17
EVERLY
IT’S BEEN ANOTHER LONG DAY at the office after a brief reprieve last night, complete with a foot massage, gourmet pizza, and a pleasant conversation with Cash. It’s past lunchtime, and my stomach is growling in protest.
After a meeting with a client in the conference room, I step into my office and freeze when I find Landon sitting at my desk. His hair is disheveled, his eyes bloodshot like he’s been sleep-deprived for days, and his white button-up shirt is wrinkled.
He’s a far cry from the sharply dressed, accomplished lawyer I fell for. Now, my feelings have turned to pity and frustration at his insistence on trying to hold me back from moving on.
“What are you doing here?” I sigh, hanging my purse on the coat rack in the corner.
He gives me a weary smile as he jumps out of the chair to approach me. “You’re back.”
“How did you get in?”
“I walked in.” He shrugs.
He must have slipped past the front desk while the receptionist was on her lunch break. She wouldn’t have allowed him in my office without checking with me first.
“You need to leave,” I state firmly, pointing to the door.
I’m sick and tired of the unwelcome men in my life dropping by whenever they please. It’s clear that I’ve allowed things with Landon to drag on for far too long, and it’s time to put an end to it once and for all. Cash is right; I have to be more direct.
“Come on, don’t be like that, baby,” Landon pleads, moving closer. “You haven’t responded to most of my texts or calls lately, so I had to visit you in person while I’m in town. Did you like the flowers I sent yesterday?” He glances around, frowning when he doesn’t see them.
One silver lining after our breakup was that his law firm relocated him to their New York office, making it much easier to have the space to grieve the loss of our relationship, and his unwelcome advances.
“If I wanted to see you, I would have reached out,” I point out. “Can’t you see that this is over? Our relationship ended two years ago, and you need to accept that we’re never getting back together.”
A sense of relief washes over me at finally being able to say those words to his face.
“You don’t mean it,” he bristles, becoming more agitated. “I made a mistake, baby, but we can move past it. We belong together. Can’t you see that?”
He closes the distance between us and I recoil when his hand grazes my arm, not out of fear, but because I find the cold and clammy sensation unpleasant. It’s different from Cash’s touch, which is warm and inviting.
“Landon, this has got to stop. We’re never—”
“What. Is. That?” he interrupts, eying my ring with disdain.
“My wedding ring,” I state with a genuine smile. “I told you when I texted you the last time that I had moved on.”
“I figured that was your way of playing hard to get. How could you do this to us?” Landon cries as he pulls at his hair in agitation.
I let out a humorless laugh. “Do this to us? There is no us . There hasn’t been since the day I found you fucking your assistant in the same bed you and I had slept in together the night before.”
“Everly, if you let me walk out of here, you’ll regret it,” he says with a vacant tone.
His empty threat sounds like something my dad would say. How did I not see it before? They have so much in common—always needing to have the final word, wanting things done their way, and unwilling to accept when an outcome isn’t in their favor. If Landon and I had stayed together, I would have been subjected to a lifetime of emotional tirades and criticism.
Cash would never treat me like this.
He’s the opposite of Landon in every way—loyal, protective, and attentive.
“If you don’t walk out of here, you’ll be sorry.” As if I conjured him from thin air, I’m relieved when I hear Cash’s voice. I look over to find him standing in the doorway, holding a bag of takeout.
He strides toward me, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me behind him in a protective gesture.
The strong-willed part of me can’t help being offended, but the hopeless romantic in me swoons at his instinct to shield me from harm.
“You have no right to talk to me that way. I’m Everly’s fiancé,” Landon declares, feigning confidence.
“You mean ex-fiancé,” Cash corrects him. “It’s been over two years since you broke up, so why are you still harassing my wife?’
Landon looks like a mouse cornered by a cat, his gaze darting to Cash’s scar as he tries to gauge if he’s in danger.
“Everly, come on babe, please tell me this is a joke,” Landon whines, cautiously glancing over Cash’s shoulder to get a look at me.
“We’re done,” I reiterate. “Now, leave.”
“Baby, pl—”
“You work at Thompson & Tate, right?” Cash interrupts him with a menacing tone.
Landon’s eyes grow wide, like a deer caught in headlights. “Uh, yeah.”
“Dawson Tate and I go way back. In fact, we met up for drinks on the Upper East Side two months when I was in New York. If I called him right now, I bet he’d answer,” Cash says, pulling his phone from his pocket. “He’d be very interested to learn that one of his employees is harassing my wife.”
“Woah, hold on a minute,” Landon rushes out. “Let’s not do anything rash.”
Cash grins like he has the upper hand. “This is how it’s going to go. Get the hell out of Everly’s office and stop contacting her. If you try reaching out, I’ll know. You had your chance with her and wasted it. That’s not my problem. She’s mine now.” I fight the smile lifting my lips when he draws me into his side.
“Okay, fine. Geez, call off your guard dog, Everly,” Landon says to me, holding out his hands in defense. “I’ll go, just don’t let him call Dawson.”
“Goodbye, Landon.” My voice is devoid of emotion.
I ignore his request, liking the idea of him being on edge.
He doesn’t bother with a response as he leaves my office like a bat out of hell. The second he’s gone, it’s like a weight has lifted off my shoulders. Something tells me today was the last time I’ll hear from him. Cash can be very convincing when he wants to be.
“How do you know Dawson Tate?”
He’s one of the most ruthless lawyers in New York City and the last person I imagined would be in Cash’s inner circle.
“I’ve never met the guy,” Cash says.
My eyes widen. “But you just said you had drinks with him two months ago.”
“That was Harrison. It wouldn’t have sounded as intimidating if I had said my brother knew him now, would it?” He smirks.
I raise a brow. “And what would you have done if Landon had called your bluff?”
“Easy. Called Harrison, pretending I was talking to Dawson. He would have gone along with it.”
“Thanks for getting rid of Landon. It’s not your problem to deal with but I appreciate your help, regardless.”
“You’re my wife. Your problems are my problems. What do I have to do to make you see that?”
He lifts my jaw so I’m met with his soft gaze.
“I think you need to remind me again, just to drive your point home,” I mock him playfully.
“I mean it, Ev.” He swipes his thumb along my cheek. “You belong to me, and I protect what’s mine.” I swear he lets out a low growl, but I can’t be sure.
“I’m really glad you showed up,” I say, leaning into his touch.
“It was my turn to bring you lunch.” He smiles, holding up a takeout bag from my favorite bistro down the street.
I’ve come to discover that Cash is unlike any of the men I’ve been with in the past. Everything he’s done since the night at the bar has been to make my life better and show me how much he cares. Instead of being on guard, ready to push him away, maybe it’s time to give him a real chance.