Page 86 of My Silver Lining

That was never a good sign.

I came to a stop, and Rafe stared down at my phone as I groaned. “Beckett’s at the bar. Of course, he came on Valentine’s Day.”

“All right. Let’s go get this over with,” he said, as if it was no big deal.

“Rafe, you don’t know who you’re dealing with. He’s not rational. He’s going to flip a table and throw a fit and have a slew of paparazzi there to catch it all on film. Let’s just go home.”

“No.” He looked down at me, hands on each of my shoulders so I’d stay put. “Aren’t you tired of letting this be a part of your life? You’ve been done with this dude for a long time. It’s enough already,” he said.

“I agree. But a big public scene doesn’t help anyone.”

“Let him flip a table. Let him throw a fit. He doesn’t get to have you just because he’s back in town and wants to claim you. Fuck him. Let’s just go have a good night. If he wants to talk, we’ll talk. If he’s unhinged, we’ll have him escorted out of the place. This is a small town. No one here gives a shit that he’s the lead singer in some boy band.”

I shook my head with a laugh. “You think it’s that simple?”

“It is that simple if you don’t allow it to be more. If you don’t give him the power to let this be more. Come on, Lu. Think about it. As far as he knows, you’ve moved on. And I won’t stand by and let some rich little asshole come in and attempt to ruin my night withmy woman,” he smirked as he took my hand and started walking.

“Fine. We’ll do it your way. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I said.

“I’m not worried about it. But when I show you how simple it’s going to be to shut this down, I think you could grant me round two of the Valentine’s Day romp in the hay.” His voice was laced with humor, but I saw the heat in his eyes when he looked over at me.

And damn if I wasn’t ready for round two myself.

But I wouldn’t give it up that easily.

“Let’s see if everyone wants to run me out of Rosewood River after they experience the rant that’s about to go down, and then we can see if round two is still on the table.”

“Why do you think people will want to run you out of town for the way your ex-boyfriend behaves? That has nothing to do with you,” he said as if that should be common sense.

“My father says that you are who you associate with. He has told me on many occasions that I brought this disaster on myself by allowing this man into my life at all.” I sighed. “So this is me being accountable.”

“If you remained in a relationship with someone who acted this way, sure, they could question your choices. But you ended it, and that’s when all this shit started, right?”

“Yes. Once I left him, he became irrational. When I was with him, he was just a selfish asshole,” I chuckled.

We stopped about a block from the bar, and he turned to face me. “We’ve all misjudged people, Lulu. You recognized that he wasn’t good for you, and you left. What he’s done since then is on him. It has nothing to do with you. So stop acting like you committed a crime. You dated a dude in college, and then he got famous, and his life changed. You walked away, and you should not be punished for that. You should be praised for knowing when to leave someone who is bringing you down. End of story.”

“Damn you, Rafe Chadwick.” I swallowed hard, trying to push the lump in my throat away. No one aside from Henley had ever not acted like I’d brought this on myself, and I was to blame.

I turned my back to him for a minute while I pulled myself together.

It hit me in this moment that I was exhausted from all of it. From trying to escape a toxic relationship. Trying to build a company that I created on my own. Trying to prove that I wasn’t just some rich socialite party girl like the press had made me out to be.

And most importantly, trying to act like none of this bothered me.

“Hey,” he said, his arms wrapping around me from behind. “You’re okay. I see you, Lulu Sonnet. I see all of you. And I’ll take you exactly as you are.”

I sighed and pushed the tears back before turning around and smiling at him. “Is that a sexual joke?”

“No joke, Wildcat.” He studied me for a long moment. “Come on. Let’s go show this dickhead that he’s fucking with the wrong girl.”

“Let’s do this.” We turned the corner to find a slew of photographers out front, and Ben Leighton, the owner of the bar, was out there talking to them, along with a few police officers.

“Not your problem,” Rafe said, keeping his voice low. “The rules are different here.”

“Hey, Rafe. Hey, Lulu,” Ben said. “Just letting these guys know that cameras aren’t allowed inside, and loitering is not welcome here either.”

I waited for him to get annoyed with me for bringing this drama here, but he didn’t seem even slightly irritated with me.

---