My Despicable Ex (Book 1) (4 page)

“
Spend some time with me?
What!? You never wrote or emailed me to tell me what happened, not
in five long years, so why should I care now? I’m so over you that
it’s not even funny.”

“
I thought you’d want
closure.”

“
Nope. I don’t care
anymore. You’re just the worst mistake I ever made, and I want to
forget about you forever. So why don’t you just respect my wishes
and leave?”

“
Because I have
nothing.”

“
So now you want to take
advantage of something my mom wrote when she was out of her mind,
just diagnosed with a deadly disease? Really, Jake.”

“
I’m so sorry about what I
did, Ashly, but I was young. I was facing a four-year prison term
for punching out that guy, for defending you.”

“
You got scared and ran for
your freedom, Jake. There’s no excuse for running away, young or
not.”

“
Don’t be bitter,” he
said.

My jaw dropped. “Bitter?” I repeated,
then shifted my gaze to my lawyer for help. “Did you hear that? Can
you believe the nerve?”

My lawyer sighed and squirmed uneasily
in his seat. “I really think we need to tie up this Will and decide
if you two are going to go through with—”

“
I haven’t seen this idiot
since he hightailed it from our wedding, without giving me any
logical explanation. Did you think I was gonna greet him with a big
smile and a warm hug?”

“
Ashly,” Mr. Shelby
said.

“
I’m sorry. I know I’m out
of line. It’s just that…well, seeing him here has thrown me for a
real loop.”

Jake motioned for me to sit down again
and looked at me with that sad look on his face. We stared into
each other’s eyes. For countless years, I’d wondered if I’d ever
see him again, and now, there he was, right before my very eyes.
His hair was wet and messy from the wind and rain, and I couldn’t
deny that he looked so damn sexy. Still, I’d closed that chapter of
my life and had painfully turned through the next hundred pages.
Finally, I’d gotten back on my feet. Now, I was faced with that
first chapter all over again, and I felt like throwing the book
against the wall.

I was trying to hate him but I
couldn’t stop staring at his powerful biceps and huge, solid chest.
I had no doubt that under his thin t-shirt, he had rippling muscles
and six-pack abs. I remembered when we’d first met, how he’d made
me laugh right from the get-go. All the memories that I had
desperately tried to block out came flooding back like it had all
happened yesterday: his laugh, his lips, his touch, and his kiss.
We’d been so deeply, so madly in love.

His deep, passionate kisses were
something I’d never ever forget, no matter how many years passed
and how many lovers I invited into my bed. No one would ever
compare to Jake. Off course, none of that mattered. I would never
forget his betrayal; it had rocked me to the very core of my being.
His sweet talk would never work on me again.

I shook my head. “You don’t get it, do
you?”

He inched closer. “What?”

A tear ran down my face. “I was
supposed to be living a happy life with you.”

“
So this is about revenge
now? You just want to stick it to me. That’s why you won’t go on
this trip your mother wanted us to take?”

My lips pressed into grim lines. “Yep.
You stuck it to me, and Mom has given me the perfect way to stick
it back to you.”

“
That’s cold, Ashly. You
have no idea how much that money would change my life.”

“
Cold? Maybe, but you made
me. Because of you, I’ve been cold, mean, and miserable. You
shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces.”

“
Maybe, but I’m a different
man now.”

I stared at him.

“
Hey,” he said in a soft
voice, trying to change the subject, “how’s Tiger?”

Tiger was a white and orange striped
cat we’d adopted when she was only a kitten, a stray who had
followed us home. We both loved her, and she’d become a part of the
family.

“
Is she even still alive?”
he asked.

“
She’s fine and, unlike
you, she sleeps by me every night.” With that, I turned to leave. I
half-expected him to follow me, but he didn’t. Without another word
to him or the attorney, I slammed the door, making sure that Jake
knew he could screw off and leave me alone—for good.

Chapter 3

The next night, my best friend Nadia
dragged me out of the house for dinner. She took me to one of my
favorite restaurants, Devin’s.

“
I’m worried about you,”
she said. “You’ve been a hermit in your apartment ever since your
mom passed away.”

“
I know it’s been three
months, but it’s hard to face the outside world. Interviewing
designers and models seems so…shallow and pointless. I can’t just
pretend nothing’s wrong, and…” Not sure what else to say, my voice
drifted off.

“
I just wanted to get you
out,” Nadia said, “especially with the whole Jake thing. You can’t
stay all cooped up, just reflecting back on what that ass did to
you. It isn’t healthy.”

My cell rang, and I glanced down.
“Speak of the devil.” The last time he’d called me was the day he’d
walked out of my life forever. Now, he was just after my mother’s
money.

“
He’s not gonna give up,
Ash,” she said. “Why don’t you let me answer it? I’d like to thank
him for that trip to Mexico.”

I laughed, even though it wasn’t
funny. My mother had spent $20,000 to reserve a honeymoon suit at
the most expensive tropical resort she could find. Since it was
nonrefundable, I decided to take Nadia. During that trip, she
forced me to leave the room and tried to hook me up with a couple
of hunky Latinos, but I was so miserable I just sulked the entire
time, seething as I looked around the frilly, romantically
furnished room that was supposed to be for lovers.

With a huff, I turned off my phone.
“He even stopped by the apartment, but I didn’t answer the door.
When I saw him through the curtains, my stomach
dropped.”

Her expression grew serious. “If he
keeps stalking you, you need to call the police. He has no
right.”

“
I want to get over this. I
do, but—”

“
Girlfriend, he’s a jerk.
You’re better off without a man like that in your life. I mean, I
was there that horrible day when he didn’t show up. We’d spent so
long planning the perfect wedding. I’ll never forget how happy you
were at the bridal shop when we found
the
dress, with all that light
sparkling off the sequins and beads.”

“
Remember how rude the
owner was?” I laughed. “I thought brides were supposed to be the
–zillas!”

“
Yeah, she owned that
little bridal shop of horrors.”

I about spat out my wine.

“
She got mad because you
tried on so many dresses.”

“
No, I think she got mad
because I didn’t like the designer one she picked. It looked good
on the mannequin, but not on me. But you put her in her
place.”

“
Meh, that’s what friends
are for,” she said, shrugging. “You’re my best friend, you were
getting married, and if you needed all the time in the world and to
try on 100 more gowns, she could deal with it.”

“
She just knew how rich my
mom was and wanted me to buy the most expensive thing in there. I
hate being treated that way.”

“
Yeah, well, it worked out
to go to that bridal shop an hour away, where nobody knew who you
were.”

“
Yep! And I bought the same
cheap gown I wanted in the first place.” I reached into my purse
and pulled out a picture of me in my wedding gown.

Nadia reached for it and stared. “So
beautiful. It’s a shame you burned it.”

“
That dress was chosen
especially for him. I didn’t want the memories.”

“
Then why are you carrying
this picture around?”

“
I haven’t been. I dug it
up last night after seeing Jake.”

She dug in her purse and reached for
her lighter. “Let’s burn this now.”

I let out a long breath. “Go ahead,” I
said, keeping it to myself that I had two more photos just like it
in my purse.

The low-burning, flickering orange
flame engulfed the picture, and Nadia dumped her glass of ice water
over the ashy remnants.

“
You’re gonna get us kicked
out of here,” I said, sopping up the water, “or arrested for
attempted arson.”

The waitress came rushing over. “You
can’t do that here! I’m afraid I’m gonna have to ask you to
leave.”

Nadia glanced up at her and grinned.
“I’m sorry. I suppose I got carried away, but we were burning up a
very bad memory.”

“
See, I was dumped on my
wedding day and…” I chimed in, but I couldn’t bear to go on with my
sordid, heartbreaking tale, especially not to a complete
stranger.

Her face softened, and I swallowed
hard, ashamed that I’d opened my big mouth; I’d never been one for
pity parties. “You don’t have to say another word,” she said. “Just
save the rest of your pictures for a big, roaring bonfire in your
back yard. Burn his clothes and all his stuff. That’ll teach him.”
With that, she smiled and walked off.

I swirled the wine in my glass. “You
should’ve seen him. He’s been working out, and he looked so
hot.”

“
I know. I saw
him.”

“
What!? When?”

“
At your mother’s
funeral.”

I cocked a brow. “Oh. I didn’t even
know he was there.”

“
Yeah, well, he kinda
lingered back in the shadows. He wanted to pay his respects without
upsetting you even more.”

“
Why didn’t you tell
me?”

“
Honey, you were a hot
mess. None of us wanted to add to your sadness.”

“
Did you talk to
him?”

“
We were all best friends
in high school, so yeah, but I really let him have it in the
parking lot. He just kept telling me how young and scared he
was.”

“
So he lives here
now?”

“
He said he moved back from
Texas a few days before your mom passed. He’s a firefighter, and
his job transferred him here. I bet he asked for the transfer so he
could be back with his family and, uh…his friends,” she said,
touching my arm.

“
I’m glad you didn’t tell
me,” I said. “I’m not sure I coulda handled seeing him at my
mother’s funeral.”

“
Oh, while I’m thinking of
it, I sketched some images for the fall line.” She handed me a
sketchbook.

I studied the designs. “Wow. Bold,
daring, and beyond stylish. I love them.”

She smiled. “I hoped so.”

“
Any word on the loan
yet?”

“
Not yet, but we’ll know
for sure by tomorrow or the next day.”

“
We’re gonna soar, girl. I
want to cater to all women—slim, tall, petite, and
plus-sized.”

“
Yep.
Just think of us as female
entrepreneurs using fashion to empower women and design a better
world.
”

“
That should be our
slogan,” I said. “I can’t wait to turn our fantastic ideas into a
successful business.”

“
You’re always
so…motivating, and you always make me feel so smart, stylish, and
business savvy. I feel like I can touch the moon.”

I winked. “You can.”

She smiled, then paused. “I have a big
favor to ask.”

“
What?”

“
Do you think you could
look after the boutique tomorrow? I’ve gotta take my mom to a
last-minute doctor’s appointment two hours from here. It’s with
some fancy specialist, so we don’t want her to have to
reschedule.”

“
Hmm. I have a big article
to write, and the deadline is tomorrow night.”

“
All you have to do is
write your opinion about the fancy party you attended.”

“
Well, I also have to
detail all the fashion aspects and choose the accompany photos out
of all the ones I took.”

“
Can’t you do it at the
shop? Just download your pics to the computer.”

“
You’re right. I can do
that and crop them and stuff. Don’t worry. I’ll cover for
ya.”

“
Are you sure?”

“
Absolutely.” Between
working my real job that paid the bills and working at the
boutique, I rarely had time to myself, but I couldn’t refuse to
help a friend.

“
Oh, and some more
inventory came in from the Hope Collection. Can you take care of
it?”

I smiled. “Of course. I’m on
it.”

“
As always. Thank you so
much. Speaking of that, we need to ship out all those online orders
too. I took care of about half of them.”

“
I’ll get the rest shipped
out.”

“
You’re a gem.” Nadia
slipped a wad of cash into the black folder that held the check.
“Listen, Ashly, I gotta run. Darrin’s waiting for me at home. It’s
movie night, and he’s already a little peeved at me for working all
those hours at the boutique last week. It took me forever to
categorize that order for the Moonlight Collection.”