Page 26 of Love Me

“That girl wants things in order, and you’re disrupting that. We shouldn’t underestimate her.”

“They’re together.”

“Ah, that makes you even more pissed.”

“You don’t get it.”

“What? Two girls wanting the same guy? It’s as if you’re narrating my own story.”

I roll my eyes at him. “It’s more than that. She’s… particular about things. I doubt it’s even about him.”

“Perfectionist?”

“My parents were great, but in her case, nothing she ever did was good enough. The Family fucked us all up.”

“You’re quite a badass.”

“I wasn’t back then.”

“Guys protect the people they love. It’s instinct.”

“He kept me weak, and I hate myself for allowing that.”

Hunter turns to me, suddenly intrigued. “So, would you have preferred he treated you differently?”

I was someone else, and back then, everything he did was perfect. It made sense. We made sense.

My silence answers for me.

“Thought so.”

How can I make someone else understand when I can’t do that myself? The girl I wasback then never thought something was off, or that I was dependent on him. I would have blissfully continued living in my bubble. It’s not like the person I’ve become was in my plan, but this version is better equipped for this life. For this family.

Kaden is smart, and by playing that song, he found my weakness. I don’t want a reminder of that girl.

Hunter suppresses a yawn, and I say, “Let’s drive back.”

“Focus on what we have to do.”

“And for that, I need the key to Kaden’s family mansion.”

How can I stay away when every part of the plan involves Kaden?

When Hunter parks the car at the house, I say, “Mia misses England. London was her home.”

He shudders, “That awful misty and mostly foggy place?”

“She’s a romantic.”

“I bet she knows more ways to hide a body than we do. Are you sure she’s reading romance?”

“Oh, yes, I bet you’d like it too, with that perverted mind of yours.”

I kiss him on the cheek and say, “Thank you for coming.”

“Anything for you.”

I stand over what’s left of my piano, a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth. She’s a little psycho, but fuck, I’ve never been so hard in my life.

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