Page 73 of Unleashed

“It is.”

“You and Simone don’t get along all the time. But it’s amplified. Why?”

I shrug. “You’d have to ask her.”

“I never knew you had feelings for Simone.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, contemplating a response. “I...don’t.” Rhonda doesn’t blink, expecting a better answer. I sigh over her head and mumble, “I don’t know how I feel, but...” Who am I kidding?

Rhonda’s smile is a frown in disguise. “She looks at you like—”

I laugh. “She wants to kill me?”

Rhonda shakes her head. “Like she wants to love you. It’s hard not to.” Rhonda drops her eyes from mine. Say what?

It’s my turn to slow our movements, shocked to hell. “How can you see that?”

“Same answer: it’s hard not to. Since joining our softball team a couple of years ago, she’s always had hearts in her eyes for you. It didn’t matter if you were arguing or teasing.” Rhonda glances at my chest and mumbles something that a sappy, slow song blaring around us swallows.

“I guess I didn’t notice.”

I see her lips move as she looks off in the distance, but I still can’t hear her. We dance into the next song, and Rhonda finally looks up at me. “Hadley was someone you could never have.” Rhonda bites her lip with a shrug. I nod, encouraging her to continue. “But Simone... Your conflicting emotions betrayed your true feelings for her. You see Simone as your—”

“Biggest pain in the ass? Chronic hemorrhoid?”

Rhonda laughs, and her eyes fall to my throat. Her voice is soft. “Your queen, Greg.”

My laugh freezes between us. I can’t swallow or blink as this seeps into my bones. Rhonda slides her hands to my biceps. “And she sees you as her king.”

“Uh... I doubt that.” Shit. I want to fucking believe it.

I shrug, moving her hands with my shoulders as I check the entrance and then lift my hand to check my watch. Tansy didn’t answer my last text, so she may not show up. No surprise if she didn’t. “At the risk of sounding like a Golden Girl or Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, thanks for being my friend, Ronnie. Maybe I overlooked you initially, but I’m glad you knocked some sense into me.”

The lights overhead and below us turn her eyes into shimmering blue pools. “I’m happy to help you. Anytime.”

Ferrera emerges from the crowd around us and angles his head to Rhonda. “May I cut in?”

Rhonda releases my arms with a nod. “Um, sure?”

“What the fuck, Ferrera? Get your own—”

He steals Rhonda only to deliver another woman. Simone stumbles against me, and I catch her forearms. “Christ. What the hell is happening?” I ask, annoyed because my heart trips faster than my one-legged cousin, Dane, running from K-9s when cops busted him for growing weed in his work van. It’s the stupidest feeling ever.

Before whisking Rhonda away, Ferrera hisses, “Remember! You’re in love!”

“Let go of me, Rod,” Simone whines. Her blue-nailed hands push my chest, but tired of fighting with her, I yank her against me.

“You fucking need to stop calling me that.”

Simone scowls at me but turns her head in a pout. I angle my head so she’ll have to look at me. “If you haven’t noticed, I stopped calling you Garrison.”

Her blues snap to my face. “Oh. Why?”

“After meeting your damn father, I can’t throw that name at you anymore. I have a fucking heart. But what do you know about that, right?” Simone shoves me, but I tighten my grip on her hips. “Stop acting like a spoiled brat and calling me by a name you never used. It hurts me, but that’s why you do it.” Simone rolls her eyes, and I let go of her and step back. “You know what? I should’ve let you deal with this your way. You dumped me. I’m not your husband—fake or real. I’ve never even been your stupid boyfriend.” My chest heaves as I try to catch my breath like I had run a mile. I’m more pissed off than I thought, or I need to hit the fucking gym every day for the rest of my life. “And now you’re throwing a hissy fit because I’m still helping you, but you aren’t in this to win it! I got it now! Message received loud and fucking clear! You’ve moved on! Now, it’s my turn!”

Before taking two steps, someone hooks my arm and yanks me to a stop. Arms snake around my torso and slide up to my chest. The blue nail polish shines as fingers dig into my shirt, undoing the top button. My heart pounds to the rhythm of the Ava Max song. Rhonda claims Simone reigns in my life. Maybe during our brief marriage, but not now.

As Simone’s hands move over me, I pant for another reason. Her touch always drives me insane. It doesn’t matter if we’re insulting each other. Once her skin touches mine, it’s over for me. Like now.

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