Page 464 of One More Kiss

There’s a hole in my heart, and I miss her so fucking much.

“Why don’t you go to her?” Millie asks as we drive across town to pick up some plants for her front porch. She refused to let me stay home and wallow in my emotions and even pulled the old people card to force me to join her.

“Because she doesn’t answer my calls, so why would she want to see me? All I want is an explanation of what the hell happened, some clarity on what changed from the time she left the studio to when she decided to bail. Everything was going so great, then she was gone.” I ball my hands in fists, and I feel like I’m losing all the control I’d found when she was here.

“Tell me what the note said again,” she insists. “Maybe I can read between the lines.”

I repeat the note without even having to look at it because I’ve read it so many times and have the damn thing memorized. Millie sits silently while she thinks and parks the car.

“Something significant enough to make her change her mind must’ve happened after she left the studio. That’s what you need to figure out,” she tells me matter-of-factly as if I hadn’t already been trying to put the pieces together. I’ve been driving myself insane thinking of different things, but nothing makes sense.

I roll my eyes as I unbuckle, then mumble more to myself as I get out of the car. “Leave it to detective Millie.”

Not waiting for me, she grabs a cart and walks inside the store. This is the last thing I wish I were doing right now, especially considering I’m in such a pissy mood. By the time I find Millie, she’s looking at an ugly bush and talking to someone who’s even uglier–Harmony Hansen—an ex-fling I’d rather forget about.

“Oh, hey Ethan,” she says in an over-the-top, high-pitched voice. “So nice seeing you last weekend at the studio.”

“Yeah,” is all I offer, and Millie elbows me in the ribs for being rude, but things didn’t end well between us, and I’m not going to give her false hope by being polite.

Harmony knew the rules between us. One night, that was it, but she didn’t get the hint until I kicked her out of bed the same night. From that point on, she’s desperately tried to get back in bed with me, but I knew what she wanted and what I wanted were two different things. I wasn’t ready for anything serious, but she made it very clear she wanted something long-term. A husband. I was in no emotional mindset for that.Though it’s been years, she hasn’t given up on the thought of us. Harmony is literally the epitome of stalker ex. After one night, she was obsessed. If I could go back in time, I’d erase the history between us. It was a stupid, liquor-influenced mistake.

“Don’t mind him, hon. He’s in a bad mood. So what have you been up to lately?” Millie genuinely asks. “Haven’t seen you at the book club meetings in a while.” I really have no reason to stay around, so I pretend to look at plants, hoping this isn’t a long conversation.

Millie talks about the books she’s been reading and mentions Vada’s name. My heart sinks at the thought of her.

“Vada, right,” she says as if saying her name is venom. “I ran into her at the grocery store after I left the studio last weekend. Real sweet girl,” Harmony says, plastering the biggest deviant smile on her face.

I blink, realization setting in. “Wait. What did you say? When did you speak to her?” My jaw clenches, and I instantly realize what happened. No telling what Harmony told Vada, considering I ignored her at the restaurant the night of mine and Vada’s date. It was easier to pretend she didn’t exist when she looked at me from across the room with those come-hither eyes. Seeing me with a woman always drives her insane, but seeing me with the same woman at the studio probably set her off even more.

“Oh, nothing.” Harmony realizes how much she fucked up by saying those words. She knew exactly what she was doing when she saw Vada. She was trying to sabotage what we had.

Millie notices my flaring nostrils and speaks for me. “So what did you two discuss, hon? Her books?”

After hesitating for an awkward moment, she gives me an evil smile. “Ethan.”

“You bitch,” I growl, anticipating Millie’s reaction, but she doesn’t scold me like I figured. Instead, she glares at Harmony and shakes her head before walking away without another word, leaving the two of us alone. Aunt Millie and the silent treatment together is a frightening pair.

Before walking away, I look Harmony dead in her eyes. My tone is serious, and I hope for once she gets the fucking hint. “I told you once before we’d never be anything, so get the fuck out of my life and stay out.”

Millie is still shaking her head as she pushes her cart forward, leaving me alone with her.

“Ethan, baby. I didn’t tell her anything she wouldn’t have eventually figured out.” Her words are laced in a condescending tone. “It was just too easy. It was obvious you two were getting close and it was easy to assume you were telling her all about your sad past. Once I saw you take her down to the beach on your little date, there was no way you hadn’t told her and as soon as I brought it up, her face dropped faster than her panties could for you.”

“Don’t you fucking talk about her that way,” I growl, taking a step toward her and giving no shits how loud I’m being.

She doesn’t even flinch, her cold stone glare fuels my anger even more. “Too bad she left before you could lie your way out of this one.” She flashes an evil grin before jerking her cart forward and walking away.

My blood is boiling at the revelation of what just happened. As soon as I saw Harmony at the restaurant, I should’ve left and taken Vada somewhere else, but I didn’t want to start our night on a bad note. Should’ve figured she’d watch us the entire time.

I inhale deeply before glancing around for Aunt Millie and jogging to catch up to her.

“I warned you about those random dates, Ethan. Those type of women are no good and now look what happened,” she scolds.

Pinching the bridge of my nose with my fingers, I sigh. “I know. I wish I could take back that mistake. I’m beyond pissed about this. I don’t even know what to do right now. No telling exactly what Harmony said to her, although I have a pretty good guess considering what she just told me. She’s a goddamn liar and a jealous and petty bitch.” I shake my head, growing angrier at the whole situation.

“Language, Ethan,” she reminds me.

I follow Millie to the counter and pay for her plants then help her load them in the backseat of her car. After we get in and before she starts the engine, she turns and looks at me.

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