I let out a loud sigh and resumed walking with him. As we entered the foyer, Claudia stood up from the bench where she’d been sitting.
She looked like a Barbie doll, all long, thin arms and legs and blonde perfection. Her outfit was impeccable, as was her hair and makeup.
Next to her I felt like a tumbleweed that had rolled into the mansion when someone left the door open too long.
Claudia’s round blue eyes were trained on Jack but dropped to take in our joined hands then glanced off of me for the briefest second before returning to him.
“Jack. It’s good to see you,” she said. Her tone was friendly and light.
Jack’s was not. “What do you want, Claudia?”
She pursed her lips and folded her perfectly manicured fingers together primly in front of her skirt. “I’d like to speak with you.”
Then she threw another eye dart in my direction, this one so hard I wouldn’t have been surprised if it left a bruise.
“Alone.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Queen Viper
Jack
What the hell was she doing here? Just when things were starting to go right in my life, Hurricane Claudia had to blow back in.
I hadn’t expected to ever lay eyes on her again. For the longest time I didn’t want to see her because I knew it would only make me want her. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
Was.Past tense. Observing her standing opposite Bonnie, with her windblown hair and sandy toes and natural prettiness, there was no contest.
The new woman in my life was not only trustworthy, she was far more beautiful.
“Claudia, this is Bonnie. Anything you have to say you can say in front of her.”
My ex’s expression went from Spring Princess to Ice Queen in two-point-oh seconds. I almost expected her to demand some Turkish delight.
She sniffed. “We haveprivate businessthat hasn’t been resolved. We need to speak privately.”
“I believe youconcludedour private business when you stole my fucking outline in the middle of the night and sold it to a tabloid.”
“Jack, that was all a big misunderstanding. There are things you don’t know—things youneedto know before you decide whether to write us off forever.”
I laughed. “That decision’s been made. There’s no coming back from what you did. Do you really think I’m that stupid?”
“Of course I don’t think you’re stupid,” she cooed. “I just think you’re missing some important details. It’s time you knew the whole truth. I won’t leave until you hear me out.”
Claudia shot a death glare in Bonnie’s direction. “Privately. Maybe in your bedroom where we won’t be disturbed? I know the way.”
She started strutting toward the grand staircase, apparently expecting me to trot along behind her like a faithful dog. Her stilettos clicked out an irritating rhythm that brought back a slew of unpleasant memories.
I wanted to inform her she would indeed be leaving, that I could easily have her scrawny little behind thrown out by my staff or perhaps, the Eastport Bay police.
But glancing at Bonnie, I reconsidered. She’d already seen enough prick-ish behavior from me to last a lifetime. I wanted to show her I could be civilized, that I could behave like something other than the beast she’d seen far too much of.
Besides, maybe if I let Claudia speak her piece, she’d finally leave me alone for good.
I called out to Harrison, who waited at the foot of the staircase shooting anxious glances in my direction.
“Would you show Ms. Cross to the library please? We can talk in there.”
