Page 126 of Brooklynaire

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Rebecca

She appears before me like a bad dream. Nate’s beautiful, intelligent ex, with the golden hair and gym owner’sbody.

Nate’s hand goes still on myback.

And this is exactly the scenario I’d been dreading. I brace myself to hear her sneer:Nate, you’ve moved up in the world, huh? Dating your secretary? That’sconvenient.

I’m just ramping up into panic mode when I take in a few more details. The lighter in her bony hand, for one. Since when does Juliet smoke? And her grim expression. She looks harder than when I last saw her. Her eyes aren’thappy.

If my team had just won the Cup, that’s not the face I’d bewearing.

Then she spots Nate, and her eyes widen. The moment yawns open between them, long andawkward.

I wonder what he sees. Someone he hates? Or someone he will alwayslove.

“Hi,” she says slowly, shaking off her surprise. “God. I’m so sorry about that story in thePost. The reporter called and I told her to go find a real story. I hung up onher.”

“It’s okay,” Nate says evenly. “Wasn’t the first dumb thing anyone ever wrote about me. And it won’t be thelast.”

“Well…” Juliet starts to say something, but she’s interrupted by a gruff male voice yelling from down thehall.

“Yo.Juliet!Where the fuck did yougo?”

“Uh…” Her eyes dart nervously down the corridor before returning to Nate’s. “I’m sorry anyway. It was shitty.” She swallows hard. “You look good. I hope you’re doingwell.”

“Can’t complain at all.” His palm heats the center of my back, and his thumb strokes my new purple sweater. “And, uh, you look great, too. Congratulations, by theway.”

“Juliet!” a man’s voice snarls. “Get the fuck downhere!”

She opens her mouth to reply, but then a thick-necked, red-faced player appears. Bart Palacio. As he takes in our little group of three, his lips curl into a sneer. “Am I interruptingsomething?”

“No,” Juliet says quickly, her face reddening. “Of coursenot.”

“So get your fat ass back here.” He jerks a thumb toward the crowded corridor. “Picturetime.”

Then he actually reaches for her wrist anddrags herbody away fromus.

I just stare after the two of them for a moment. My mouth is hanging open. “What the hell was that? Who speaks to his wife thatway?”

When I turn toward Nate, he looks stricken. “Jesus,” he says on an exhale. “He’s worse than Iremember.”

I feel outrage on behalf of a woman I don’t even like. I’m not sure she even noticed me standing there, either. And I just don’t evencare.

Because she said no to a life with Nate for that asshole. I can’t imagine why anyone would dothat.

I’ll never make the samemistake.

“Car’s here!” Gary says suddenly. “Let’sroll.”

When he opens the door, Nate and I step out into the night. The crowd outside strains forward, looking to see who’s emerged. They’ll be largely disappointed, because they’re waiting for their Dallas victors. But a few people point phones at us while Gary does his level best to block me from harm during the twenty-foot walk to thecar.

Mere seconds later the doors shut and the locks engage. The car drives away from thecurb.

Gary has hopped in front so it’s just the two of us in the back seat for this shortdrive.

“Are you okay?” I ask Nate, reaching across the leather seat to squeeze hishand.