Page 43 of Suck My Puck

“No, I don’t. I think it’s a pretty generous retelling of what happened between us.”

I turn to Braden, whose brow is at his hairline as his gaze darts between Matt and me.

I should probably be embarrassed, airing out my dirty laundry in front of the guy I hooked up with. But anger and hurt are all I feel. Angry that Matt has the gall to downplay the awful things he did to me. And hurt that he doesn’t seem to feel bad about any of it.

Matt tugs a hand through his light brown hair and huffs out a breath. “Bella, we ended things months ago. It’s in the past. Can’t you just get over it? God, you always get so worked up about stuff.”

I let out a crazed laugh that’s so loud, both Braden and Matt jolt back.

I slam my fist hand on the bartop as anger steamrolls my insides. I grab a glass of champagne from the tray I served to Braden and toss it in Matt’s face.

“Fuck you, Matt,” I bite. “You slept with every puck bunny in North America behind my back for a solid year.”

My heart pounds in my chest. I can feel it in my ears, I’m so pissed.

“You let me spend my entire savings buying a house with you while you fucked around on me. And you didn’t even have the decency to pay me back when we split up. Now I’m broke because of you.”

The entire bar falls silent. Everyone turns and looks at me. Including my boss, Darlene. I glance over and see her gawking at me from across the bar.

Shit. I was a lot louder than I meant to be.

And that’s when the embarrassment finally hits me. It feels like a million tiny needles poking through my skin. Hot tears prick my eyes.

I dart out of the main part of the bar and down the hallway to the back door. I stumble outside into the darkened alley and lean against the dingy brick wall.

I close my eyes, wincing at the burn. Hot tears fall down my cheeks.

God, I hate this. I hate how just seeing Matt again triggered all that pain and anger I’ve been shoving aside for the past several months. I hate how successful and happy he is despite all the hurtful things he did to me. I hate how miserable and broke I am.

I’m wiping my face on the sleeve of my top when the backdoor swings open. Braden walks out and steps over tome. He stops when he’s a foot away. I sniffle and take in the concern flashing in his whisper-blue eyes.

Emotion wooshes through me. There’s something about that look in his eyes that hits me right in the chest. He’s looking at me like he cares about me. Like it hurts him to see me upset.

“Hey,” he says softly.

“Hey.” I sniffle. “I’m sorry I threw your champagne in Matt’s face. I’ll comp the whole bottle from your check.”

“You don’t need to do that,” he says softly. “And you don’t need to be sorry. He deserved it.”

I let out a snotty chuckle and gaze straight ahead at the other side of the alley. “God. That was so trashy, wasn’t it? I threw a drink in my ex-boyfriend’s face. In the middle of a bar. Where I work.”

I hug my arms around my body. It’s late at night, so there’s a chill in the autumn air. Braden pulls off his jacket and drapes it over my shoulders. Then he stands in front of me and gently rubs my shoulders and arms, warming me up.

I gaze up at him. His eyes are intense as he looks down at me. Like he’s watching over me, making sure I’m okay. My tummy flips.

“What you did was badass,” he says.

I let out a snotty chuckle. “It wasn’t. I’m probably gonna get fired. My boss is kind of a hardass. No way will she let what I did slide. And I can’t…” I close my eyes, frustrated with myself. “I can’t lose this job.”

I open my eyes and look at Braden. There’s a fiery look in his beautiful, sky-blue stare that I don’t recognize.

“No way you’re getting fired, pretty girl.”

Tingles spread through my body. That nickname. Why do I like it so much?

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because your boss just kicked your ex out of the bar.”

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