Page 27 of Against All Odds

“You know, haters gonna hate, Sable.”

I turned to face him. “Ben Greyfeather, did you just quote Taylor Swift?”

He chuckled. “I got a granddaughter who loves her, so, yeah, I’m pretty well-versed. Besides, Taylor’s got some wisdom, doesn’t she? Like she says, you just gotta ‘shake it off.’”

I let out a surprised laugh and then sighed. “Why isthis so hard for me?”

Ben leaned forward, resting his elbows on the bar. “Hard for anyone. People are gonna talk, Sable. They always have, and they always will, don’t make it pleasant.”

“True.”

“And Taylor” —he added with a wink— “seems to know a thing or two about rising above the noise. So maybe it’s worth listening.”

“Of all the people I’d hear you quote, Ben, it wasneverTaylor Swift.”

“Hey, I’m also good with Queen Bey.”

“Hit me.”

“You’ve been through a lot, and you rose above it. You are confident…hell, Sable, as she says,you’re lethal.”

“So, this is a reminder?” I asked cheekily.

“You know your Queen Bey.”

“I kneel at her altar like everyone else.”

“You know,” he rejoined somberly, “when I bought this place all those years ago, people talked about me, too. Said I was crazy to think I could make it work. Then I hired Elijah, and they said no one would want to eat food cooked by a man who’d been in prison.”

I glanced at him, surprised. Ben rarely talked about his challenges.

“But you know what I learned?” he continued, “the people who matter don’t talk. They show up. They support you. The rest? They’re just noise.”

“That’s a life lesson if I’ve ever heard one.”

“Right now, it feels like everyone is looking at you.”He clapped me on the shoulder. “But like Casey said, ‘fuck ‘em.’ You do you.”

I drove home that night, feeling restive. I had spent one night with Heath, and a whole can of whoop ass had been sent my way. He was Alexa’s ex. She was Aspen royalty, the freaking former mayor’s daughter, who was wealthy as fuck.

What would happen if I spent another night with him? Maybe we went out in public?

I liked being with Heath because he made me feel like I was worth it. For someone who was nursing all kinds of wounds and insecurities, that was my drug of choice.

But if Jack had taught me one thing, it was that I couldn’t rely on someone else for my self-esteem; that had to come from within. I just felt I had few reserves left, and it was getting harder and harder to keep my head screwed on straight.

Well, I needed to fix it quickly because, as Taylor would say, I had tocome back stronger than a 90s trend.

CHAPTER 9

heath

Iwas in a better mood than I’d been since I asked Alexa for a divorce, and we went through the process you go through as a couple, where one wants the separation more than the other. It took a year after our first conversation to start the legal process, and then we moved to Aspen, which was a year and a half ago. I wouldn’t say that I was depressed or sad—but it weighed on me, this decision I made and the consequences of it.

But I had felt lighter since my date with Sable.

The next evening, I texted her to tell her that I really enjoyed our time together. She replied, “Me, too.”

Life got in the way, and I hadn’t been able to get in touch with her, but I also didn’t feel the need for it. I had expected her to reach out, as that was my experience with women, but she hadn’t—which made me feel even better about what we’d started. This would be the epitome of casual. I enjoyed Sable’s company in and out of bed, andthat’s all I wanted, didn’t I? Some companionship, and…then there was the sex.Fucking mind-blowingly fantastic sex!

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