Page 202 of Push

“Honey.” Marnie laughed. “Take another look around. You have zero friends here. So, get to your point before there’s a fight between me and my handsome friend here about who gets to throw you out of this café on your bony ass.”

Kayleigh’s gaze flicked to me. I said nothing, staring at her expressionless as I sipped my coffee. Silence drove some people crazy. Liam had taught me that.

She wasn’t rattled for long. She smiled at me sweetly. “We both know you’re the one sending fake threats to Toby to frameme,” she said. “The police have cornered me twice. The other day, they charged up to me out of nowhere to give me my supposedlast warning. I was live streaming at spin class!”

Marnie covered her mouth in horror. “Not at spin class!” The sharpness of Kayleigh’s glare didn’t faze her. Marnie laughed.

“Kayleigh,” I said. “I have no reason to send made-up threats to my husband. Fake messages and posts are your domain, sweetie.”

“Well,Ididn’t send them!”

My eyebrows knitted with fake concern. “Are you sure? Maybe you hit your head at spin class?” I reached over the table and patted her hand.

She snatched her scrawny claw away, narrowing her eyes. “You’re such a cold bitch. Sarah was so right about you. Gutter.Trash.No wonder Toby was so desperate for me to save him—”

“Kayleigh, for God’s sake, just give this up.” The strain in my voice made it clear my patience was already thin. “I have no interest in playing high school mean girls with you, okay? I’m older than you, smarter than you, and way more skilled at being, what was it again? Oh yeah, a cold bitch.”

“At least we agree on thebitchpart,” she snipped.

My expression remained blank. She truly was a child. “Whatever happened between you and my husband is over. He wants nothing to do with you. You’re the one humiliating yourself pretending that this is some competition when, sweetie, you were never even a contender. So, listen up.” I grabbed my fork and dragged my plate closer. “You’ve got about one minute to walk your little butt out of here and out of my family’s life with some dignity. After that…” I lifted a shoulder and, unbothered, scooped my fork into the pancakes.

“After that…what?”

“Those guys want to have a chat with you.” I pointed a forkful of pancakes across the café.

Kayleigh twisted on the chair, her face collapsing when she saw Wayne standing in the doorway speaking to the hostess out front. Two uniformed officers loomed behind him.

“This isn’t a joke, Kayleigh,” I said. “You’re all out of warnings. They’re going to arrest you this time.”

Kayleigh shot out of the seat. She slung her bag over her shoulder, and her heels skittered across the floor in frantic clicks as she tottered for the back exit.

“Too bad you’re not live streaming!” Marnie cackled.

The cops muscled their way through the crowd.

“A chase on foot, too!” Wayne weaved in after them, dodging tables and stumbling tourists. He shot me a wild grin over his shoulder as he tore past. “This is—the best fucking day—” he wheezed, clutching a stitch in his side. “But man—my wife was right. I’ve gotta lay off the steaks…”

Every set of eyes in the café was glued to the commotion on the sidewalk outside except mine.

With a quiet smile, I raised my coffee and savored another sip.

61

She Visited His Work

Gwen

Toby’s smile was sunshinethat only glowed brighter as he pushed open the clinic door and hurried me inside.

“Come meet everyone!”

I couldn’t match the bounce in his step. Still lopsided with my busted knee, I hobbled down the white corridor, doing my best to look excited for the grand tour of his new work. Enormous flourishes showed off the reception and the break room, and with his chest puffed out, he introduced me to all the staff as his “beautiful wife, Gwen.”

I smiled and nodded politely as we exchanged small talk about families and details about the clinic barbecue planned for the following weekend. Even hearing his new boss enthusiastically call the event ‘The Great Grill-Off’ reassured me that Toby had finally found his people.

Introductions over, Toby shuttled me down more corridors, stopped, and then thrust open the door. “My room!” He pushed his shoulders back and grinned. “What do you think?”

I stepped inside. There was no sign of the stark white of his old clinic. My mouth dropped open. I’d stumbled into a mystical forest. A weeping willow and toadstool houses decorated the walls, and sparkling stars on a midnight sky dotted the ceiling. I nearly missed the tiny woman in the corner, wisps of her lilac hair fluttering as she busied herself, pushing some boxes out of the way. She looked like she belonged in a fairytale herself.

---