She knew exactly who Dennis was referring to but decided to delay the inevitable for a little while longer. “Refresh my memory as to who you’re talking about.”
Over the course of their relationship, he’d constantly accused her of cheating on him with colleagues at work, male friends she’d known since college, and even the fathers of some of her students. One time, he went so far as to insinuate that she was a little too “friendly” with the Amazon delivery guy. It had left her defensive, annoyed, and insulted, because she’d never cheated, never so much as looked at another guy while they’d been together. But now it made her wonder whether he’d acted that way because of his trust issues, or whether he’d been projecting his own infidelity onto her.
An irritated huff carried over the phone. “Oh, cut the crap. You’re too damn smart to play dumb.”
Funny, he used to do everything in his power to make her think she was a complete simpleton incapable of taking care of herself. At one point, she’d started to believe it. Never again. “Are you referring to my neighbor who came upstairs to ask you to stop making a scene?”
“Yeah, the pretty boy. He’s lucky I didn’t throw his ass down the stairs.”
Pretty wasn’t how she’d describe Joe, but whatever. She pictured him at the end of his run, hot and sweaty, with his clothes plastered against his rock-hard—
“Are you even listening to me?” Dennis’s voice barged into her thoughts. “Jesus, that’s so typical of you.”
Fiona silently counted to ten before she responded. She hadn’t planned to whip out the boyfriend card this soon, but he’d ticked her off enough that she threw caution to the wind. “If you really must know, Joe and I weren’t a couple when you stopped by unannounced. I mean, I’d seen him around the building but we’d never officially met. But after you left, we finally got to talking, and well, we went out the other night. He’s a really nice guy; I like him a lot. So, in a way, I suppose I should thank you for that.”
Liz put a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.
There was a long pause before Dennis said, “You’re kidding, right?”
“You know I never kid about things like that.” Fiona normally wasn’t the vindictive type, but she would have given anything to see his expression at that very moment. “Does that answer your question, or is there something else you’d like to know?”
There was another pause, longer this time, and she started to wonder if he’d hung up.
“We need to talk,” he finally said. “About us.” A heavy sigh came over the phone, the one he usually gave when straining for patience. “In spite of the way things ended between us, I still love you, babe. I’m willing to overlook the pretty boy if you come to your senses and move back home where you belong.”
The urge to roll her eyes was almost overwhelming. Why he considered that a valid line of reasoning was a mystery of life. “That’s mighty generous of you, but why now? I haven’t heard from you in months.”
“I was giving you space, because I knew if I pressured you, it would only push you further away. I wanted you to come back on your own, but I’ve really missed you, babe. It’s not too late to work things out. I’m willing to try if you are.”
The sincerity in his voice tugged at her heartstrings, but Fiona knew better than to take his words at face value. Beneath the veneer of charm and heartfelt emotion was a master manipulator. “There’s nothing for us to work out. It’s time for you to move on with your life. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?”
She could have sworn she heard him growl.
“Why are you being so difficult? You know we’re meant to be together.”
“I’m not being difficult. I came to my senses. In no universe are we meant to be together. We are over, done, finished. I don’t know how else I can make it clearer for you, but I’m getting tired of explaining it.”
Wow, it felt really good to say that, and she smiled when Liz gave her a thumbs-up. But Dennis wasn’t the type of guy who handled rejection well, and she braced for his reaction.
There was another long pause. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded deathly calm. “Are you sure about this?”
A chill went down Fiona’s spine. Everything about this conversation made her uncomfortable, but it was long overdue. She squared her shoulders. “I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life.”
Dennis muttered a curse. “In that case, I want my stuff back.”
Fiona gaped at the phone. “What stuff? I didn’t take any of your stuff.”
As it was, she’d left in such a hurry that she’d only taken what she could cram into her car. Everything else she’d written off as a loss, including a few items with sentimental value that she’d never be able to replace. All things considered, it was a small price to pay for her sanity and freedom.
“How about that silver locket I gave you?” Dennis said. “I want it back.”
“That was a birthday gift. Are you seriously going to be this petty?” Talk about rhetorical questions. If he wanted the locket that badly, then fine, he could have it. She’d never been all that fond of the locket and hadn’t worn it since she moved out. If it hadn’t been in her jewelry box when she hastily packed her things, she wouldn’t have taken it along.
“That locket is a family heirloom,” he said. “It belonged to my grandmother.”
“You never mentioned that when you gave it to me.”
“Sure I did.” He had the nerve to sound offended. “You just weren’t paying attention.”
