think you’re talking about yourself there, honey.” I kept my tone light, but inside, I’d turned to stone. The taunts I’d heard for weeks before leaving for college. The photos of her and Grant that Lacey had sent to my email. She’d twisted the knife at every opportunity. But I wouldn’t let her know that her blows had hit their target.
Lacey turned to me, her pretty features twisted in a sneer. “He’ll figure out the truth about you. And when he does, he’ll leave you in the dirt just like Grant did.” She flounced out of the office, but not before shoulder-checking me on the way.
Penny let out a low whistle. “I don’t predict happy things for that one’s future.”
I grinned at Penny but knew it wasn’t a smile that rang true. “We can only hope.”
“Kenna.”
Crosby tried to wrap an arm around me, but I ducked out of the way. “I’ve got to get back to work. I was just stopping by to hear how this morning went.”
“You’re welcome here anytime. You don’t need an excuse.”
“It wasn’t an excuse, it was the reason for my visit. But this lovely scene ate up too much of my time, and now I have to get back.”
I turned and headed for the door, but Crosby caught me by the elbow. “Not before we talk. Come on.”
Instantly, I was being guided and maneuvered out the door and towards the docks. By the time I came to my senses, we were halfway to one of the picnic tables overlooking the water. I ripped my arm out of his hold. “I am not some bimbo you can just move around as you please. I told you, I don’t have any more time.”
He grinned. “You’re jealous.”
My temper spiked, cranking up my internal temperature. “Of what? A woman with the IQ of a raisin?”
Crosby’s smile widened, and he took a step closer. “What do you have against raisins? They make a great snack.”
“Then why didn’t you chase after your snack. I’m sure she’d be more than willing to take a tumble with you.”
Crosby straightened, all humor fleeing his expression. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You actually think I’d mess around on you while we’re exploring this thing between us?”
My heart thudded in my chest at the idea. And it was in that moment that I really understood how much it would hurt when he walked away. “You haven’t made me any promises. Maybe you’ve been sleeping with other people this whole time. You’ve made it clear that I don’t exactly have a right to ask.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I said that I wasn’t a man for marriage and family, not that I’d disrespect you by sleeping with someone else behind your back.”
The anger lighting Crosby’s eyes seemed to make the brown glow almost gold. I wanted to curse. Even his ire manifested in ways that made him look gorgeous. “Well, how am I supposed to know that? I’m not a mind reader.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe not, but I thought you knew me better than that.”
All of the anger and frustration went out of me in an instant at Crosby’s words. He was right. He’d shown me time and again the kind of man he was, and it certainly wasn’t a cheater. “I’m sorry. Lacey…she just brings stuff up for me. I don’t always think clearly after encounters with her.”
Crosby studied me carefully. “Grant cheated with her, didn’t he?”
I turned my gaze out to the docks, to the fishermen and tourists loading and unloading. “He did. And she sent me photos of the two of them in compromising positions for almost a year after we broke up. I’d block one number, and then they’d start coming from another.” The girl hadn’t had any idea that she was sending me those delightful gems during the worst time in my life. I’d hidden my pregnancy from everyone except those closest to me, but I wasn’t sure she would’ve cared either way.
Heat and energy swirled as Crosby stepped closer. He slid a hand along my jaw, turning my face towards him. “I’m sorry. So damn sorry she put you through that.”
I shrugged. “I was already going through a rough patch, so it impacted me more than it might’ve at another time.”
“No one deserves that shit. Especially not you.” Crosby pressed his lips to my forehead. “I could come up with something we could sue her for.”
I chuckled. “Bell reported her for underage drinking and got her