Page 67 of When Our Stars Aligned

Trent takes a long look at the now widened space between Jax and me. The hair on the back of my neck begins to prickle. Situational awareness—this is what Jax has been preaching to me for weeks.

“Look, Aly Cat.” Trent makes a small movement towards me. “I don’t know what has gotten into you or what lies this guy has been feeding you, but you know your place is with me.”

“Trent, you have no control over me anymore,” I say assertively. I square my shoulders and widen my stance a bit.

“I was never trying to control you.” He takes a baby step forward. I look over at Jax and Alex, who are standing at the ready. They’re giving me the power in this situation, but I know they have my back if something goes wrong.

“Oh yeah, right, ’cause going through my phone and telling me who I can or cannot talk to isn’t controlling.” I cross my arms over my chest.

“I know what’s best for you!” Fiery anger burns behind Trent’s eyes. His fists ball up at his sides. This is what I would be seeing on a daily basis if I hadn’t given in and pushed back.

“No, you don’t,” I say with a cocky smile.

With that, Trent makes a lunge for me, and in that moment, everything Jax has taught me flies out the window. I do, however, raise my leg up at just the perfect time. My knee makes contact with Trent’s most prized possession.

“Son of a bitch!” Trent crumbles to the ground in the fetal position.

In the background, I hear the guys give a collective, “Oooff!”

“Sweetheart.” Jax comes over to me, still wincing. He pulls me tight into his chest. “I’m so proud of you, but that’s not one of the moves I showed you.”

“Yeah, I kinda panicked and improvised.” I look up when I hear the sound of a siren in the distance. “Did you call the police?”

“I did!” Alex says proudly while standing over Trent, who is still writhing in pain. Funny how he looks so small and weak to me now.

“She attacked me!” Trent cries as the siren gets louder.

“Self-defense, bro,” Alex says. “We witnessed the whole thing.”

“Too bad you’re not within your family’s jurisdiction this time,” Jax calls out and gives me a kiss on the top of my head. “Maybe now you’ll be able to get a restraining order.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” I wrap my arms around his waist and give him a squeeze. “Jax?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you, too.”

37

Aly

The sun has already begun to set as I pull into the condo’s parking lot. I grab my items from work and feel my phone vibrate with an incoming message.

Amelia:Saw Trent today while getting groceries. He looked like he was walking with a little limp. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Once the ink on the restraining order was dry, I called Amelia to tell her everything. Like Trent, she thought I moved near Jess and not clear across the country. It was so good to catch up with her, and she told me she would let me know as soon as there was a Trent sighting. We wanted to make sure he was back in Georgia and not lingering around somewhere.

The last time I saw Trent, he was handcuffed in the back seat of a patrol car. It is an image I will never forget. Seriously, I’ll never forget it because Alex took a picture to commemorate the moment. So far, I haven’t heard a peep from him, and I don’t expect to either. It is such a freeing feeling to know that Trent is officially out of my life.

I type a quick reply to Amelia.

Me:Glad to know he’s back where he belongs. And that limp?

My phone vibrates with another text, but I ignore it and place it back in my purse. I will catch up with Amelia later. I have something important to do and I keep putting it off.

Today is the day that I’m going to tell Jax that I go by Dr. Parker at work. I probably should’ve told him from the very beginning, but my nerves got the best of me. I realize now it’s foolish to worry. My choosing his last name is completely by chance. Besides, I chose it before I even knew him. I do wonder about his reaction. Maybe he will find it funny? I hope.

I give myself a pep talk on the elevator ride up to our floor. I don’t know why I’m so nervous about this. It’s just a name. A common name at that, and my reasons for changing my professional name are valid.

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