Page 76 of Strictly Pretend

He walks through it silently.

When we’re on the step I close the door and walk down the stairs to the gravel drive.

“Where are we going?” Will asks.

“Where we can’t be heard.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to talk here.” He flashes me his teeth. “It feels safer.”

“Yeah, well you shouldn’t feel safe, you little shit,” I grunt at him. “What the fuck were you thinking, upsetting my girl?”

“She shouldn’t be your girl. You hadn’t even told her the truth about you.” Will folds his arms across his chest. He has this smug look on his face that makes me want to smash it.

I take a deep breath. I’m at a wedding. I can’t smash anything.

Instead I take a step toward him, my jaw tight. He takes a step back. So I take another step and so does he, like we’re dancing not facing each other off.

Then his back hits the front door.

I reach out and grab his collar. Alarm washes over his face.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” I tell him, my voice thick. “You don’t go near Emma again.”

“I’ll do whatever I want,” he taunts.

My grip tightens. “You fucked another woman in front of her. You broke her heart. I’m trying to fix it here.”

“You’re not doing a good job if you’re lying to her.”

I wince, because he doesn’t know how close to the truth he is. “We’re here for two more days. If you even look her damn way, I’m going to make sure the next time you smile your teeth are in your ass.”

“You think you’re a big man, huh?” he says.

“I think I’m a better man than you are.”

For the first time he winces. “I did her wrong. I know that. But she doesn’t deserve for you to do her wrong too.”

Is he being serious right now? “I’m not doing her wrong.”

“Then why did you lie to her?”

I open my mouth to respond then shake my head. I’m never going to win this argument. Mostly because I’m as much of a piece of shit as he is. “It’s none of your business. And I’m serious. Stay away. You’ve done enough damage.”

“I’ll stay away if you promise to treat her right.”

I blink, because what the hell? How many people have demanded that of me this week? Her granddad, her friends, now her ex? Jesus.

“Honey!” Jemima shouts out as she comes running around the front of the house, wincing as her feet hit the gravel. “Has he hurt you? Want me to call the cops?” Then she lets out a howl. She must’ve stepped on a sharp piece of stone.

I roll my eyes. “Go sort your girlfriend out,” I tell Will, letting go of his shirt and stepping back. “And leave mine alone.”

“Fuck you,” Will mutters, but he looks chagrined at least. And I’m pretty sure he’s got the message. “And she’s your fiancée, not your girlfriend.”

I’m still fuming a few minutes later when I get back to where the ATVs are. I take a deep breath, because I don’t want Emma seeing me like this, but it doesn’t help.

So I take out my phone and call the only other person who knows how to deal with my mood swings.

Linc answers almost right away. I think he must be in his living room, and the kids have to be watching television because I can hear the high-pitched sound of TV characters in the background.

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