Page 30 of Against All Odds

Even as I considered it, the thought left a sour taste in my mouth. By nature, I was an honest man, and the idea of hiding a woman I cared about felt disingenuous—like I was ashamed of her. And I wasn’t. Not one bit.

Sable deserved better than that. Hell, I deserved better than that. The question was, how could I have my cake and eat it too? And if that thought didn’t make me feel like an even bigger asshole.

Ultimately, I didn’t text Sable. Instead, I asked Ellie to make reservations at Amore for three at six-thirty p.m.

CHAPTER 10

sable

Who thought dating would give me a headache? Well, it did. It had been two days since the Aspen Gossip Daily (not an actual news outlet) had put out bulletin after bulletin about Alexa Vikar’s ex-husband, Heath Falkner, dating the trailer trash—the sad, pathetic ex-wife of Jack Cavalieri, who had dumped her ass and gotten his assistant, Molly—ready to pop any minute—pregnant. The embers of old high school stories (mean girls had memories like elephants) were being fanned into flames.

I was just about ready to wear a Scarlet Letter and be done with it.

I knew what was happening. Alexa wanted her ex back, and she’d activated the mean girl phone tree. I was not on social media—thank God.Butthe Wildflower was, and that worried me. I’d just taken over the place. What would I do if she came after my business?My new, fledgling business. It wasn’t just me—I hademployees who were counting on paychecks and tips. For now, business was booming. The locals were flocking, and tourists, as always, kept the steady stream moving. Casey had even joked that a little scandal was not hurting us at all.

But it was hurting me.

I hadn’t been able to sleep the previous night, and when today, the tavern had once again been a hub of gossip, where I was the main course, my relentless headache made it hard to think, let alone keep up with the tavern's noise.

Since Mila was having a sleepover with a friend and Casey was working late, I decided to skedaddle out of the Wildflower, find a painkiller, and my bed, and in that order. “You good to close up, Case? I need to get out of here before my skull cracks in half.”

She nodded, giving me a sympathetic look. “Go. I’ve got it. Get some rest, Sable.”

Grateful, I grabbed my purse and headed out the back door. The cool spring mountain air hit me like a slap, clearing my head just enough to remind me that I didn’t have any ibuprofen at home.

Carl’s Pharmacy was only a few blocks away on Main Street, and walking felt better than sitting in the car.

As I walked, I tried to focus on the sound of my sneakers against the pavement, on the freshness of the air,anythingto drown out the noise in my head.

Halfway there, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, squinting at the screen.

Jack.

Argh!

For a split second, I considered ignoring it. But I didn’t. I never did. Some part of me still hadn’t shaken the instinct to pick up, to listen, to brace myself.

“Yes,” I said, my tone sharp enough to cut.

Jack’s voice came through the line, low and furious. “Are you kidding me, Sable?”

I slowed my steps, frowning. “What?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb. Everyone’s talking about you flaunting your new fuck buddy all over town.”

My headache throbbed harder, but my pulse flared with anger. “Are you serious right now? You were flaunting your pregnant mistress before the divorce papers were even signed, Jack. You don’t get to lecture me about my personal lifeafterwe’re divorced.”

“Don’t turn this around on me,” he snapped. “This isn’t about Molly or me. This is about you, embarrassing yourself, and, by extension, me. It’s pathetic, Sable.”

I stopped walking and clenched my free hand into a fist. “You don’t get to tell me what’s pathetic, Jack. Not after you left me for someone half your age who you knocked up.”

His laugh was bitter, grating. “You think people don’t see you for what you are? Trailer trash trying to play with the big kids—like always. And now you’re chasing Heath Falkner? Do you think he doesn’t see it?”

I wanted to hang up. I wanted to scream. Instead, I forced steel into my voice. “Who I chase after and who I do whatever with is none of your business.”

He scoffed, but before he could reply, I ended the call, set my phone on mute, and shovedthe offending slab of technology back into my pocket. My hands were trembling, and my teeth clenched so hard that my jaw hurt. None of this helped the pounding headache.

By the time I reached the pharmacy, I felt raw and scraped.

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