I snarl as I storm toward my car, hitting the button on the key fob. “You have thirty seconds to say what you need to say.”
She looks like the Jackie I remember. Sleek dark brown hair. Bright blue eyes. Full bought and paid for tits. High-maintenance as fuck. I hope Tony is enjoying every second of her awful ass.
“We need to talk. You can’t rush off. This is important,” she snips.
“About Callie?” I ask, turning my icy glare her way.
She bristles. “Callie is perfect. As usual. It’s…her.”
My brow arches and I grit my teeth. “Who?” I fucking know who. I want to hear her say her name.
She purses her lips before letting out a huff. “Winter.”
Her name sends a rush of hot protectiveness scorching through my veins. “What about Winter?”
“She’s trouble, August.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “She’s your husband’s daughter.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that she’s trouble,” she bites back. “Listen to me. She has one of those creepy older man crushes on you. I’ve known it for years. That girl is the type to sink her claws in and go crazy if you don’t give her what she wants. If you fuck Winter, you’re going to get fucked. Mark my words.”
“Is that all?” I growl, my words cold.
“No,” she shouts. “It’s not all. I’m trying to warn you here. She’s going to obsess over you. More so than she already does. Next thing you know, she’ll be pregnant. That worthless girl will drain you for everything you have.”
At this, I sneer. “Seems like her stepmother may be the best teacher for that. Although,” I say as I yank open my car door, “she may be too late. I already had one frigid bitch take me for everything I own.”
“August Miller!” she shrieks, her fat lips popped open in shock at my words.
“Fuck off, Jackie. Leave me alone. You already destroyed my life once. I won’t let you do it again.”
When I burst through the front door, Winter is nowhere to be found. I stalk through the condo in desperate need to fuck out my irritation. She’s not in Callie’s room or the living room. It isn’t until I push through my bedroom door that I stop dead in my tracks.
A beautiful damn angel.
Fuck Jackie for insinuating otherwise.
Winter’s red hair is beginning to wash out some since she’s been staying here. And while it’s cute on her, I like seeing her natural brown color return. She’s wearing one of my T-shirts and my sweatpants along with a bright neon pair of socks. But what has my heart stammering in my chest is how right and sweet she looks on my bed. All the time this girl runs her mouth and likes to push my buttons, but at the end of the day, she’s just a sweet girl who needs a good man to take care of her.
I tug off my tie and shed my jacket. As I pluck through the buttons on my dress shirt, she stirs but doesn’t wake from her nap. I leave on my undershirt but strip out of my shoes and slacks. The lamp is on, but the rest of the room is dark. I crawl into bed next to her and like her body knows mine, even in her sleep, she curls an arm over my chest. I run my fingers through her soft hair and inhale her cinnamon scent that has permeated every inch of my home.
Tony needs to think long and hard about what he’s done. I would never push Callie away in a million years. I don’t care if she was being a little cunt like her mother. Never. She’s. My. Daughter. How in the hell he chose pussy over Winter is beyond me.
My blood starts to boil again. In an effort to cool off, I grab my novel off the nightstand. It’s a new one by Stephen King, and soon, I’m engrossed in the story. I make it through several chapters before I get sidetracked again.
Jackie needs to stay the hell away from me. I still can’t believe I had to deal with her sorry ass today acting like she was doing me a favor. It’s pretty fucking sad she feels threatened by Winter. Her insecurity was the start of her demise and the ultimate downfall of our marriage.
“The book must be scary. You’re growling,” Winter says sleepily, her thumb rubbing circles on my chest through my shirt.
I toss the book on the nightstand and toy with a strand of