Page 20 of Peaches

My cheeks burn at the insinuation. “Oh.” I want to ask him why he suggested doing this with me then, but I decide instead to shift the conversation. “Okay, so give me anything. Pretend I don’t know you.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’m a selfish asshole who hates just about everybody and, for the most part, wants to be left alone.”

I’m stunned into silence. Literally, I cannot even think of a response.

He looks at me with wide eyes. “Shit, sorry. Guess I’m not exactly good at this.”

“Um, that’s okay. Don’t be sorry.” After a beat, I ask, “Do you really think that about yourself?”

“What, that I’m a selfish asshole? Or that I want to be left alone?”

“You’re not an asshole.”

His smile is rueful. “Oh, there’s no denying it at this point, I’m afraid.”

“I mean, sure, sometimes you act like one. But I think it’s with good intentions.”

This has him pausing. “What do you mean?”

“You were pretty grumbly at Spurs, but you thought Ivan was yelling at me. And you kicked Tony out of your bar, but let’s be real, he wasn’t exactly charming. You’re rough around the edges and use intimidation when it suits the situation, but so far, I’ve only seen it used for good.And,” I add, a little sheepishly, “you offered to do this with me. Instead of rightfully making fun of me.”

“I wouldn’t make fun of you, Olivia.”

“Exactly my point.”

He stares at me. Crosses his arms over his chest. “Most people have no problem thinking I’m an asshole.”

I shrug. “Maybe they’re wrong. And just because people think it doesn’t make it true.”

“Hm.” He scrubs a hand over his mouth. “What about you?”

“Am I an asshole?”

He barks another laugh. “No. Tell me something about yourself.”

I think about it for a second, about Rhett’s point-blank response. The swift desire to match his honesty has me speaking before I realize what I’m revealing. “I have a father I’ve never met who lives in Charleston with his wife and three daughters—my half-sisters. And they want me to visit in the summer. For a wedding,” I add, like that detail is important, like I didn’t just reveal my greatest secret to this man I hardly know.

He leans in. “You’venevermet him?”

“Nope. He was having an affair with my mom and got her pregnant. Bailed as soon as he found out.”

“Damn, that’s shitty.”

Again, I shrug. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” His expression grows stony.

“It is,” I insist. “My life has been . . . fine without him. Good.” Oh my god, Olivia, shutup. “Great, actually!” Yeah, this is going swimmingly.

He scoffs, but I can tell my stammering amused him. “You’ve been throwing yourself at literal pests, and then you let me”—he points to himself—“the asshole, convince you to do the same even after I called you out for it. You have a hole in your heart, peaches. Don’t pretend it’s okay.”

Bile nearly rises up my throat at being so exposed by such a quick observation. It unnerves me, for him to think I’m broken. “I don’tthrowmyself at anyone, and there’s no hole in my heart.” The lies easily roll off my tongue, but it does nothing to stop his words from branding into me.

He holds both hands up, palms open in surrender. “I’m not judging. I’ve just found it’s easier to bring that shit out into the open and use it like armor instead of letting it fester and hurt you. I’m not trying to offend, I promise.”

Our server momentarily glides back in to drop a heaping glass of white wine in front of me, and I waste no time taking a big gulp.

Rhett doesn’t say anything, giving me room to collect myself. “Sorry,” I eventually say. “I just . . . sometimes I’m defensive about it all because people look at my mom and me like we’re missing something. Like it’s obvious, you know? But my mom has always been enough for me. More than enough.”

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