Page 7 of Unbroken

“It’s not gossip if it’s about your life. And if you don’t want to talk about it, I totally understand, but I’m here if you ever want to vent.”

I glanced over at her, expecting to see the look I hated most.Pity. The same look I’d been getting from everyone around town the past two years, ever since Charlotte and I had finally split, following the second time that I’d caught her cheating. Everyone seemed to think I’d “won” the divorce because no one felt that I was at fault for my marriage falling apart. But I sometimes thought I’d be fine with losing if it meant that everyone would stop looking at me like they expected me to break down in tears at any moment. And coming from Fiona, the pity would feel even worse because she’d always considered me a worthy adversary, on the same level. Looking at her now, though, I was surprised to realize I didn’t see pity. No, what I was seeing was outrage. For me? It was as unexpected as it was refreshing.

Charlotte’s affair had knocked me on my ass. It wasn’t like we’d ever had atrueyou’re-my-everything love match, but we’d had Patrick and made a good life together. Thanks to my parents, I knew that marriages weren’t always perfect, and I was content with a stable, companionable relationship. Charlotte wasn’t. She needed something that I couldn’t give her, and she went trolling until she found it. At least twice. Possibly more.

“Yeah, let’s change the subject,” I said not wanting to delve into how much I appreciated Fiona’s lack of pity.

“Okay,” she answered quickly. “Ummm … you were mentioning horses. I went down to the stables and saw a few I didn’t recognize, so I’m not sure who I should ride. I’ll probably get Josh’s input since he knows my style.”

I could barely hear what she was saying because the figure heading straight toward us looked way too familiar. I squinted at the blonde in sunglasses, and my heart sank when I realized it was her.

Had I summoned my ex by bringing her up? Whynow, when I had Fiona with me? I knew that Charlotte was in town for the wedding too, but I hadn’t thought I’d have to deal with her until the ceremony itself. I watched her getting closer and realized that Colt, the guy she’d cheated on me with the last time, was a few steps behind her. There was no way to avoid them. Within a few seconds we’d be face-to-face with the woman who’d upended my life. I glanced around to see who else was going to witness this and was relieved to see the street was mostly empty.

“Eli!” Charlotte shrieked when she finally spotted me. She picked up the pace.

I glanced over at Fiona, who was looking confused. “That’s my ex,” I said under my breath and saw her mouth drop open again.

“Noway,” she whispered.

“I’ll make it quick,” I promised before plastering on a fake grin. “Hey, Charlotte. Colt.”

Colt gave me a tight smile back. I saw his eyes travel quickly up and down Fiona’s body. She was wearing a simple V-neck T-shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots, but the outfit couldn’t hide her curves. It certainly didn’t hurt running into them with Fiona by my side. Just the same, I didn’t like how he looked at her. And judging from the frown on her face, Fiona didn’t like it either.

Charlotte was in her typical cowgirl chic get-up, which was pure theatrics because she was from Boston. Her blonde hair was curled into perfect ringlets, and her white eyelet sundress made her look like she was trying too hard for midday. She was pretty, yes, but she didn’t hold a candle to Fiona, and from the sour look on her face, it was clear that she knew it—and knew that Colt had noticed, too, which didn’t do anything to sweeten Charlotte’s mood. With fifteen years on Charlotte, Colt was handsome in a weathered way. He’d probably been a good-looking man in his youth, but working in the sun had turned his skin dark and leathery so now he looked like he could be Charlotte’s father instead of her boyfriend.

“Oh my goodness, look atyou!” she said in a sing-songy voice. “And who is this?” Charlotte had moved to Poplar Spring after college, then moved away after the divorce, so she and Fiona had never met.

“This is Fiona Cafferty, my boss Josh’s sister. She works at the ranch too. I drove her into town to pick up her car from the shop.”

From the way Charlotte frowned at that, I could tell she was remembering all she’d heard about the youngest Cafferty sister. My friends had made enough jokes in Charlotte’s hearing about “the one that got away” for Charlotte to develop a chip on her shoulder about Fiona. I could see her running calculations about the current status of our relationship, so I took a step away from Fiona.

“Speaking of pickups and drop offs, Colt and I were just saying that we’re looking forward to spending some time with Patrick the day after the wedding. We’re still on for that, right?”

Even though I’d moved past her betrayal, it still chafed at me that Colt spent time with Patrick. But I couldn’t let it show. Charlotte, whatever her flaws, had been more than fair during the divorce settlement. She’d admitted fault, had agreed to a fair split of our assets, and had let me claim nearly full custody, agreeing that staying where he was would be best for Patrick. She only got the boy for a few weeks a year, so on the rare occasion when she visited town, it felt wrong to argue that she couldn’t spend a little extra time with our son in whatever way she saw fit. “Yup.”

“Okay, we can work out the details at the reception. I heard you’re going alone, so you’ll have plenty of time to talk, right?” I started to respond but she pressed on. “It’s such a shame you’re still single! Maybe you’ll meet a nice bridesmaid?”

I could almost feel Fiona twitching beside me, a white-hotsomethingemanating from her. I glanced at her and saw that she was staring at Charlotte with her mouth open and brow furrowed. I’d seen that expression before, so I braced for impact knowing that the next words out of her mouth—whatever they might be—were going to shake everything up.

“Well, I sure hope he doesn’t meet a bridesmaid,” Fiona finally said in a saccharine voice that sounded nothing like her.

“Oh really? Why is that?” Charlotte asked, her drawn-on eyebrows rising to new heights.

I didn’t understand what was going on when Fiona closed the distance between us and threaded her hand into my crossed arms. I went along with it because pulling away would’ve looked strange.

“Because he’s my date! Or rather, I’m his,” she added with a laugh.

Fiona bumped her shoulder against my arm, then rested her head against me for a second, giving me a coquettish look from under fluttering lashes.

Wait … what?

Sure, I needed a lifeline, but notthis, whatever the hell it was that Fiona was doing was not it.

I choked, then coughed quickly to cover it up.

“What?” Charlotte said, echoing my thoughts and drawing out the word as she gave us the world’s fakest smile. “Eli, why are you holding out on me? When did this happen?”

I opened my mouth to say that Fiona was playing some weird kind of prank and that I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn’t get a chance.

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