My ex-boyfriend’s expression turns thunderous. “This jackass has turned you into someone you’re not. You used to be modest, sweet, and nonconfrontational. Now look at you. Orgasms in public. Arguing. Questioning my feelings. Can’t you see how much I care? I’m not in Hawaii because work sent me. I’m here for you.”
“But only after someone else wanted me. And you lied to me.” Like Xavian intimated. Has Riley always been a little shady? Why didn’t I ever look deeper?
Because Xavian was right. I was too afraid—to ask for more, to look too hard, to believe in myself and stand firm that I deserve better.
“I didn’t lie,” Riley defends. “I just didn’t tell you the truth because—”
“By definition that is a lie,” Xavian points out.
“Butt out, Costa.” My ex grits his teeth. “This is between Corinne and me.”
“No, Xavian is right. I’m seeing clearly for the first time. You know what? It doesn’t matter why you broke up with me last year.”
“I told you, I was confused. I made a mistake. I’ve had time to think—”
“Is that the only reason?” Xavian questions.
“Shut the fuck up,” Riley snarls.
“Whatever your excuse, it boils down to the fact you didn’t love me,” I tell Riley. “I don’t think you love me now, either. I’m not convinced you ever will. And that’s not enough for me.”
My ex looks stunned. “What are you saying? That you’re choosing him?”
Did he really just ask that? “You care more that I might say yes to Xavian than the fact I said no to you?”
Xavian wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close, dropping a kiss onto my nose. “Look at you go. I knew there was a reason I love you. Sweet and smart.” He drops his voice to murmur for my ears only, “And hot in bed.”
I tsk at him, but he just grins from ear to ear.
Riley gives me a condescending groan. “You’re being bamboozled. And you’re making a huge mistake.”
“It’s my mistake to make. And I think I should go.”
My ex steps between me and the door. “You belong here.”
“I don’t.”
Xavian smiles at me proudly. “When you’re ready, I’ll take you away.”
Since I’d love that more than anything, I nod and head toward my suitcase. “I’ll get my things.”
“Don’t forget. You still owe me an answer, princess.”
To his proposal? “When we’re alone.”
He nods as I shove all my clothes in my bag. When I head to the bathroom to grab my toiletries, I pass Riley, who’s not looking at me like I’ve broken his heart. He’s tapping frantically on his phone, not sparing me a single glance.
I’m making the right decision. I feel it in my bones, and I’m finally confident enough to know that.
“Bringing in reinforcements?” Xavian asks Riley cryptically. “Think carefully before you do. It won’t end well.”
My ex hits send, then glares at him. “Fuck you. You’re not getting away with this.”
“Okay, what’s going on?” As I dump the last of my bathroom items into my suitcase, I turn to Xavian. “What do you know that I don’t?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t want this. I mean, I was looking forward to ratting out this asshole.” He gestures to Riley. “But the rest of this shit show…”
In the next instant, the door crashes open, sending Riley stumbling forward. My brother bursts inside.
“Just arrived.” Xavian sighs.
How is Parker here? Why is he here? Did he know I was here? I’m confused… I’m even more confused about the fact no one else is confused. In fact, no one else looks shocked in the least.
Then it hits me. Riley was texting my brother…like they’re working together? And Parker came running. To what end?
To separate me from Xavian. The answer is so obvious I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner.
I’m not an angry person. I don’t scream or yell or insist on getting my point across to people too stubborn or mean to hear it. But I’ve put up with my brother’s controlling crap for too long.
I’m done. It stops now.
“How dare you!”
“Me? You’re the one choosing Xavian. You can’t marry him!” Parker insists, grabbing my arm and tugging.
Before I can tell my brother to back off, Xavian breaks his hold on me and lunges in Parker’s face. “You don’t ever touch her again.”
“Or what? Don’t threaten me. I have other ways of ruining you.”
That warning pings around in my brain, and I realize something I should have figured out long ago. “You never wrote Pushed Too Far because you felt a calling to write. Or even because you wanted to be famous. I would have understood either of those motives. But it’s always been about crushing Xavian, about getting revenge. Why? You’re the one who betrayed him, and all to prove that Hadley wasn’t the right woman?”
“You don’t understand.”
I do—more than ever. “That’s what’s wrong with you, your compulsive need to be right. To win every argument. Why can’t you just let people make their own mistakes and learn for themselves?”