Page 39 of Hate to Love You

I gasp and fire back, “If you remember correctly, it was me who dumped your ass. Not the other way around.”

He smirks, and I’m tempted to slap the smile right off his face. “Only because you found out I was getting a little side action. Come on, admit it…we had a good thing going. You should have chilled out and overlooked it.”

I fist my hands and try to rein in my temper so I don’t explode. But that feels impossible. “Are you suggesting that the appropriate action would have been to turn a blind eye to your screwing around?”

He reaches out with his other hand and trails his knuckles over my cheek.

I scowl and bat it away.

“None of it ever meant anything. You’re the girl I liked having by my side. I saw a future for us.” He shrugs. “At the time, I wasn’t ready to settle down.”

The scary thing is, I think he’s being serious. He wanted to have his cake and eat it, too.

Or maybe I should say, he wanted to have his pie and eat it, too.

“So, I was just supposed to stand there like a dumbass while you fucked all the puck bunnies you wanted?”

A cocky smile curves his lips. “Is that really such a big deal? It’s not like you were into having sex.”

The blood drains from my face as I choke out, “Excuse me?”

“I have a high sex drive.” He shrugs. “You didn’t. Plus, you didn’t know what you were doing. Maybe you should have watched some porn and gotten a few ideas. If you had tried spicing things up, I wouldn’t have gotten so bored.”

I can only stare in shock that all of this nastiness is spewing from his mouth.

“You know what?” I jerk my arm away again and this time, he releases me. If he hadn’t, I would have junk punched him. Hard. I’m not going to put up with his manhandling. “I can’t believe I let you take my virginity,” I hiss, stepping toward him. My hands are still balled. My nails dig into my flesh. “And I can’t believe you’re trying to blame me because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants. You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

He holds his palms up. “Look, we’re getting off topic here.”

“Off topic?” I shriek. “Are you kidding me?”

My elevated voice doesn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.

“Yeah. What I’m trying to say is that if you’re so desperate to have me back again, I’m more than willing to give you another shot. You don’t have to stoop to dating McKinnon to get my attention.”

I can only shake my head. “You’re delusional.”

Not taking my comments seriously, he chuckles. “Am I delusional or am I right in thinking that you’re trying to make me jealous?”

“Delusional. And I sincerely hope you get the help you so desperately need.”

“Why else would you be with McKinnon, huh? You couldn’t stand that guy when we were together.”

“My relationship with Brody is none of your business.”

“Listen, babe, we both know that I’m the one you want.”

“You,” I emphasize, “are the last person I want.”

“Whatever you say.” He walks toward the crowd of people on the pathway. “Whenever you’re ready to stop playing games, just shoot me a text.”

“Don’t hold your breath!” I shout.

He gives me a little wink and disappears into the crowd.

Chapter Fourteen

Natalie

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