Page 47 of Against All Odds

She gasped. “No.”

“He was.” I pursed my lips to control my feelings and then added, “It took me years to get over it. Trust is not an easy thing for me.”

“That’s why I’m asking for a chance. I know you don’t trust me. But I’ll earn it.”

“Why? I mean…why do you want to be my friend?” This was all very strange and confusing.

“Because I think you’re a special person, Sable.” She looked around the tavern. “What you’ve done here and how you’ve turned your life around, despite the shit thrown your way through no fault of your own, is remarkable.”

Before I could digest her words and formulate a response, which, in all honesty, was going to take a while, the front door jiggled, and Heath walked in.

CHAPTER 15

heath

It took me longer to get to the Wildflower because I’d stopped by Alexa’s.

Juno hugged me, told me she had an exam, and whispered, “Good luck” in my ear before sprinting to her room.

Alexa was crying. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her face was blotchy in a way I hadn’t seen in years. She was upset as hell.

Alexa wasn’t a big crier so if she was this upset, I knew I had to pay attention, ex or not.

“What’s going on?” I sat next to her on the couch.

She didn’t look at me right away. “I can’t believe it’s come to this, Heath,” she said finally, her voice shaky. “Me having to defend myself. My family. Our daughter.”

“Defend yourself?” I repeated, my voice sharper than I intended. “Alexa, you went into the Wildflower and made a scene.”

She flinched, turning to face me, more tears threateningto spill. “You think I wanted to do that? You think I wanted to humiliate myself in front of half the town?”

“You didn’t have to go in there at all,” I shot back, though the fight was already leaking out of me. Seeing her like this—wrecked and vulnerable—made it hard to hold onto my anger.

She wiped at her cheek and let out a humorless laugh. “And what was I supposed to do, Heath? Sit back and watch while she gets everything. While you forget that I’m the one who’s been here, who’s always been here?”

I frowned, feeling a familiar pang of guilt creep in. As she often reminded me, I was the one who asked for a divorce and broke up our family. “Alexa, who I date doesn’t concern you.” Or at least, it shouldn’t.

She looked up at me, her eyes glistening. “I’ve spent years trying to hold it together for Juno. For us. And now, everyone’s talking about how she” —she practically spat the word— “is some kind of saint. Like she’s the one who deserves a happy ending while I get left with nothing.”

Fuck! This was about Sablewinning? Did neither of these women realize that they weren’t in high school anymore? Sable was still affected by the past, still triggered by what people said about her and thought about her. And now Alexa was triggered by Sable and me.

“Alexa, you’re not left with nothing.”

She shook her head. “You don’t hear what I hear. People pity me, Heath. They look at me like I’m some bitter ex-wife who couldn’t hold on to her husband. And the worst part of it all, I feel like I’m losing you.”

You already lost me.

I ran a hand over my face, feeling frustrated. “Alexa, Sable didn’t ruin our marriage. You and I both know it was broken long before she ever came into the picture.”

“I know,” she said softly, pausing to look at me. “But none of it changes how I feel. I love you, Heath. I’d hoped…that we’d move to Aspen and get back together. Now that dream is dying.”

She looked like the young woman I’d met all those years ago—the one who I’d fallen in love with. Her sharp edges and manipulative streak had emerged over the years. But, right now, she wasn’t the ice queen she showed the world—she was someone who felt abandoned, left behind.

I let out a slow breath, my anger vanishing. “I didn’t mean for any of this to hurt you, Alexa. I never wanted that.”

She gave me a sad smile, her shoulders sagging. “I know. But it did. It still does.”

I’d been so focused on my own life—on Sable, on figuring out what I wanted—that I hadn’t stopped to think about what this all looked like from Alexa’s side. It didn’t excuse what she’d done, but I saw the pain behind her actions.

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