Page 146 of A Very Merry Enemy
Dominic looks at me. “Holiday, would you walk me out? I’d love a moment to speak with you privately.”
“Oh, I wouldloveto,” I say, the wine streaming through my system.
We step out onto the front porch, and I immediately put distance between us. The night has turned frigid, and I wrap my arms around myself.
“Now I see why you always wanted to visit home,” Dominic says, looking out at the land. “Lovely place. Merryville is wonderful. Very…quaint.”
“Cut the shit, Dominic. What do you want?”
“Such ugly language for a pretty girl.” His face glows in the Christmas lights. “I wanted to see you. Talk to you. Alone. You’ve been avoiding me.”
“I’ve beenbusy.”
“With your lumberjack.” It’s not a question. “I’ve seen the pictures. The articles. You and Lucas Jolly, small-town sweethearts.” His voice drips with condescension. “Is this reallywhat you want? To throw away everything we built for some provincial nobody?”
“Don’t talk about him like that.”
“Why not? It’s the truth.” He steps closer, and I take a step back. “Holiday, please. I came here to apologize. To make things right between us. I’ve made mistakes, I know that. But we can fix this. We can start over. Come back to Paris with me. I’ll help you open your own bakery. I’ll give you everything you and your talent deserve.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Fuck no, Dominic. What you did to me can’t be fixed. There is nousanymore. There never really was, though, was there? It was always just you using me and calling it love.”
His expression hardens. “That’s not fair.”
“Fair? I don’t think you have the right to speak about fairness.” I laugh bitterly. “You took credit for my work. You made me feel worthless unless I was serving your ambitions. That’s not love. That’s exploitation.”
“I gave you a stage to test your recipes,” he says, his voice rising. “Everything you have is because of me. I gave you Paris. I gave you a career. I gave you opportunities you never would have had otherwise.”
“You tookeverything!” The words explode out of me. “You took my confidence, my sense of self, my connection to my family. You isolated me and controlled me and made me doubt my own talent. And now you have the audacity to come to my parents’ house and play the charming ex-boyfriend? What is wrong with you?”
“I love you,” he says, and for a moment, he almost sounds sincere. “I’ve always loved you. I know I didn’t show it all the time, but?—”
“Love?” I shake my head. “You don’t know what love is.”
He reaches for me then, grabbing my arms and trying topull me against him. “Holiday, please. Just give me another chance. Let me prove?—”
Instinct takes over.
I shove him away from me, and he stumbles backward, losing his balance. His expensive shoes slip on the porch steps, and he tumbles down, landing on his ass on the front lawn.
For a second, I just stare at him, not realizing how much strength I have.
The front door opens and my mother appears. “Holiday? Is everything okay out here?”
I don’t take my eyes off Dominic. “Everything’s fine, Mom. Just telling Dominic goodbye.”
“Oh. Well…don’t stay out too long, sweetheart. It’s getting cold.”
The door closes, and I move to the edge of the porch.
Dominic stands slowly, brushing grass and dirt off his expensive slacks. “You’ve changed.”
“No, I haven’t. I just remembered who I am.”
“This isn’t you, Holiday. This violence, this anger?—”
