Page 71 of Tragic (Lark Cove 3)

“Who are you?” Adam was standing by the car, his hands fisted on his hips as he barked his question at Kaine.

“This is private property,” Kaine answered. He might as well have said move the fuck on, asshole.

“I know whose property this is,” Adam spat. “What I don’t know is who you are.”

“Adam,” I snapped, moving up to Kaine’s side. I went to take another step, but before I could, Kaine took my elbow in his grip and secured me by his hip.

At the gesture, Adam took two angry steps away from his car. “Piper, who is this guy?”

“My neighbor.” The grip Kaine had on my arm tightened, almost as if he didn’t like my answer. “What are you doing here, Adam?”

He shot a glare at Kaine. “Pip, can we talk in private?”

“No,” Kaine barked.

I appreciated his protectiveness for the second time today, but there was no escaping a one-on-one with Adam. So I pulled on my arm enough that Kaine set me free. “Would you mind?”

He glowered. My eyes widened in a silent plea to not make this worse, until he grumbled, “Fine.”

I expected him to stomp down the path to the cabin, but to my surprise, he stalked across my driveway, right to the Airstream’s door and let himself into my temporary home. The camper rocked as he slammed the door and went to the table, sitting down so he could watch us through the window.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as I walked over to my ex-husband.

Adam looked down with the blue eyes that had once held power over my every mood. They didn’t inspire much loyalty anymore. His chiseled jaw was covered in a day’s worth of scruff, something Adam did because it was popular in the industry, not because he liked it. He preferred to shave every morning and wouldn’t be caught dead with a thick beard like Kaine’s.

“I told you on the phone we needed to talk.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “And I told you not to come out here.”

“Because of that guy?” Adam’s jaw ticked as he glanced over to the camper.

Kaine was sitting at my dining room table with a fork full of huckleberry pie perched on his lips, simultaneously chewing another in an angry bite.

The bastard was eating my pie.

“Nice,” I mouthed.

Kaine shoved another bite in his mouth. The look he sent me said, If you want some pie, ditch the asshole and get in here.

I rolled my eyes and looked back to Adam.

“Is that the guy you’re seeing?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“No. He’s my neighbor.” And my friend. “That’s beside the point. What are you doing here?”

Adam turned his back on Kaine and took me by the shoulders. “I want you back. I’m miserable. I need you, Piper. Come home.”

Adam had only gotten more good-looking with age. Not that long ago, he’d been ir

resistible. The wind caught a lock of his blond hair, settling it on his forehead. Out of habit, I almost brushed it back in place.

He was so handsome. And so out of place. He was built for the life he’d created in New York. He thrived on the fame and the fortune. He didn’t need me, he just didn’t know it yet.

“No.” I shook my head. “This is my home now. Our marriage is over and you have to let it go. Let me go.”

“All because of one stupid kiss?”

“No, Adam. Not just because of one kiss. We had more problems than either of us ever wanted to admit long before that kiss.”