Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
QUINN
S tanding at the front door, I adjust my weight on my feet, feeling the cold air wrapping around me as I juggle the pie in my hand and knock on the wooden surface. I texted Luke earlier this morning to see if he wanted to drive together, but he didn’t answer. We talked about lunch here last week and he gave me the address, so I came here at the time we discussed.
The door slowly opens and a middle-aged woman stands on the other side. A bright smile drifts across her lips as she takes in my appearance. “Hi. Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas to you too!”
“May I help you with something?”
My eyebrows pull together. “Is Luke here?”
A strange look passes across her face and she rolls her lips between her teeth and nods. “Yes…” Her voice trails off into an awkward pause before she speaks again. “Let me get him.”
My spine stiffens and I push my shoulders back as I plaster on a fake smile and nod. She doesn’t invite me in and simply closes the door as she disappears back into the house. Dread builds in the pit of my stomach. Nothing about this feels right and I resist the urge to turn around and leave.
The door opens up again, and Luke abruptly steps out onto the porch, invading my space. I take an uncomfortable step backward. “Hey,” he says in a rush, glancing over his shoulder at the house as he closes the door. “What are you doing here?”
I glance through the crack, seeing another woman standing in the foyer watching him closing the door. That’s the moment I know the truth. The truth I’ve been suspecting this entire time.
“Who did you tell her I am?”
Luke stares at me, the color draining from his face. “She knows who you are,” he admits, his voice low and filled with regret.
“So, you invited both of us to lunch at your grandmother’s on purpose?”
“No, I didn’t think you’d be able to come,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s not what it looks like, Quinn.”
“I think it is exactly what it looks like,” I argue, my tone sharp and jagged. “Who is she and how long has this been going on?”
His throat bobs as he swallows hard. “She works at the firm,” he tells me, and I can’t tell if he actually feels regretful or if it’s a facade. “It hasn’t been going on long. Her family doesn’t live locally so I invited her to come here today.”
I can’t help myself as I let out a harsh laugh. “This is something else, Luke. Really.” I stop and shake my head. “This is over. We’re done.”
“I’m sorry, Quinn,” he says quietly, shifting his weight awkwardly. “You know things haven’t been good between us for a while and I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.”
“Please, just fucking save it,” I snap at him as I blow out a breath through my nose. “Here’s your fucking pie, you piece of shit.”
I go to hand it to him, but as he reaches for it, I drop it onto the porch. It’s childish, but fuck him. The glass breaks the instant it hits the surface beneath us and liquids from the pie splash up onto his perfectly pressed khaki pants.
“What the fuck, Quinn?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, did I get something on your pants?” I ask him, feeling the anger build up inside me. I’m not usually one who lets things get to me, but this is something entirely different. Not only has he been deceiving me, but now he’s made me look like a complete idiot.
I look back at him, smiling before staring at his mouth “I think you got something on your face too.”
Luke parts his lips as he goes to say something, but I silence him with my fist as I punch him directly in the mouth. The ring on my finger splits open his lip and blood rushes across his bright white teeth. He’s fucking pissed and his eyebrows scrunch together as he lifts his hand to his mouth. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Oops, I think I made it worse,” I say, shrugging with the sweetest smile. “Happy holidays, you fucking piece of shit.”
Without another word, I spin on my heel and head away from the house, quickly walking back to my car. Adrenaline courses through my body and I can’t even feel the throbbing in my hand as I quickly pull away from his grandmother’s house. My stomach is in knots and I can’t help but laugh to keep myself from crying as I head back to my place.
I’m sure I look like a damn psychopath, but who the hell cares?
I stare down at the growing bruise across my knuckles. I underestimated my own strength and how hard his teeth were when I punched my ex in the face. It’s not something I’ve ever done before or something I’m even proud of, but fuck it.
I feel like my actions are justifiable and that’s all that matters right now.
The bartender turns around to face me, his eyes dropping down to my hand before looking back up at me as I take my third martini from him. “Looks like you’ve got a story there.”
“I promise it’s not an exciting one,” I tell him with a half laugh. “My boyfriend—well, ex—accidentally invited me and the other woman he’s been seeing to his family Christmas dinner.”
He makes a face. “That completely explains the bruises. I’m sure he deserved much worse than that.”
“It is what it is,” I say, lifting my glass into the air. “To the happiest of holidays, right?”
He grabs a water from behind the bar and lifts it to cheers me. “To the shitty holidays opening up new doors for you.”
We both drink to that and he offers me a soft smile before heading over to help the other few loners that are here. It was one of the only bars I could find open today, and the last thing I was going to do was stay at home nursing a stupid broken heart.
I don’t even know that my heart is broken. My pride took a hit I wasn’t expecting.
Thinking back on our relationship, Luke wasn’t that great. He wasn’t a terrible boyfriend, but he wasn’t a good partner. He was very selfish and self-serving. Most things we did together were what he wanted to do. It wasn’t often that he asked me what I wanted.
Especially in the bedroom.
That was where our relationship severely lacked. He made it seem like a chore, like he didn’t even want anything between us. I don’t know why I let it go on for as long as I did. I don’t know why I stayed or put up with any of his shit. There was a part of me that thought maybe it was me—like I was the one who had something wrong with them.
“If you felt my cock right now, I think you’d know these aren’t just words.”
I instantly blush at the memory of the words Hayes spoke to me last night. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for kissing him, but after finding out what Luke has been up to, I feel no regret now. If anything, I wish I had a chance to do it over again.
A chance for him to show me how differently things can be with someone else.
I’m sure the moment has passed now, but one last Christmas wish won’t hurt…