She comes closer, running her fingers over my hood before she gets within a few feet of me. She puts weight on her left foot, and her right hip pops out while she leans against the Range Rover.
“I miss you. After everything we’ve been through, I feel like we owe it to ourselves to give things another chance. I was under pressure from my parents, and I acted out. I didn’t mean the things I said before.”
I almost ask what “pressure” she’s talking about, but I know she’s just trying to trap me with her words.
“I’m sorry, Selene. That doesn’t change anything for me,” I say with as much kindness as I can muster for her.
Her chin shakes and eyes water. “I thought you’d understand. My parents—”
I cut her off. “Can’t always be an excuse to do whatever you want. You’ve had plenty of chances to cut them off from influencing you, and I’m done pretending that you’ll change. We’re done. Please don’t make this any harder than it needs to be. For Celia’s sake.”
I use my sister in hopes it will make Selene see reason, because for some reason Celia cares about this crazy woman. I’m not sure my tactics will work, and I hope Celia doesn’t get hurt in the process.
Selene steps closer. Her palm rests against my chest, and she flutters her eyes at me. “But we’re so good together.”
Gently, I remove her hand and step back. “We’re not getting back together. Not again.”
A feeling of satisfaction rises within me that I’m able to withstand her usual tactics. There was a time that her twisted words, bright amber eyes, and soft skin would convince me to do a lot of things I didn’t want to, but not anymore.
There isn’t a single part of me interested in Selene any longer. Hell, I can’t even remember why I fell for her in the first place.
Her smile falls away, and her eyes darken. “Did you meet someone else?”
I could tell her yes, but I don’t think that would help, so I avoid answering the question altogether.
“Listen, Selene. We want different things out of life. I’m sure there’s someone else out there for you who will come along any day now. You have to move on.”
She sniffles. “But I don’t want anyone else. I just want you.”
I open my SUV. “I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen and it’s unfair to you if I pretend otherwise.”
I slide into my seat and close the door. By the time I look out the windshield to see if Selene is still standing there, the fake tears are gone, and her face is like a sheet of ice.
Her lips move, and I swear she says, “We’ll see about that.”
My shoulders shudder as she turns to head back into the bakery. My phone vibrates, and I see a message from my sister.
Celia:I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t invite her over.
Me: It’s okay. I dealt with her.
Hopefully, I think and hurriedly put the car into drive, so I can leave before Selene tries anything else.
I head back to Providence, even though my hands itch to turn the wheel back to Kenzie’s place downtown.
She could make me forget about seeing Selene again, but that probably wouldn’t be right of me.
I might be an asshole at times, but I wasn’t a complete dick.