Page 47 of Forget That Guy
“What about yesterday?”
“I know you have the dogs,” she accused.
“I didn’t take the dogs, Juliana,” I said. “If they got out, that’s not my fault. I’ll talk to the girls about trying a little harder to be careful when they go over there.”
“You know that you’re not allowed to go into my home.”
I leveled her with a look that could’ve peeled paint. “I have no desire whatsoever to go into your home. I don’t even know where you live.”
Which was the truth.
I knew she lived in town in an apartment complex, but I didn’t even know the address.
With Joe driving, she’d always taken Catalina and DeeDee over there. I had them on the tracking app that Joe had insisted that I use so she knew where I was and how close I was to her favorite stores. I could find them if I wanted to.
But so far, I hadn’t wanted to.
“You’re lying.”
I looked her straight into those eyes I’d once thought I loved and said, “You don’t even cross my mind anymore, Juliana. I don’t care where you live. I probably should, since my babies are over there. But I don’t. I don’t care where you live. I don’t care what or who you do. I don’t care if you’re out late. I don’t care if you made it to work. I don’t care about anything concerning you anymore. And, if I’m being honest, you did both of us a favor. I didn’t realize how little I cared until you were no longer here reminding me how much you hated this life.”
I’d hit a nerve.
I could tell that in an instant.
“One day, I hope you know how it feels to love someone and they don’t love you back.”
I scoffed. “I loved you.”
“Not enough.”
I shrugged. “Love hangs on for a long time, and some people say that there’s a fine line between love and hate. You forced me to cross that line when I never wanted to.”
She hissed in frustration. “You’re impossible.”
I didn’t reply to that.
Knowing I wasn’t going to say anything more and seeing that the dogs weren’t around to video, she started to leave. She got as far as her car before she turned around and smiled at me.
“Oh, guess what.”
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to calm down. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “What?”
“There’s a new ski resort coming to town soon.”
Fucking great.
That was exactly what I wanted to hear.
“Is that right?” I asked.
We’d get a ski resort over my dead damn body.
“Yeah, they’re in talks right now with the city council about opening it. They’re also under contract to buy the land right next to yours…”
That had me stilling as anger barreled into me. “The old Ryder property?”
She grinned. “One and the same.”
