Page 43 of Falling for the Grumpy Stranger

Rhett turned around. A tiny smile curled up his lip. “You sure have a way with words, Ella. After all this time, after having to relay the awful story to authorities, police and even my lawyer, it never felt cathartic to lay it all out in the open. I still always felt terrible about it. Heck, I even questioned myself about my decision to leave him in the car. I considered the possibility that I’d done it because I was mad at him, upset about the betrayal.”

“That’s ridiculous. You suffered severe burns. You must have been in a great deal of pain yourself, and surely you would have died right alongside him once the fire reached the gas tank.” I got up and wrapped my arms around him. “You were a hero that day. You saved Christine.”

“Yeah, I sure did. Now she’s haunting me.” He chuckled. “But you know what? I don’t care. Things have been looking up forme, and the main reason is standing right here in my arms. She’s the first person in the past year to say something that actually made me feel better about all of it.”

I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a word magician.”

Chapter Thirty-One

RHETT

Ella was going to dinner with her sisters. Her sister, Ava, was leaving next week for a new research position in Egypt. I needed to confront Christine about her tactics. She’d become much more unpredictable and meaner since the accident and my filing for divorce. I’d seen an edge of something that might be considered manic during our short marriage, and I didn’t trust her, especially since she’d situated herself so close to Ella. I wasn’t sure she knew that Ella and I had started a relationship, but I wasn’t going to take chances. I hated to give in to her demands. It was nothing short of blackmail, but I’d do anything to get her off my back and out of my life.

A drizzly fog had moved in off the ocean and settled over the coastline. Only the pointed shingle roof of the Lovely cottage was visible through the mist. A porch light burned like a flaming ball in the dampness, but the cottage was dark. They were still out celebrating Ava’s new job.

The rental cottage wasn’t nearly as inviting. A brick pathway led up to a blue door. Plaster was cracked and some chunks were missing from the grayish façade. The front stoop was dark, but I saw a light on in the house. I didn’t hesitate. I wanted nothing more than to put some closure on this whole chapter in my life.I’d lost my best friend. I’d sold the company that had been my dream, the baby I’d coddled like a doting parent from day one. Christine had been the least important piece of the puzzle, but she’d also been the most persistent, like a tiny splinter in your finger that you can’t reach and that you forget about until you touch something.

My knuckles struck the door hard. “Christine, it’s me. Open up.”

Footsteps came across a creaky floor. Christine opened the door and immediately her gaze shot across to the other cottage. Only the front half of the yard was visible due to a thick layer of trees between the properties. Her quick glance that direction told me that she knew about Ella and me.

She put on what I used to call her Hollywood starlet smile, like she was trying to impress a big producer. “Rhett, what a surprise! If I knew I was going to see you, I would have gotten dressed.”

“Save it for someone who cares, Christine,” I muttered as I pushed past her. The flowery scent of her favorite hand lotion hit me. I hated that smell now. I stopped in the front room, a small space with an oversized couch with two opposite windows, one overlooking the front yard and one overlooking the cove. A stack of rice cakes sat on a small plate next to two baby carrots, her usual fare. She rarely ate more than two bites of any dish. I loved that about Ella. She loved food, and she didn’t spend her day worried about everything that crossed her lips.

Christine sashayed past me, leaving that overwhelming lotion scent in a cloud around me. She dropped onto the couch and brought her sock-covered feet up behind her, then patted the cushion next to her.

“Not staying for a visit. I’m just here to say you won. If you want ten percent more of the proceeds, then you’ve got it, but it comes with a stipulation.”

Her long lashes fluttered like insect wings. “What’s that?”

“It’s simple. Leave me alone. I don’t ever want to see you or talk to you again. We part ways forever. End of story.”

Another lash flutter and a simpering smile. “But that’s so harsh, Rhett. What about all we had together?”

I laughed. “I’d like to forget that portion of my life for good.”

Her next expression was a well-practiced pout. I’d seen the exact same expression when she’d insisted I buy her a diamond necklace and again when she begged me to buy the beach house with the bigger pool and more square footage. “This is all because of that woman, Ella.” She curled up her lip in derision. “My gosh, you can’t be serious, Rhett. Just like that wreck of a house. That woman doesn’t belong in Rhett Lockwood’s world. What could you possibly see in that country bumpkin?”

“I can see all the things I don’t see in you. And that part of my life is none of your business. If you, however, go near her, borrow sugar from her or so much as wave her direction, the whole deal is off, and I will take you to court and make sure you leave with just your comical collection of shoes and that smelly hand lotion.”

I’d finally cracked through her fake act. She sat forward, angrily. “I’m upping the amount to twenty percent.”

“You’re nuts. I built that company from the ground up.”

“With Mike’s help,” she sneered.

“Right. Mike was great at getting investors, but otherwise, it was all me. And you came in after it was already successful.” I laughed dryly. “You wouldn’t have latched on like you did if it was still just a fledgling company. No, you saw it all—your big wedding, fancy clothes, being a big shot in all your friend circles. I was the least important part.”

Her bottom lip quivered. I wasn’t falling for it. “I’ve been brokenhearted about our split.” She walked across the room tome, clutched my shirt in her long nails and leaned toward me. I stood frozen with my hands to my sides.

I stared harshly down at her. “You are a practiced liar. Always have been.”

She reached up to my face. It was so unexpected it took me a second to react. “What are you doing?”

“Me? Just putting on a little show.” She looked toward the window that looked out to the front yard. There was a figure standing a few feet from the stoop. The shadows and lack of light on the porch made it hard to see her face at first.

“Ella,” I said to myself.

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