“Really?” I ask. “Because last I checked, you love anything that gets you more attention.”
“I miss seeing you.”
The words feel like fingernails down a chalkboard. “I don’t miss you, Nate. I miss who I was before I met you.”
He flinches a little. “I saw you with him at the festival and it reminded me how much fun we used to have.” His face twists, as if he finally understands what I went through—or pretends to. “It made me realize what I’d lost.”
“What you threw away, you mean,” I correct him.
He looks repentant.Almost.
“Still doesn’t explain why you’re in my kitchen,” I say.
He pushes away from the counter. “I miss you, Neesha. Breaking up with you was a big mistake.”
I let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Wow. So now that Brittany’s done with you, you thought you’d just walk back into my life and, what? I’d welcome you with open arms? After you cheated on me?”
“I can’t help that so many women throw themselves at me,” he says, playing the victim card.
I roll my eyes. “Is that supposed to be an apology?”
“No. But seeing you with Lucian Lowe…” His expression hardens.
“Makes you realize what you lost? No, Nate. It makes you want to control something you can’t have anymore.”
He narrows his eyes, realizing I’m not falling for whatever game he’s playing. “Did he tell you that I’m the reason for those bruises in our last game? I left him exposed.”
“What?” I whisper.
The look on his face tells me he knew Lucian wouldn’t reveal that fact. “You did that to him? You’re supposed to be his teammate.”
“It’s hockey.” Nate shrugs. “Just part of the game.”
“Targeting someone because you’re jealous isn’t part ofanygame,” I say, my anger surging inside me. “It’s pathetic.”
He pushes off the counter, his eyes narrowing as he strides toward me. “Pathetic? I’m trying to protect you. Lowe isn’t the man you think he is. Did you know his father runs Northwest Development & Real Estate, one of the biggest companies on the West Coast? They build condos, commercial properties, entire neighborhoods—and then sell them through their own real estate firm. His family is just like that MacDonald guy trying to take over Maple Falls—rich boys controlling things that don’t belong to them.”
I pause, processing this. “Is that supposed to change how I feel about him? Lucian refuses to work for his father. That’s the difference between you two. Lucian cares about people, but you only care about yourself.”
It’s the most honest I’ve been with him, but it still doesn’t answer the question that’s bothering me all night. “And why did you buy Maple Lake?” I ask. “You don’t care about that place.”
“Ah, butyoudo.” Something almost cruel flickers across his face. “I’ve got a developer looking at how we could turn it into a commercial property. And guess who I hired to help me?” He pauses. “Northwest Development & Real Estate.”
Lucian’s dad’s company.
That’s when it clicks—Nate is no better than Alexander MacDonald. They see dollar signs where we see home, wanting to strip away everything special and replace it with profit margins. He takes beautiful things and cheapens them.He did it to our relationship, and now he wants to do it to my home.
“Imagine how things could be…” Nate continues, his eyes sliding over me in a way that makes me uncomfortable. “All the good times we had together. We could do it again. You and me. What do you say, baby?”
“Get out,” I say quietly.
“Neesha—”
“No.” I hold up a hand. “I spent months recovering from your betrayal. Months feeling like I wasn’t good enough, like I was something to be ashamed of. And now that I’m finally moving on, you think you can just take over my life again?”
A surge of confidence pulses through me, like Mom is here with me, telling me not to let him control me. “You don’t get to decide what happens to me anymore. You don’t get to manipulate or hurt the people and things I care about.”
“The people you care about?” he scoffs with a bitter laugh. “You barely know Lucian.”
