Page 1 of Catch and Release

PROLOGUE

Willa was surprisingly calm when she found out her boyfriend of two years had a wife and child.

Oh, she was pissed.

She was fucking furious.

But she’d always had the gift of level-headedness in stressful situations. And besides, she wasn’t going to make a scene at her favorite brunch place, and especially not in front of his daughter.

No, Willa would leave the responsibility of this particular childhood trauma to Leo. He was already off to such a smashing start.

But that didn’t mean she’d let him continue with a perfectly pleasant Sunday morning.

Fuck, no.

Her day was ruined.

Scratch that. Her year was ruined.

Not to mention, she’d never be able to come back to her favorite restaurant again without thinking about his cheating ass. All she’d wanted were some eggs benedict and bottomless mimosas with her roommate, Charlie. Now, she was going to go home, throw up, and try to figure out how she found herself in this embarrassing, horrifying, and heartbreaking situation.

Again.

But not until she made sure he knew that she knew.

That motherfucker.

God, what an absolute ass. He knew this was her favorite brunch spot. He deserved to get caught, that cheating bastard. She stood across the street from Chadwick’s and took a deep breath.

In for four counts, out for eight counts.

In four.

Out eight.

Again. And again.

As she performed this breathing exercise, Willa observed Leo and his family from afar. His daughter clung to his wife, her blonde pigtails bouncing as she played peekaboo with people at a nearby table. Willa guessed she was about two years old, which meant Leo likely started dating her right around the time his daughter was born.

How did she let herself fall in love with such a fucking jerk?

AGAIN???

She sighed and soaked in the view of his gorgeous wife. She had fair skin and cascading blond hair that looked like it had been professionally blown out that morning. She was tall and thin, and she wore a long white dress that ruffled in the wind. Her lips were coated with a simple pink color, and she donned large, black sunglasses. Leo leaned across the table and kissed her softly on the lips. She gently caressed his cheek with her left hand, and a ginormous diamond sparkled off her ring finger, visible even from across the street.

Any doubts Willa had about them being married were gone now. The futile hope that maybe she was a sister Leo hadn’t told Willa about slowly dissipated. And then his wife beamed at him, and Willa sighed.

She was happy. Beautiful. The mother of his child.

And Leo had cheated on her with Willa?

Sure, Willa knew she was attractive.

She’d been told often that she had great boobs, though she thought they were a little small. She had red hair, but she could somehow still get a tan. Throw in cerulean eyes and long legs, and she was bound to benefit from pretty privilege—and she knew it. She’d gotten into dozens of clubs without paying a cover, always gotten free drinks when she went out, and had been able to sweet talk her way into almost anything since she hit puberty.

So she knew that the only reason Leo would cheat on his perfectly lovely wife with her was simply because he could.

Because men just had that much audacity.

---