“Cole, I don’t know how many times I have to say this for it to get through your thick skull, but my love for you was catapulted out the window when you cheated on me.”
I start to walk away once more when, all of a sudden, his arm wraps around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest. He doesn’t keep me there for long, he spins me, pinning me against the darkened building behind us. The coarse texture of the brick cuts through the fabric of my jacket and I grit my teeth at the sting. His face lowers, inches from mine and with wide eyes, I watch as his hand comes up and grasps my neck.
“You think you can just walk away from me?” he snarls, becoming a stranger right before my eyes. “You listen to me, you little bit—”
My fist works of its own accord as it connects with the side of his face. The impact of my knuckles hitting his face takes a few seconds to register before the blinding pain surges up my arm.
Fuck! They really don’t tell you how much punching someone hurts…
“You piece of shit!” I snarl as I move away from him. “You are going to listen, because I’m sick of your shit. No one touches me without my permission, even you… especially you,” I grit through clenched teeth as I grip my bruised hand to my chest and hope it’s not broken. “Yes, we dated, yes you cheated on me, and fucking yes that gives me the right to deny you whatever I want.”
His eyes narrow, his hands shaking at his sides, but I keep going.
“As of this moment, we are DONE. You are not to come near me again, got it?”
His eyes bore into mine, no emotion registering on his face.
“I will press charges next time,” I say with as much strength as I can muster in this moment, but that sly smile fits over his features and the uncertainty settles over me once again.
“Press charges?” He smirks, getting closer and closer before he stops, bending down and looking me straight in the eyes. “You remember who my father is, right?”
My entire body freezes as a cold sense of dread spreads through every limb.
“Ahh, it looks like she remembers…” He kisses my forehead as I recoil, my head hitting the brick wall behind me, sending white dots over my vision. “Oh and just in case you get any ideas, what you just did? Punching me?” His face leans down as his eyes sear into mine. “That’s called assault, baby. Wouldn’t want to tarnish that perfect persona you have going on with a criminal record.”
I freeze, realizing he has a very good point.
He gives me one last smile before he turns and leaves, the dull throb of my knuckles the only reminder that I actually stood up for myself. Because right now I feel about four feet tall. How did that just happen? How did he take away all of my power with a single sentence?
How could I be stupid enough to think I could threaten him with something like that? Of course, his father would protect him.
That was so fucking stupid.
15
Josh
“Have a good night,” Henry calls from his office as I make my way to the front door. I decided to come sign some paperwork tonight since I had the time, and ever since my disaster of a game, I haven’t had much of that to go around.
As I walk outside, I stop, taking a deep breath, hearing footsteps behind me.
“Josh?” Harper’s voice echoes in the night as I close the door and turn, shocked that she’s here. “What are you doing here so late?” she asks, looking down, and my eyes can’t help but do the same.
“I came to see Henry.”
The confused look in her eyes is adorable, and so I give her a small smile.
“To sign some paperwork, you know the boring stuff that you leave for Henry.” I wink, knowing it’s actually the opposite.
She gives me a small laugh and I bask in it.
“So you’re going through with the deal?”
I nod. Will asked me the same thing this morning while we were practicing. I was told early on in my career to be mindful of small business contracts, but to me, this was a no-brainer. Stevens Place might be small in comparison to some other contracts, but they are a staple in Toronto. They love their clients and more importantly they love baseball, which is something that will never waver for me, and seeing that same dedication in someone else is refreshing.
“Yeah, I thought it was a good move, and I can’t deny the perks are pretty good…” I wink, loving the blush that’s dusting her cheeks.
My eyes can’t help but take her in once again, but this time in more detail. The heat of my gaze has her fidgeting and to be honest, I love the way she gets nervous around me. If I knew for one second that she wasn’t into this, I would leave. Yet, seeing the heat in her gaze as I take her in, I know she wants this, almost as much as I do.
When a gust of wind comes and whips her hair across her face, her hand comes up to touch her face, I suck in a breath, noticing the blood on her knuckles.
“Jesus, Harper, what the hell happened?” I growl, stepping toward her and gently taking the exposed knuckles and lightly brushing my fingers over them. When she flinches, pulling away from me, my eyes flick to hers.
“Nothing happened.” She averts her gaze, my first clue that she’s lying, but I can also see the fear in her eyes and at that moment a pit forms in my stomach.
“Sunshine, did someone do this to you?” My concern is thick as her gaze turns grateful, which sends a sense of calm over my entire body.
“Actually, I did this to someone else.” She smiles,
