that I’ve known him for a while. If I wanted him, I would have him.”

I reached into my bag and pulled out a little velvet pouch, dropping it on the table between us. “I found this in my bag after that night I spent at his house.”

She paled a little. “What is it?”

“Earrings. You left them at his place,” I said. “I must’ve swept them in with my stuff. I was in such a hurry to get out of there. He gave me the creeps, if I’m being totally honest. Total loser.”

She didn’t touch the pouch, just continued to stare at it like it might bite her. “Those aren’t mine.”

“Sure, they are. I recognized them from that day you took me shopping,” I said.

“Remember when we were walking around that frightfully expensive jewelry store and you kept going on about how I probably couldn’t afford anything in there?

You did it so kindly, of course, like you weren’t being a totally condescending bitch about it.

Then you bought these. They’re one of a kind, right? ”

Her face went flat, then cold. Clearly, she was ready to stop pretending, but I wasn’t done with my grand reveal just yet. Jameson’s research on her and Carson had paid off big time, and with a few extra pieces of the puzzle, courtesy of my dear brother, I was armed and ready to confront her.

“You’ve been sneaking around with him for months, but the timing was off, wasn’t it? You fell in love with him after he tanked the company, but you knew about my inheritance and the conditions attached to it, and lo and behold, here I was.”

She shook her head but I held up my hand to keep her from saying anything.

“Trent told me you were the one who asked him to invite Carson golfing that day,” I said. “I heard you even whispered a few things to him about what a good guy Carson was and what an awesome match we’d make. You almost had me fooled, Collins. Almost .”

“You ruined everything,” she hissed, the mask slipping away completely. “You don’t understand what you’ve done.”

“I think I understand just fine.”

“My parents are making me marry him,” she spat.

“Do you have any idea how humiliating that is? He was supposed to have money! He was supposed to be my ticket out from under their thumbs, and then he went and lost everything. But you? You suddenly showed up with your inheritance and he saw an easy target. A poor, desperate girl who needed to get married so she could throw all that money to the literal dogs.”

“So you helped him?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“I was helping myself , Sadie,” she snapped. “Don’t act like you’ve never played the game.”

“I’ve never played that game,” I said confidently, knowing she would never find anything she could use against me. “Even if I had, I never would have played you . You were my friend, Collins.”

She scoffed. “Oh, boo-hoo. Poor Sadie. Do you really think Jameson loves you? Do you honestly think this is going to end with a ring, a mansion, and a fucking puppy? You don’t have a clue, but you’ll see. I still have those pictures, after all.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure he already has a ring.

He definitely has a mansion. I know that because I’m already living in it with him, and we don’t have a puppy, but we do have two dogs.

We might adopt a puppy soon, though. That’s actually not a bad idea.

” I broke into a slow grin. “Which pictures are you referring to? The ones of you and Jameson in that bar? You desperately trying to throw yourself at him? How embarrassing. You can’t even give it away. ”

Collins narrowed her eyes. “You think this is funny?”

“Yeah, I do actually,” I said, smiling openly now. “Go ahead and release the pictures. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but messing with Westwoods tends to have consequences. Just ask Carson.”

Collins blanched and I let the moment stretch so that she would know I wasn’t bluffing.

“Get up now and get out of my sight. Your membership here has been revoked. Security should be coming to tell you any minute now, but you can probably get ahead of them. Before they make a whole scene of it, you know?”

She stood, the heat in her cheeks betraying how rattled she was. “This isn’t over, Sadie.”

“It is,” I said. “For you. See, we’ve got evidence of Carson’s…

unfortunate dealings. Plus, Jameson has already told his family and mine about what you did.

They know you set him up, so even if you do release the pictures, you won’t cause any trouble for us, but for yourself?

You’d be surprised what Sterling’s PI has dug up about you. ”

She turned and stopped dead when she saw Jameson standing at the entrance to the terrace, one hand in his pocket, sunglasses pushed back into his hair. She stepped back instinctively, like he might reach for handcuffs.

He didn’t say a word, just stared at her with the kind of disdain that said he already considered her completely irrelevant. Her nostrils flared and she stormed past him, her head high and her heels clacking until she saw a security guard come her way.

That part had been a bluff. Jameson had the power to have her membership revoked and he’d offered, but I’d declined. I’d wanted to get my revenge by confronting her and letting her know that her plan had failed spectacularly, but I honestly didn’t give a damn if she kept lunching here.

This place was at the center of her very small existence. Perhaps, it would’ve been right to get her banned, but I hardly ever came here anyway, and besides, soon enough, everyone would know what she’d done—and how miserably she’d failed.

Just the knowledge that they would all be pitying her was enough for me.

Jameson waited until she was completely gone before walking to the table. “Did that go well?”

I exhaled, my heart still thudding. “Let’s just say it was clarifying, and empowering.”

He grinned and sat down across from me, glancing at the wine she’d picked up but had never sipped. “Did she drink any of that? I’m thirsty as hell. It was damn hot out there.”

I smiled. “Have at it.” Sweeping my own glass into my hand, I held it out toward him. “Here’s to us, and hopefully the last drama we’re going to have to deal with for a long time.”

He clinked with me, a playful smirk on his lips as he shook his head. “I don’t give a shit if we have to deal with drama. As long as we’re dealing with it together, bring it on.”

Butterflies burst to life in my stomach, happily fluttering their wings as I looked across the table into the hazel eyes of the man I loved. “To that, then. Dealing with drama together.”

We each took a sip of our wine and I finally let my shoulders relax, just leaning back in my chair and taking in the Texas sunshine. “Did you ask him?”

“Trent?” He nodded. “We’re heading home with the best man sorted. Want to grab some lunch before our flight out?”

I grinned at him. “Flight, huh? That’s funny. I remember something about you absolutely hating flying and yet you seem to be okay with it when you’re coming here.”

His features scrunched up. “Commercial flights are disgusting. Metal tubes full of germs that have been around since they carried their first passengers. I don’t even love flying on the jet, but for you? There’s absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do.”

Even the butterflies swooned. He winked at me before he flagged down the waiter and ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and a salad for each of us. Then he leaned back in his chair and looked out at the course.

I followed his gaze, watching a pair of golfers argue about something. As I settled into a comfortable silence with him, even the air we were breathing felt lighter. I could feel my pulse finally beginning to slow and I got to actually appreciate the Dallas sun on my skin.

“How are the dogs?” I asked after a moment. “You remembered to ask someone to watch them, didn’t you?”

That made him grin. “My brothers are obsessed. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if all three of them showed up at the adoption fair.”

I chuckled. “Well, there are more than enough adoptees who would be happy to see them.”

“Also, uh, I’m not sure we’re going to be getting Winkle back from Callum.” He winced, but I saw the laughter in his eyes. “He was a little too eager to take care of him while we were gone.”

A surge of joy swept through me and I sighed. “I think that’s okay. Winkle was never meant to stay with us forever. I was only trying to foster him until someone came along to give him his forever home. He really wasn’t coping at the shelter.”

“Then I’m glad Callum took a shine to him,” he said, turning his gaze back to the golfers. “He always has had a way of seeing beautiful things in the weirdest places. It might just be a match made in heaven.”

I hummed my agreement. If Callum did want to keep Winkle, that would be okay by me. If he didn’t, I had a feeling Jameson wouldn’t mind if we fostered him a little bit longer. Because us? Me and him?

We definitely were a match made in heaven and suddenly I couldn’t wait to make it official.