to squeeze all three of his favorite phrases into a single breath as he disappears into the back hallway.
If I bring Cate on to work here, will that be a problem? I mean, it’s not ideal — ever since the second time I saw her, I have carried this distaste that I just don’t know how to shake.
I was driving an SUV packed to the gills with Bradford, Luna, and all the ski gear we would need for the weekend. We pulled up outside Cate’s shabby little house to wait for her to come out. When she finally emerged, she was obviously still in the middle of a full blown fight with her tired-looking mother. Cate stopped and turned on her mom when she was just steps from the SUV.
I tensed. Cate raised her voice. Her mother just listened, smiled sadly, and then forced a sweater into Cate’s hands. Cate shook her head but she allowed her mom to hug her. I turned away; my own parents couldn’t give a rat’s ass about Luna and I. They were too busy yachting in Greece to pay that kind of attention to us.
When she got in the car, Cate had the audacity to grumble about her mother being overbearing. God, she had no idea how precious that sort of relationship was. How when I was younger, I dreamed of having parents who cared about me even a little.
And Cate complained about her parents? No. No way.
Just like that, my brain jumped tracks. I might not have been nice before, but from then on I stopped pulling my punches. I tried to get Luna to see that she could pick a better friend than Cate, but to no avail.
So I deal. Or at least I did… until last weekend. How fucking stupid could I be?
Sighing, I go back to work.
Chapter Five
Luca
I’m sweeping up the last little bits of glass when a woman’s voice interrupts me. “Did you have an accident here?”
Stiffening, I look up. There is Madisyn Montgomery herself, looking as good as ever. With skin like rich brown mahogany and a spotless white dress that hugs every curve in just the right places, she looks utterly edible. She’s all smooth legs and toned arms as she takes off her sunglasses.
It’s too bad that she’s actually toxic.
My brows hunch. I’m a little bit at a loss for what to say to the woman. She gleefully announced our broken engagement on social media — without even bothering to inform me that we were done.
I only found out after the fact that she invested a good chunk of the money deposited in our joint account. And by invested, I mean she bought into a pyramid scheme. Not only that, but she bragged to her friends about how I was her personal ATM.
My fists tighten. Since I found out that bit, I’ve maintained a careful wall of silence, despite the fact that my ego was pretty bruised.
I end up just saying her name. “Madisyn…” I realize that I probably sound more than a little shocked at seeing her.
Pull it together, self.
She looks around the whole bar, putting her sunglasses inside her white leather arm bag. “You’ve redecorated. I like the black and gold motif. It reminds me of my hometown of New Orleans.” She titters, tilting her head and fake cheering. “Go Saints.”
I frown at her, leaning on my broom. “What are you doing here, Madisyn?”
She gives me her most saccharine smile. “I came to invite you personally.”
She’s playing a game. One where she holds the answers and she expects me to puzzle them out of her. I’m definitely not in the fucking mood for this.
“You have ten seconds to tell me what you are fucking talking about, Syn.” I rest the broom against the bar. “I’m still pissed at you for ending things like you did, by the way. And I would love to get the fifteen grand you owe me, by the way”
Madisyn has the decency to blush at that. “I’m sorry about that. Not the money, but the engagement ending. I’m especially sorry about announcing it on Instagram first. I just didn’t want the news to get out before I told people.”
I speak the language of Madisyn. What she means by that is she wanted the likes that poured in from all our friends when she declared us over. I narrow my eyes.
“Five seconds, Syn.”
She rolls her eyes and shifts back and forth on her stilettos. “Okay! Okay.” She fishes something out of