“Palmer, not right now, okay?” I said as I made my way around both of them. “I’ll take care of this.”
“Jesus Christ,” Brody said as he turned away from me in anger.
Palmer looked over at me. “Wow. He’s pissed.”
“If you don’t mind sticking around for a bit, Palmer…”
She nodded. “Of course.”
“Give me a minute alone with Jack. If he doesn’t leave, will you come out? The last thing I need is for Brody to get involved.”
She nodded and quietly listened as I called the police to inform them of the violation. Then I drew in a deep breath and headed toward the front of the store. Jack stood there with a smug look on his face.
“How dare you show your face here,” I snapped.
He smirked. “It’s half my store, Sutton. And by my calculation, I have a good four minutes before the police show up.”
“Give me back my money, Jack.”
“Oh yes, the money. My lawyer wasn’t too happy with me. I’ll tell you what, I’ll redeposit the money if you give me one night with you.”
A feeling of sickness rolled through my entire body, and it took everything I had not to gag at the idea of being with Jack again. “No.”
“So you’d rather lose the boutique then?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not asking you to fuck me, Sutton. Let’s just go out to dinner and talk about my share of the store.”
I pulled my shoulders back so I stood taller. “Go fuck yourself, Jack.”
His brows pulled down some. “Did your little boyfriend cover the bills for you? Is that why you’re so confident all of a sudden?”
I slowly shook my head. “I don’t know why I ever married you. You make me sick, and the idea of spending a single moment alone with you repulses me. You have one minute to get out of this store before the police get here to arrest you for violating your restraining order.”
“Even though I’m in my store?”
“It’s not your store!” I shouted.
He laughed—and I instantly knew I’d made a mistake. He wanted to rile me up. That’s why he was here. That was always how he’d gotten his kicks. The damn mind games.
A siren wailed in the distance, and Jack held up both hands as Palmer appeared at my side.
“Good seeing you, Palmer.”
“Fuck off, Jackass.”
He laughed again, then turned on his heels and rushed out the door. I quickly locked it and leaned against the glass as I attempted to get my heart rate back to normal.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Brody standing there. I could see the anger all over his face, but before I could say anything, Palmer started to speak.
“Okay, do you want to tell me what that was all about, Sutton?” she asked.
Brody turned and walked away.
With shaking hands, I called 9-1-1 back and told them Jack had left. The dispatcher told me the officers would still do a drive-by. I ended the call and drew in a slow, deep breath before exhaling it all out in one big whoosh.
I met my sister’s gaze, and the only thing I could do was shake my head and let out a quiet, “Not now, Palmer. I can’t. Not right now.”