Page 61 of Pucks and Books

I’m speechless at her retort. With the restraint of a saint, I bite out, “Mikayla, you slept with twelve different dudes while I was gone for a season. That’s basically a dude a month.”

“Like I said, I was young. I’ve grown, and my love for you hasn’t ever stopped.”

“We have two very different definitions of love,” I explain. “When I love someone, I could never hurt them how you hurt me. I would never lie the way you lied. Deceived, betrayed… I mean, hell, Mikayla, you put me through the wringer.”

“I wouldn’t do it again,” she tells me with a laugh that sets my teeth on edge. “Give me a chance.”

“A chance?” I ask, and the laugh I release isn’t one of humor. “You told me you were pregnant?—”

“I never said it was yours.”

I close my eyes, the grief of that moment swamping me again. “No, but you should have. And waiting a month was appalling.”

“I was confused. I wanted you to be the dad.”

“You’re a con artist,” I snap. “You only want pleasure and money and go from guy to guy until you drain them, and then you move on.”

“Oh my God, don’t be dramatic. It wasn’t like that, and you know it. I love you.”

“You love what I can give you,” I throw back, my hatred for her growing. “You never loved me.”

“That’s not true! I do love you. You’re just kind of boring. Like, always reading and never wanting to go out. I want to have fun, do things?—”

“Exactly,” I say, cutting her off. “You want to spend my money and show off. I don’t want that.”

“No, you’d rather read and get lost in a world you could have if you went out.”

“I don’t want to go out. I don’t need to go out. I’m good. But really, this is neither here nor there. I will never allow you to do that to me.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“No, I’m dodging a bullet. Though, even if I hadn’t found the girl of my dreams, I wouldn’t have given you another chance.”

I’m met with silence. “You’re dating someone?”

“I am, and I’m happy,” I stress. “Listen to me, Mikayla. I moved on, I mourned you, and now I’ve found someone who has given me more in a week than you did in four years.”

She scoffs. “If you’re trying to make me jealous?—”

“I have no intention or desire to do any such thing. I don’t want anything to do with you. I don’t even want you to want me. You are dead to me.”

I can tell my words sting by how venom laces her tone. “Whatever. You’ll come crawling back.”

“I won’t,” I promise. “Not when I’m fully put back together and ready to love again.”

With that, I hang up and promptly block her number. I lean back in the seat, letting out a heavy breath, and I notice Louisa is coming out the back door. Her brows are creased with concern as she approaches the truck. I throw the door open, and she comes up beside me as I meet her worried gaze.

“Clara said you were out here talking on the phone and looked upset. Are you okay?”

She reaches for my neck, cupping it and stroking the base. I slowly nod, covering her hand with mine. “Fine.”

Lou’s gaze searches mine. “You sure?”

“I was on the phone with Mikayla,” I tell her, and I hate that she stiffens at the mention of my ex’s name. “She’s been bothering my mom, trying to get back with me, apparently. And I had to put a stop to that.”

She blinks at me and swallows hard. “Did it go okay?”

“Better than I could have expected,” I admit because it did go well. I said what I needed, and I feel so much better. I grasp her hips, pulling her in close. “I told her that she’s wasting her time. I don’t want her, haven’t wanted her in years, and that the girl I’m with has made me feel more in a week than she did in four years.”

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