Page 149 of Stupid Matchmaking Love

Bottles fall, crashing to the floor. The sound of smashing glass makes the bar go silent.

Dead silent.

“Take it back,” I sneer.

“Rhett,” Isaac says slowly, “let him go.”

“Not until this asshole takes back what he said about Cristina—every bit of it, and for making her think the show was rigged. Was it rigged when Holly tripped Cristina? Did you tell her to do that?”

Jace sputters, “What are you talking about?”

I stretch his arm farther, and he yelps in pain. “You know what I’m talking about. So listen, asshole, if anyone’s too much, it’s you.”

“Rhett.” Pane clasps my shoulder.

I don’t need him to tell me to let Jace go. I already know.

This isn’t what Cristina would want. She wouldn’t want me to terrorize Jace.

But this is about what I want. “Next time you see Cristina, I want you to apologize for every nasty thing you’ve ever said about her—to anyone else, and even the things you said to her face. She’s not too much, Jace. You are.” I pull back his arm another inch. Now he’s shaking and whimpering. “Do you promise?”

“I promise!” he shouts. “I promise.”

“Good.” I release my hold on him and roll up my sleeves. “Sorry,” I say to Isaac.

“You done?”

“Yes, sir, I am. Let’s go,” I tell my cousins.

But as soon as my back’s turned, Jace mumbles, “I should’ve disabled your pottery wheel, because you’re just as crazy as she is.”

I spin around as Jace’s fist flies toward me. I rear back, and his knuckles just graze my jaw. Without thinking, I cock my fist and hit him right in the nose. He falls flat to the ground, knocked out cold.

I shake my hand, the knuckles throbbing. “Y’all have a good night, now.”

Then I walk out with my cousins, knowing that if the cops show up at my place, I’ll admit everything, because out of everything that’s happened the past few days, this is the one thing that finally feels finished.

Chapter 50

Cristina

“We really missed you at the last challenge,” Maya says when I return to work.

She has a look on her face like she’s expecting me to spill the beans, but all I do is smile and reply, “I really missed being there.” Before she has a chance to dig further, I add, “Jace and Holly won. Can you believe it?”

Maya shakes her head. “There’s something about those two. I don’t know if they cheat or what, but I don’t trust them.”

“Well, they’re pretty far down in the competition ranks. It’s not like they can come back.”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “Mina said something about anyone still being able to win.”

My stomach drops. Anyone? Could Jace and Holly beat out the new favorite, Clarice and Beau? I’d hate to see that happen.

Wait. It’s not good for me to obsess over the competition. It brings back memories of Rhett and makes my heart ache.

“So . . .” Maya starts.

Before she can ask about Rhett, I say, “What’s on the schedule for today?”