Brody glanced at me before focusing back on my father. My breath hitched in my throat, and I knew in that moment I would stay up all night analyzing the look he’d given me.
“I think we need to concentrate on Gannon and Addie for now,” he said.
Dad smiled. “I, for one, am glad to see them back together.” He looked at me. “What about you, pumpkin?”
I forced myself to smile brightly and keep my voice even. “I am too. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s Addie and Gannon.”
“You deserve it as well. Especially after being married to such a…” My father let his words hang in the air.
“I’m not looking for love, Dad. I don’t seem to have much luck with it.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Brody look down at his drink.
“I hate to break up the fun conversation of parties,” he said, “but Brody, I’d like to talk to you about that project you’ll be working on for Sam Nelson.”
“The concrete dock support for the new section of pier?”
Dad nodded. “Yes.”
Brody turned to look at me, clearly not wanting our conversation to end. I, however, did. “I’m going to go admire that ring again,” I said. “Enjoy your talk, gentlemen.”
It wasn’t hard to miss the disappointment on Brody’s face, but I ignored it and headed toward Addie.
Brody clearly wasn’t finished though. He reached for my hand, pulling me to a stop. “How about I stop by later this evening so we can finish our conversation?”
If I said no, my father would become suspicious. If I said yes, I was opening up the door for old wounds to reappear. I did what I thought was the right thing…for now. Plastering on a fake-as-hell smile, I replied, “Sure, sounds good.”
I kissed my father on the cheek and turned toward my older sister, ignoring the fact that my heart had dropped to my stomach. I wasn’t sure I could deal with Brody tonight, especially alone at my house. My emotions were all over the place.
Once I reached Addie, I hugged her and we quickly got lost in conversation, the previous one with Brody pushed out of my mind.
That was, until I got home an hour later—and the doorbell rang five minutes after I walked through the door. Had he followed me home from the restaurant?
I marched to the door and started to talk before I opened it. “I don’t want to talk to you, Br—” My heart dropped at the sight before me. “Jack?”
He sneered at me. “Why am I not surprised you were expecting him and not me.”
I scowled. “Probably because I have a restraining order against you, and you shouldn’t even be on my front steps.”
I started to shut the door, but Jack put his hand out to stop it. “Sutton, this game is getting old. I thought the time apart would give you some clarity.”
Laughing, I gave him a look of disbelief. “Clarity? Nothing is more clear to me, Jack. I do not love you. I never loved you. I want you out of my life, and I want my store back!”
He raised a single brow. “Let me in so we can talk like adults.”
“You can talk to my lawyer, Jack. If you don’t leave right now, I’m going to call the cops.”
“Are you sure you want to do that? Maybe what needs to happen is a tip to the gossip hotline. You know…something about how you cheated on me during our marriage.”
My eyes went wide, and for a moment I internally panicked—until I pulled my shit together. “You have us mixed up, Jack. You seem to forget I have proof of your cheating. Your threats no longer work on me, so you might as well stop trying.”
His eyes moved slowly down my body, and I had to fight the urge to gag. How had I ever married this man? Let him touch me?
“Sutton, don’t behave like a child. Let me in so we can talk. We still have a chance to make it work. Why do you think I’ve been stalling on selling you the store for so long?”
I scoffed. “Oh, let me see. You’ve been stalling because it’s the only thing you have over me now, and you love that. But if I have to take you back to court, I will.”
“Last time I checked, you barely have enough money in the bank to make ends meet.”