Page 53 of Mateo & Nicole

Mateo gritted his teeth, already hearing Sophia’s approach from behind. His voice was a low growl as he glowered at Caroline. “You’re not welcome here, which means you’re trespassing. This is private property, and as such, I’m asking you to vacate the premises before I have to get the authorities involved.”

She tilted her head, her eyes sparking. “This is about that other woman, isn’t it?” Her focus shifted to scan the immediate area, but she didn’t seem to find what she was looking for as she brought her gaze to lock with his again. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easy.”

“On the contrary, I think you will find it’ll be easier than you expect.” He released her wrist and took a step back. “I don’t love you anymore.”

“You don’t love the person I was,” she corrected him. “I’ve changed.”

“I don’t care.”

Caroline strode closer and reached out to touch his face. Fire burned in his chest, the temptation to yank her hand behind her back and escort her to her car stronger than it had ever been. But he just stood there. She needed to see that she didn’t affect him. Thankfully, his determination was working. She frowned at him and dropped her hand. “I’m going to prove it to you, Mateo. I’m going to show you exactly what you’ve been missing, and you’re going to leave whoever that woman is for me. We belong together.”

“Come on, you heard him. Leave,” Sophia snapped, grabbing Caroline by the shoulders and spinning her around to push her toward her car. She threw a livid look at Mateo before she continued herding his ex back the way she’d come.

Mateo exhaled a sharp breath, feeling dirty for allowing her to even touch him. He watched her shuffle forward, heard her shrieks of protest when Sophia practically shoved her into her car. Caroline wasn’t going to give up. It wasn’t her style. She’d push and push until he had no more strength to push back. Then she’d slither under his defenses and tear him apart from the inside.

Slowly, he glanced toward the cafeteria, wishing he could just go to Nikki and hold her in his arms. He needed her strength and her humor. He needed reassurance that they were going to be okay.

Sophia shoved his shoulder so hard he stumbled back a step, his boot snagging on a rock before he tumbled to the dirt. He glowered up at her, the dust cloud around him permeating his senses.

“What was that for?” he snapped.

She stood above him, her eyes flashing with wild fury. “What were you thinking?”

He winced as he dusted the dirt from his hands and climbed to his feet. “What do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”

Sophia’s arm shot out, pointing a finger where Caroline had been parked. “Why would you let her come here?”

This time he focused on dusting his backside from the dirt that clung to it. “It’s a free country, Sophia,” he gritted out. “What did you want me to do? File for a restraining order?”

“Yes!”

His eyes snapped to meet hers before he released a baffled and yet jaded laugh. “You realize you can only request them after recorded conflicts have already taken place, right? She would have had to damage our property or hurt someone?—”

“She hurtyou! Or did you forget that when she had her hands all over you?”

He glowered at her. “She didn’t have her hands all over me,” Mateo said sheepishly.

Sophia scoffed. “From my vantage point, it didn’t look like you were bothered all that much by the way she was treating you. I wonder what Nikki might have thought if she caught you two together like that.”

A terrifying chill coursed down his spine. They were in a strong enough relationship that Nikki would have given him the benefit of the doubt, right? She would have asked him what was going on, and he would have told her. Part of him wished she had been out here with them when Caroline showed up. At least then she would have heard him tell Caroline to leave.

“How long has she been in town? Please tell me that she’s visiting friends or something and happened to find out we live here.”

Mateo dragged his hand down his face and groaned. “It’s not a secret that we moved here, Sophia. It’s all over our social media pages. It wouldn’t take a sleuth to figure out where we live.”

“So, she just shows up out of the blue? Nah. I don’t believe that for a second. She had to have reached out first.”

He avoided looking at her, and that was all it took for Sophia to put together some very important pieces.

“Mateo!” she hissed. “Please tell me you haven’t been speaking with her.”

Still, he didn’t respond. He should never have let her talk him into coffee.

“Are you kidding me?” Sophia paced in front of him, running her hands through her hair as her face tinted colors. “How many times, Mateo?”

“What?”

“How long have you been going behind Nikki’s back?—”

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