Page 15 of Breakup Games

“You’ll be perfectly safe,” he assures me. “I’ll be there the whole time, watching out of sight. And I’ll get you an earpiece so you—”

I gasp excitedly and turn, hand going to his arm. “Like in the movies?”

Mason chuckles again. “I guess so.”

“Ohh, this is going to be fun.”

“It’s work.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” We start walking again but I only make it a few steps before I come to a sudden stop again, quickly turning so I can walk the other direction. But Violet keeps going, pulling my arm so instead of turning, I walk right into Mason’s firm chest. Both of his large hands land on my arms, steadyingme. He raises an eyebrow in question but before he can ask what the heck I’m doing,shesees me first.

Chapter

Ten

MIRA

“Mira,” my former mother-in-law calls and her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. I groan and let out a sigh.

“Just ignore her,” I tell Mason and step back. His hands stay on my arms and our eyes lock, holding the gaze for just a second too long. His hazel eyes are rimmed with dark green, and I didn’t notice it until now, with the sunlight reflecting off of them. “Or arrest her,” I add and step back, shaking myself back to reality.

“Well, I wasn't expecting this.” Karen stops and shakes her hair back. She was a good looking woman back in the early nineties and has hung onto that look ever since. I give her kudos for not caving to societal trends and for sticking to the overly teased hair and contrasting lip liner. Her drawn-on eyebrows are still pencil thin and I’m choked by the overpowering scent of her perfume.

It’s strange, how for years this woman called me the daughter she always wanted and then suddenly changed her tune when she realized her son was having an affair. She hid it, helped him cover his tracks, and even justified not only the physical abuse Iendured but the fact that he cheated, saying he was a needy boy who needed extra love.

Barf.

Just admit you wish you were still breastfeeding him at this point, woman.

“Hello, Karen,” I say with a fake smile. “It’s been over two years. Time to move on.”

“Apparently you have. A little fast, don’t you think? It’s like my son meant nothing to you.”

“No, I don’t. Have a nice day.” I give Mason’s arm a tug and we start walking again. He takes an interested look at Karen and then waits until we’re out of earshot to look at me curiously.

“Mother of a former boyfriend?”

“Husband,” I say ruefully. “Filed for divorce years ago.”

“Ahhh, the mother-in-law. Or a monster-in-law in your situation?”

“Oh, definitely a monster.” I shrug. “Though she wasn’t always. We got along really well until her son got caught.”

“Cheating?”

I nod. “And…never mind.”

“Okay,” he says and doesn’t pry. I’m an open book when it comes to the past traumas I’ve dealt with since it’s a big focus on my podcast, but I also know the overhearing is a trauma response. It’s something I help my clients deal with, but I’m better at giving advice than taking it. “She’s taking pictures of you.”

I’m tempted to turn around and look but resist. “She always does. I don’t know why.” I let out a snort of laughter. “One of my friends saw her standing outside a restaurant once holding a binder full of screenshots of all my social media posts.”

“Someone is obsessed with you.”

“You can say that again.”

He shakes his head and puts his arm around me. “Might as well give her something to talk about.”

I laugh and look up at him. “Ohh, two fake boyfriends in a row.”

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