Wicked Truths (Hunt Legacy Duology #2) - Jodi Ellen Malpas Page 0,14

on this, too. ‘I’m sorry,’ he murmurs.

‘You already apologised and I already accepted. Let’s leave it there.’ I turn to leave but find myself swinging back around, suddenly full of words I want to unleash. I’m blaming the wine, too. ‘Actually, let’s not leave it there. You did me a favour, David. When you shagged my best friend, you did me a favour.’

Paul appears with a fresh glass of wine for me, and I take it gratefully with a smile.

And throw it in David’s face.

The collective gasps in the pub seem to stretch for ever as he stands with his mouth hanging open, stunned, blinking, wondering what the hell has gotten into me. Because little meek Eleanor Cole would never do such a thing. Yeah, well, Eleanor Cole has changed. Eleanor Cole won’t stand any shit any more. Eleanor Cole has fire in her belly.

‘You’ve changed, Elle.’ David’s persona shifts, and he frowns, looking at me like he doesn’t recognise me any more. Good. I don’t want him to recognise me. Because I’m not the same girl he dated for years. ‘What, you think you’re better than us now?’ he asks. ‘Think you’re all big and superior with your London job and your city lifestyle?’

And there he is. My ex-boyfriend, the insensitive arsehole. He couldn’t say anything worse to me. And to think I was at peace forgiving him? I’m an idiot in more than one way.

‘I think it’s time to leave, David,’ Paul says diplomatically, nodding to the door as he refills my glass, giving me a look to suggest this one should not be wasted.

‘Oh,’ David laughs. ‘Should have known you’d side with Elle since you’re fucking her mother.’

The gasps that flood the bar this time are horrified and justified. Mum’s new boyfriend is a burly bloke and an ex-pro boxer – no one messes with him. The years he has on David won’t faze him. ‘Be careful, son,’ he warns, leaning across the bar. ‘Don’t think I won’t throw you out of here.’

David ignores the threat, sighing and rubbing at his head. ‘Elle, I’m sorry. Can you just give me a minute to explain?’

‘What’s to explain? You did what you did and I’m over it.’

He rests his hand on my arm, and I shrug him off, slamming my lips shut for fear of turning the air blue with my bad language. ‘You’ve not moved on,’ he says. ‘Neither have I. You can’t ignore how great we were together today.’

I ignore him. It takes every scrap of willpower I have. I sit myself back at the bar and drink my fresh glass of wine, glugging it down irresponsibly. The quiet around me should be making me squirm on my stool, but my fury is halting any discomfort that I could feel under the interested attention of the entire pub. I bet they’re all loving this. The drama, the gossip. The town jungle drums will be going wild.

‘David,’ Mum says, her heels clicking as she makes her way over. God love that woman. He’s just insulted her, and she’s not showing the slightest bit of offence. ‘Let’s step out—’

She’s interrupted when the door to the pub slams shut, sending a cool breeze gusting through the bar. There are a few more collective gasps. And then whispers, too.

Like something magnificent has just walked in.

Then I hear a familiar voice saying a polite, ‘Evening.’

And I know immediately that it has.

Chapter 5

Every single one of my nerve endings begin to tingle, my grip tightening on my glass as I stare at the top shelf of the bar. It’s silent – unnervingly silent. I keep myself facing forward, my heart now working up to a steady staccato, and peek to each side of me, seeing everyone in my field of vision looking towards the door – eyes wide, mouths hung open, hushed.

‘I believe you were asked to leave.’ Becker’s tone is dripping with threat that not even I would challenge. My round eyes shoot to my wine glass, which might shatter at any moment under the pressure of my grip. I need to loosen my hold, but this glass feels like it’s the only thing stopping me from tumbling from the stool in a flat-out panic.

‘Who the hell are you?’ David is on the defensive immediately, and I’m not at all surprised. I know I’m going to turn around and find Becker adorned in a fine suit, his scruff perfect, his specs resting on his perfect nose. David will feel threatened. No man