Page 92 of Wish I Didn't Want You Back

Baz straightened his shoulders, like he was gearing up to protest. “I want to speak to the manager.”

Ryan threw a white dish towel over his shoulder. “You’re looking at him.”

Finn laughed into his beer.

“I have every right to be here.”

Ryan leaned across the counter. His eyes met mine briefly. “No, you don’t. You’ve been sniffing your dirty nose around town, stirring up trouble.”

As if he could sense me, Baz turned and locked eyes with mine. “Really?” he snapped.

I stood up slowly and calmly, even though every muscle in my body was pulled tight. “This is the type of service you get once you start pissing people off. No one wants you here.”

“I’m a paying customer. I want a fucking drink!”

“You heard the man, he said no.” I shook my head, stepping closer. Finn and my brothers were right at my back. “No one in this town is impressed with you or your money.”

“What the fuck do you know about money? You hit nails for a living.”

I smirked. “That’s not the only thing I’m hittin’ lately.”

I shouldn’t have said it. I knew that, but I hated this man with a passion. He was messing with my business. He wanted my fiancée. He believed he could buy his way into whatever he wanted. I had zero fucks to give when it came to him.

He scoffed. “You think Harlow’s going to settle for a woodchuck like you? She left you once. What makes you think she won’t do it again? Why don’t you do the smart thing and walk away. I’ll even make it worth your while. I will write you a check right now. Name your price.”

I stared at him for a full five seconds before I laughed in his face. “That’s your answer for everything, isn’t it? Thinking that throwing money at a problem will make it all go away?”

He rolled his eyes. “Think about all the tools you could buy? Hell, you could even buy yourself a new truck. All you have to do is take the money.”

He sounded weak and desperate, as if he knew he was fighting a losing battle, but his pride would never allow him to accept it.

I folded my arms. “I’m not for sale or some problem you can get rid of.”

“Are you sure about that? It worked last time.”

Rage took over my vision. I heard a few stools tip over, but I was already moving. I was sick and tired of his shit. After everything he’d pulled, messing with the permits, lurking around, and making her life miserable, I was done. This little showdown was five years in the making.

“Don’t come into my town and think you can throw a check at me and get your way. She is not going back to your sorry ass. Get that through your thick head.”

He bumped his chest into mine. “You would be a fool not to take me up on my offer. She is not worth it. She will walk again.”

“For an Ivy League college boy, you sure are pretty dense. She wants nothing to do with you or William Bennett. So, stop throwing a hissy fit and move along, Bartholomew.”

I smirked. He wasn’t a fan of his given name, and I couldn’t blame him.

His nostrils flared. “You going to turn down my offer for a bitch that doesn’t even put out. You are dumber than I thought.”

That did it.

I picked him up by the collar and dragged him across the bar. “Say that again. I fucking dare you.”

He stumbled back into a table, knocking over a basket of wings. His smirk dropped. “Do you know how much power and influence I have?”

“You don’t look like you have a lot of power right now, you little shithead,” I spat, standing over him, letting him know this would be a very short fight if he kept pushing my buttons. “Stay away from her!”

He laughed sarcastically. “You think I’m afraid of you?”

I shoved him again, and this time, he pushed me back. I had six inches and thirty pounds of muscle on the guy, but he didn’teven flinch. I stepped back and threw my hands out. “If you want to back up your tough talk, go ahead and throw the first punch.”

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