Mad, Bad and Blonde - Cathie Linz [89]
“Are you still angry about the wedding thing?”
“The wedding thing? You mean dumping me at the altar? Yeah, I’m definitely still pissed about that.”
“Okay, so I may have made a mistake.”
“May have?”
“Definitely did.” He gave her a toothpaste ad smile. “But I’m back now.”
“So what?”
“So we can pick up where we left off.”
“No, Alan, we can’t.”
“Well, not exactly where we left off. Not with that big wedding.”
“Not with any wedding. You said I was boring.”
“Nonsense. I didn’t use those words exactly.” He pulled out his iPhone. “I kept a copy of the text message. Look, here it is.” He turned the phone to show her the screen.
She shoved it back at him. “I don’t need to see that. And I sure as hell don’t need to see you. Go away.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“But we were about to get married,”
“Were being the operative word here. That’s all in the past.”
“How can you throw away the two years we had together?”
“You threw it away. But you know what? You did me a favor, although I would have preferred that you told me you were having doubts instead of taking the coward’s way out.”
“I am not a coward.”
“You wanted excitement and adventure. You didn’t want me, and you didn’t have the nerve to tell me that to my face.”
“I was trying to spare your feelings. Telling you to your face seemed rude.”
She stared at him in disbelief.
“And I was trying to find myself,” he said. “I was confused.”
“I don’t care.”
“Okay, you’re upset with me. I get that now. I’m more self-aware than I was before. I’m a better me.”
“Bully for you.”
“I’m a better me, so I can help you become a better you.”
“You can help me by leaving me alone,” she said.
“You don’t mean that. You don’t want to be alone.”
“She’s not alone.” Caine appeared out of nowhere to stand by her side. “The lady is with me now.”
Alan was not a happy camper. “Who the hell are you?”
“The man who’s going to make your life hell if you don’t beat it right now.”
Alan retreated a few steps and gave Caine a wary look. “I’m her fiancé. I deserve an explanation.”
“You’re her ex-fiancé, and you deserve to have your ass kicked.”
“He’s not worth the trouble.” Faith grabbed hold of Caine’s arm.
“It’s no trouble,” Caine growled. “It would be my pleasure.”
“He’s a former Marine,” Faith told Alan. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold him back, so you’d better get out of here while you can.”
“If I leave now, I’m not coming back,” Alan warned. “This is your last chance.”
“No, it’s your last chance, Alan,” she said. “Leave while you still can.”
He angrily walked away.
Faith turned to Caine. “You came back.”
Caine nodded.
“I wasn’t sure you would.”
Yuri stepped outside to join them. “Is it safe to let Caine in the building now?” he asked.
Faith didn’t know how safe it was, but she was no longer looking for safe. She was looking for love . . . and answers.
So was Caine. At least he was looking for answers. She had yet to discover his thoughts about love.
“Did you know Alan the Asshole was coming to see you?” Caine asked once they were inside her condo.
“No.” She sank onto her couch. “I had no idea. I thought he was still in Bali.”
“Are you still in love with him?”
“Did it look like I was still in love with him?”
He shrugged. “You were pissed, but that doesn’t mean you don’t still love him.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m positive. Look, can we change the subject, please? I have a question for you. How did you know that I was at Nolan’s house?”
“I put a tracking device in your purse last night.”
“Why?”
“To keep track of you.”
“Because you don’t trust me.”
“It’s not a matter of trust. It’s a matter of security.”
“By the time you got there, I had the situation under control,” she said.
“Yeah, you did.”
“I am glad that you showed up, though,” she admitted. “An extra pair of hands in a case like that is a good thing.” “Sure.”
“You were my backup.”
“Looks like I was.”
“And still are, showing up the way you just did to get rid of Alan. Not that I couldn’t have taken care of him myself.”
“Right.”
“Sometimes it’s nice to