“I do know what I want, Blake. It’s not you. Go away.”
“Amy, be reasonable.”
She thought she was being perfectly reasonable; she really was. “I don’t want you in my life, Blake. I thought that the divorce made that pretty obvious.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“No, I’m not.”
The tone of his voice changed, going from dismissive to persuasive. “Please, Amy. I . . . miss you. I want you back. I didn’t realize how much I needed you until you were gone.”
Once upon a time, she would have melted over this. Felt like she was making the right decision to stay at his side, even knowing there would be more inevitable negative comments, more backhanded attacks that would make her hate herself. Now that she was gone, though, she didn’t miss him at all. She was able to see how he’d worked her to get what he wanted. He’d say anything in the moment, as long as it got him results. The words meant nothing to him.
She was never going back. “You can’t miss me, because you never had me, Blake. You just want a puppet to dance to your little games. I’m not doing that anymore.” Amy straightened, tall and proud, and gestured at his sports car. “Also, if you can afford to rent that, you can afford to pay me alimony. I’m talking to a lawyer in the New Year, so be ready for that. I want the money I’m owed, and I’m staying here. We’re done. There is no ‘us’ anymore. We’re divorced. I have a life, and you need to get one.”
Caleb huffed a quiet sound of approval, his hand going to the small of her back in silent support.
The support made Amy happy. Even so, what made her happier was that she realized she didn’t need his touch to be strong and brave. Just having him at her side, reassuring her with his quiet presence that he had her back, had given her the courage she needed to stand up to her asshole ex. It was like Caleb had said—they were better together. They were stronger together, as partners in life instead of one leading and the other following.
Funny how things all made sense with a bit of perspective.
“This is your last chance,” Blake said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not going to ask again, Amy. You should be thrilled I’m even here to try and rescue you.”
Rescue her? From what? Freedom? Independence? A man that loved her and a job that made her happy? “This is your last chance,” she retorted. “If you don’t get off my porch, I’m going to call the sheriff and file a restraining order on you. I’m sure that’ll look great in front of the judge when I file against you for unpaid alimony. You’re going to look like a crazy stalker who can’t take no for an answer.” She made her expression pitying, just because she knew that would drive him crazy. “It’s not a good look for you, Blake.”
Blake’s jaw clenched. “Last chance . . .”
How many times did she have to say no? Jesus.
Caleb cleared his throat and put his hand on her shoulder. “Have you said what you need to, baby?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I have. Just shut the door and let’s go back to bed.” She tossed that in deliberately.
“I’ll do you one better,” Caleb said. He surged forward, grabbing Blake by the lapels of his tailored coat, and flung her ex off her porch with an easy motion, tossing him as if he were a bale of hay. “Get out of here,” Caleb called out to him as he sprawled in the snow. “You’re trespassing.”
And then he slammed the door shut behind him.
Amy sagged, all of the bristling energy escaping her. Oh god. Had she really done that? Had she stood up to Blake and refused to let him run her down? It made her so happy . . . but it was also exhausting. She felt drained as Caleb approached her.
He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her square in the eye. “You did fantastic, baby.”
Hearing his pride made her feel better. “Thank you.” She paused, fighting the urge to rush to the window to see if Blake was returning. “Is he . . . gone?”
“We’ll know in a minute.”
Amy remained tense until she heard the sound of his car start up. She moved to the window and peeked out the blinds, and sure enough, he was driving away.
He was gone. She’d