Broken Course (Wrecked and Ruined #3)(46)

"I have no idea what you just said."

"I said you are beautiful and I’m starving."

"Well, that’s not as romantic as it sounded, but I’ll take it." She laughs, giving me a soft kiss that goes straight to my head.

I look up to find Erica and Emma staring at us with their mouths all but hanging open. Slate and Caleb are awkwardly toying with the labels on their beers.

I clear my throat. "Well, okay. Now that we’re all here, I’m going to grab us a table."

"I’m going to the restroom," Sarah announces with Emma and Erica both agreeing to join her.

I watch as the three woman walk away laughing. Then I make a quick trip to the hostess stand before heading back to the guys.

"I’m telling you. I have this kid who is about to break out. I’ve never seen such raw talent before. He’s a good kid too." Slate drains his beer and sets it down on the bar.

"No shit?" Caleb asks while signaling for another round.

"Yep. Till Page, and I swear, within the year, he’s going to explode onto the scene."

"I’ll have to keep an eye out for him." Caleb tilts back his beer.

"Come on. Our table’s ready. I’ll wait for the…" My words are frozen as I see Caleb’s eyes grow impossibly wide and he barely manages to keep from spitting out his beer.

"You *. I thought you two were staying in tonight?" I turn to find a tall man smiling and walking over from the front door. A tiny brunette is holding his hand with a kind grin.

"Yeah..." Caleb responds slowly and takes a few quick steps toward them.

His behavior immediately puts me on alert, and I glance around for Johnson, who seems to have also read Caleb’s body language and has already started heading our direction.

"What’s wrong with you?" the tall guy asks before recognizing Slate. "Oh shit." His eyes flash to me with a huge grin.

This guy doesn’t look even the slightest bit menacing, so Caleb’s reaction has me puzzled. I have a horrible feeling in my gut, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why. Unwilling to be left in the dark any longer, I take a step forward.

"Hey, how’s it going? I’m Leo James" I extend a hand and Caleb groans as the tall guy quickly takes it in a friendly shake.

"Nice to meet you. Brett Sharp."

Fucking hell. The pieces snap into place. The ex-husband.

"You need to leave." Caleb tells Brett before focusing on the brunette.

He says something else, but my attention is drawn away when I hear Sarah laugh as she returns from the bathroom. I stride away from Brett and Caleb and head toward her. I need to warn her at the very least. But as she rounds the corner, her laughter is abruptly silenced. I can actually see the color seep from her face as she stumbles backward.





"SON OF a bitch," I hear Brett cuss as he pushes Jesse behind him.


I can’t blame him for having that reaction, but when I see it firsthand, the pain still consumes me.

"Brett, stop," Jesse responds, offering me an uncomfortable smile.

With a flash of understanding and two quick steps, Leo closes the distance between us and wraps me in his arms.

Time suddenly freezes and the world tilts on its axis. With just one glance of Brett’s green eyes, I’m transported to a different time.

A different life.

A different Sarah.

Two years earlier….

I PULL up to Brett’s apartment knowing he’s at work by now. Years ago, he gave me this key with some ridiculous hope that I would one day use it. I held on to it despite my desire to throw it in the garbage. There’s nothing in this apartment that I want. Including him.

He sold our old house within months of my moving into my new apartment, and it left a searing pain in my already shattered heart. If I’d thought there was any way I could have convinced him to leave, I would have stayed there for all eternity. I had memories in that house. Memories with Manda. I could care less about the rest of them.

Manda and I did everything together. She used to bring her clothes over and get ready at my house almost every weekend. It worked out for everyone. Brett would go over to Caleb’s and they’d watch sports for a few hours while we talked and got ready for whatever we had planned for that evening. There were physical reminders in that house too—like the black spot on our bedroom carpet. If I close my eyes tight, I can still hear Manda’s laughter when she spilled that nail polish. If she were here, she would say that I slapped it out of her hand in mid-stroke. She also would be right. Friends don’t let friends paint their nails black in August. She tried to make me clean it up so Brett wouldn’t get mad, but we were both laughing so hard that it had almost dried by the time I pulled myself up off the floor.

God, I miss her so much.

But today’s not about Manda. Today is about Brett.

I hate him. On the outside, he’s a really nice guy. I can see how I once fell in love with him. But I’m not the only one who changed after the wreck. Brett’s basically unrecognizable these days. He’s always so needy and harassing me about something.

"Sarah, did you pay your electric bill?"

"Sarah, did you take your medicine?"

"Sarah, did you eat yesterday?"