Page 40 of Seductive Hearts

I wasted no time grabbing my purse and heading out the door without bothering to check whether Colton would handle the tab. He wasn’t my problem, not him, his shitty attitude, or his casual cruelty. Why did he have to make me feel so low about something I wanted?

“Wait a second.” I was halfway to my car when he caught up to me, grabbed my wrist, and turned me around. “Where are you going?”

“I told you. I’m going home. Alone,” I added.

“Says who?” The smell of scotch filled the air when his breath hit my face.

“Says me.” I pulled my arm free, looking him up and down as if it was the first time. “You don’t get an all-access pass to me whenever and wherever you want. Especially after you acted like a raging asshole in there and made a fool out of me… and yourself.”

The way he flinched was gratifying. He needed to hear it and be insulted.

“Let me get this straight.” With his hands on his hips, he stared down at me in something like disbelief. “I have to go to all this trouble in front of that dickhead, and I don’t get anything out of it?”

Everything in me recoiled from his casual nastiness. “To think I felt sorry for you,” I whispered, shaking.

“Sorry for me?” His eyes bulged before he let out a snide laugh. “Give me a break.”

“I thought maybe you were misunderstood. But no, you’re just a raging asshole who can’t handle anybody else playing with your toys. Well, guess what?” I spat, relishing the surprise on his drunken face. “I’m not one of your toys. I am not yours. And the next time you want to piss all over something to mark your territory, choose somebody else. It won’t be me.”

He didn’t bother stopping me when I turned away again, and by the time I was behind the wheel, he was already gone. Where? I had no idea.

Not that it was my problem in the first place.

Yet, why did it feel like it was?

15

COLTON

“We have a problem.”

This was not exactly what I wanted to hear from Rich before I’d closed my car door or ever. I’d imagined Rose’s return for the first time since the disaster with Landon would be the focus of my day.

Only, our foreman wouldn’t look so grim over a fight I had with her three days ago, and he wouldn’t greet me at my car rather than wait for me to get inside. This had to be important.

He cast a worried look toward the store, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck before grunting. “We got a call from the carpenter in Sag Harbor. Those shelving units that were supposed to come in today? He’s saying they’re going to take another week.”

Immediately, my brain started clicking, running through the plans for the rest of the project. The shelving had to be installed before anything else was brought in. Displays and counters couldn’t be put in place before the shelves were, as the men would need room for ladders and tools to mount them safely. In other words, it would push the entire project off a week which meant delaying the opening.

“She’s losing her shit,” he muttered, grimacing. “I was going to call the main office, to see what we can do to expedite things.”

“No.” I would not let him take this to my father. No fucking way. It wasn’t my fault the shelving was late, but it was up to me to do something about it. “I’ll handle it.” He fell in step with me, entering the store, where Rose was in the middle of a rage.

When she noticed me enter, she practically flew across the room until she was almost in my face—flushed, breathing hard, her eyes dangerously bright. The crew hung around here and there, looking like they wished they were elsewhere.

“That’s it,” Rose declared. “We’re fucked. We are absolutely fucked! There is no way we’re getting this done on time if the shelving is a week late.”

Reflex left me wanting to take her by the arms to touch and calm her, but I couldn’t do that in front of an audience. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Like what? Those shelves take up one entire goddamn wall!” She swept an arm to the side, indicating the wall in question. “Everything else hinges on them being installed! The press releases went out ages ago, and I can’t open a half-finished store! What are we supposed to do?”

When unshed tears sparkled in her eyes and her chin started to tremble, something in me snapped. I couldn’t let this happen. “I’ll take care of it,” I told her.

“What are you going to do about it?” she asked, tears edging her voice. It would kill her to break down crying over this, especially with the crew around. Their embarrassment hung thick in the air.

“Hey, guys. How about you take fifteen?” I watched them practically flee the store. They were decent men, hard-working, and easy to get along with, though we had little in common. That didn’t mean they felt comfortable watching a woman break down.

Once they were gone, I led Rose to her office and placed her in front of a chair. “Sit down, take a breath.” When she didn’t invite me to fuck myself for telling her what to do, I knew she was truly at the end of her rope. I kept that in mind as I pulled up the carpenter’s contact in my phone.

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