Page 22 of Bad Guys Need Love Too

It also seemed like a good way to end up disappointed with her entire life, but as someone who’d never even bothered to get into abadrelationship, never mind agoodone, who was he to judge? “I understand.”

She gnawed on her thumbnail. “Plus, I’m a people pleaser. I’ve always gone out of my way to make other people comfortable. I wish it wasn’t true, but…it is.”

He couldn’t help himself. He grabbed her hand. “Maybe it’s time to think about whatyouwant for a change.”

Her breath hitched as her gaze moved from her hand in his, up to his eyes. It’d be so easy to kiss her. She wasright there. So close. He might never get another opportunity. Surely, once this was all over, she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. Which was why he let her go when she eased her hand out of his grasp and told himself it didn’t matter.

“Maybe it is,” she whispered.

Neal looked more disheveled than Lark had ever seen him look, and she’d seen him after he’d had his wisdom teeth removed when he looked like a bloated chipmunk, so that was really saying something.

She took a steadying breath as she made her way to the booth he was sitting in. His coffee looked untouched, which was good. The way his knee was bouncing under the table told her the last thing he needed this morning was caffeine.

That’s when his eyes lifted from his cup and locked on her. The relief on his face was like a guilty punch to her gut.

Neal leapt up and yanked her into a bone-crunching hug. “Thank God you’re OK,” he said into her hair. “I heard about what happened at the shop, then you weren’t answering your phone. I was so scared I’d lost you!”

His wording bugged her. Like always, he’d found a way to center himself in something she’d been through. Or was she just being overly critical because he’d annoyed her for so long?

“This whole thing reminded me that we really should get your will in order,” he added. “If something had happened to you before the wedding, no one would know that you’d want to leave the house to me.”

There it was. She definitelywasn’tbeing overly critical. Neal was a douchebag.

Lark gave him a little shove to get him off her. “I’m fine.”

His confused gaze shifted over her shoulder, then up—and up and up and up—to Ren. She glanced back at him and winced at the damn-near violent hatred on her fake boyfriend/stalker/kidnapper/protector’s face as he eyed Neal like he was silently doing the math on how many ways he couldendhim.

“Why is the utilities guy here?” Neal asked.

She gestured to the table. “Sit down, Neal. Let’s talk.”

Lark slid into her side of the booth and Neal sat across from her. Something told her Neal would’ve sat beside her as he often did when they went to restaurants (something that never failed to piss her off because why did he always have to beright there) but couldn’t because Ren was sitting next to her.

And for some reason, being wedged into the booth with Ren touching her entire left side didn’t make her feel claustrophobic like it always did with Neal.

When this whole thing was over (if she survived, of course), she was definitely going to therapy.

Neal’s eyes hardened and his jaw tensed as he stared at the spot where Ren’s arm was touching hers. “Why the hell are you here with my fiancé?”

Ren didn’t answer. He glanced down at her instead. His expression, though…well, that was communicating volumes. He was silently asking her if he could make this idiot disappear. She gave him a little headshake. He sighed in disappointment.

Lark cleared her throat. “Neal, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to spit it out. I don’t want to marry you. I haven’t in a long time. So, I want to break up.”

His gaze shifted back to hers, and he frowned. “That’s ridiculous. I placed an order for the cake last week.”

“You ordered strawberry,” she said dryly.

He nodded. “Yes. It’s my favorite.”

And wasn’t that just symbolic of their entire relationship? He always got what he wanted, and she went along for the ride because she was a weak, sniveling little people pleaser. If she was a character in one of her favorite romance novels, she’d be a sidekick. Someone not strong enough to be the heroine. Which was just pathetic.

“She’s allergic to strawberries, dumbass,” Ren snapped.

Lark supposed she shouldn’t be surprised he knew that about her because he seemed to knoweverythingabout her. But she was. “The cake isn’t the point, Neal. I should’ve ended this long before a date was set, and a cake ordered. I haven’t been happy in a long time.” She took a deep breath before adding, “It wasn’t until I met therightman that I realized it wasn’t fair to you or me to stay in a relationship that wasn’t ever going to work.”

To further solidify her point, she grabbed Ren’s hand. He didn’t hesitate to lace his fingers through hers. That’s when her brain short-circuited. His hand was so warm and callused and just…perfect. She was feeling more heat and passion from holding hands with Ren than she’d felt having sex with Neal for years.

Neal’s face reddened as he watched Ren’s thumb lazily stroke her wrist. “You can’t expect me to believe you’d break off our engagement to be with someone like…him.”

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