I stared down at the text on my phone.
NASH
They suspended me until an investigation can be conducted.
My stomach twisted in a vicious cramp. This wasn’t happening. My fingers flew across the screen.
ME
What do you need? I can leave early and come home.
I worried the corner of my thumbnail as I waited for a response.
NASH
I’m fine. It’s basically a paid vacation. They’ll see through all the lies.
But I wasn’t quite as convinced. Adam had already gotten Nash suspended. He could push this so much further.
ME
Okay. I’ll be home in a couple of hours.
Home. That was what Nash would always be to me. But how could I be the same for him when I was messing up his life like this?
My phone flashed with an incoming call. Unknown Number. But the area code was one on the outskirts of Atlanta.
Anger surged somewhere deep, and I hit accept without truly thinking it through. “Yes?”
“Madison,” Adam crooned. “You sound upset. Is everything okay?”
“What do you want?” I clipped.
He chuckled. “Definitely upset. I heard that friend of yours got himself into a bit of trouble. Such a shame.”
“You won’t get away with this. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
Adam sighed. “Baby, you know what kind of reputation I have. Who do you think people will believe?”
Nausea swept through me. “What do you want?” I repeated.
Because I knew Adam wanted something.
“To talk to my fiancée, that’s all.”
My breaths started coming faster as my chest constricted. “We’re talking.”
“In person, baby.”
God, I hated that term of endearment. I’d loved it at first. It had made me feel special and cared for. Now, it felt like a brand, as if he were claiming ownership of me.
“You meet with me, and I’ll remove my complaint against the boy. Come to my cabin at the resort.”
I gripped my phone tighter. “Absolutely, not.”
“You sure about that? I can rain all sorts of trouble down on your little friend. I wonder what kind of dirt I could dig up. What type of picture it could paint.”
My stomach cramped. I’d seen Adam do this before—use completely innocent facts to paint a horrible picture of someone. But it’d worked. My resolve started to crumble.
Dumb, dumb, dumb. But some part of me hoped that if I just told Adam to his face that things were over, maybe he’d finally see reason. That there was no way threats could keep me hostage in a relationship that was horrible for both of us. “Meet me at Dockside Park.”
Adam was quiet for a moment, and I could almost see the annoyance flickering over his features. “This demandingness isn’t like you, Madison.”
“Maybe you just never knew me as well as you thought you did. Dockside Park or nowhere.”
The park was crowded at this time of day. And Adam wasn’t the type to pull anything in public.
“Fifteen minutes,” he clipped and hung up before I could respond.
I pulled the phone away from my ear, my hand shaking. The café had mostly emptied for the day, but we had a couple of customers left. Aspen had picked her daughter up and brought her back to The Brew. Now, Cady was doing pirouettes across the floor.
I searched out my friend and found her organizing the remaining baked goods in the case. As I approached her, she looked up. Her smile faltered. “What’s wrong?”
“Something happened with Nash that I need to try to fix. Is it okay if I take off now?”
“Of course. Do you need someone to go with you? I could close up early.”
I shook my head. She’d have to bring Cady with her, and this wasn’t something a child should be exposed to. “No. But thank you.” I rounded the counter and pulled her into a hug. “You are such a good friend. You know that, right?”
Aspen hugged me back. “It’s always nice to hear. Is Nash okay?”
I released her. “He will be.” I had to believe that with everything I had.
“Text me if you need anything.”
“I will.” I grabbed my purse and headed for the door.
“Bye, Miss Maddie,” Cady called.
“Bye, Cady. Your spins look beautiful.”
She grinned and waved.
I tried to hold on to the spark of happiness that Cady shared with everyone she came across. And some of the bravery her mother had shown me how to find. I wouldn’t cower in the face of bullies any longer.
I looked both ways and then stepped into the crosswalk. Voices carried on the breeze. Kids chased one another around the playground. Adults laughed as they talked and took in the beautiful view. The crowd was comforting. He couldn’t do anything to me here. I was safe.
I said the words over and over in my mind. But the idea of facing Adam after everything that had happened had nausea rolling through me.
Finding an empty bench, I sat. While I waited, I let my memories of Nash play in my mind. He’d always been my escape when things got hard. I could replay every happy moment and lose myself in them. Only now, I had even more to play on the movie screen of my mind.
I felt Adam before I saw him. There was a shift in the air, and a coolness swept over me.
He lowered himself onto the other side of the bench and leaned in as if he might kiss my cheek.
I held up a hand. “Don’t.”
Anger flickered in his eyes, deepening as they narrowed on the bruising along my hairline. “That never would’ve happened if you were home where you belong.”
I gaped at him. Was he serious? The last time I’d seen him, he’d nearly put me through a wall. “I’m here. Talk.”
He leaned against the back of the bench, casual as could be. “Your indiscretions won’t be easily forgiven.”
“I don’t want them to be.”
He raised a brow in question at that.
I sighed. “We’re done, Adam. We don’t make each other happy. We make each other miserable.”
Surprise flashed across Adam’s expression. “We love each other. Sure, we fight, but that happens with every couple.”
I gaped at him. “Do you honestly think that what happened between us is normal? You kicked me so hard I broke three ribs.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You need to learn to watch your tone when you speak to me. If you did, I wouldn’t lose my temper.”
“I’m never going to be able to watch my tone enough to keep you happy. And I will never put up with someone who shows his displeasure by hurting the person he’s supposed to love.”
“Is this about him?”
I blinked a few times. “Is that really what you took from everything I said?”
“He’s staying at your house,” Adam growled.
A shiver swept over me, but I shouldn’t have been surprised that Adam knew. That he had been keeping tabs or had hired someone to do it. I took a deep breath and stared at the man who had caused me more pain than I could put into words. “I love him.”
Redness crept up Adam’s throat. “You were cheating on me the whole time, weren’t you?”
“No. I was never unfaithful. But I’ve always loved him, and that will never change. Go home. Get the help you need. We’re over.”
Adam leaned forward, closing the distance between us. “Do you really think I’ll let you get away with this? Making a fool out of me? I’ll ruin you. One piece of your life at a time. And I’ll start with him.”
