Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(135)

“I didn’t have to. My brother was an idiot,” she said.

Her father tried to quiet her, but she just brushed past him.

“I just knew the right person to ask to get the paperwork Parker had been looking for. And now, you don’t have him!”

Lexi nodded. She didn’t have Ramsey anymore. And maybe part of that was because of Bekah and what she had done. But the pieces had already been in place. The cracks had already been there. Their relationship hadn’t fractured because of Bekah. They had just fallen apart. She hoped that whatever Ramsey did after this…he got the hell away from his crazy sister.

“You know, Bekah?” Lexi asked, ignoring the reporters and stepping up to meet her. “I truly pity you.”

“Don’t pity me. I have the world.”

“You have nothing—at least nothing that really matters. The only things you care about are money, status, and your precious reputation. They motivated you and deluded you into thinking that you were happy. But all of these things can leave you in the blink of an eye. Once they’re all gone, what do you have? Nothing. Your brother despises you. Your husband left you. Your best friend can’t even trust you. And you turn to complete strangers for the attention you desperately crave, and you mistake that for love,” Lexi told her. “So, I’ll repeat myself. I pity you, and still, I think it’s more than you’re worth.”

She felt Jack place his hand on her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

Lexi shook her head at Bekah, knowing another sharp retort was coming. But Lexi was over it. She wasn’t marrying into the Bridges family. Jack was free of Bekah. Lexi had said her peace. Lexi would be happy to never see the Bitch again for the rest of her life.

“Yeah,” she said, looking Bekah up and down with disgust. “Let’s go.”

“Jack!” Bekah all but shrieked. “Here take this filthy thing.” She hurled the glittery diamond ring into his chest, and he caught it easily in his hand.

He stared down at it for a second. “No, you keep it. It was made for you,” he said, tossing it uselessly back in her direction. “I still have the one that means something to me.”

Bekah gasped. “You mean she was right? You gave me a fake?”

“Oh, it's real, but you were never getting my grandmother’s ring.”

Lexi covered her mouth to keep from laughing hysterically at Bekah, whose mouth was just hanging open. Jack draped an arm around Lexi’s waist and guided her away. Bekah started calling out to them even as they walked back to Jack’s car.

“What are you all smiley about?” she asked, her heart still racing from the confrontation.

He chuckled. “You’re so hot when you’re angry.”

Lexi couldn’t hold back her laugh. “At least that hasn’t changed.”

“Never,” he said, meeting her gaze, his eyes turning crystal-clear blue. “And I’m ready to take my girl home and show her just what that does to me.”

Chapter 25

Lexi wrapped her caramel-colored knit scarf around her once more, trying to fight against the rapidly dropping temperatures. Early May in New York City had notoriously temperamental weather, and summer hadn’t quite broken through the clouds. It felt nice to be back on the NYU campus. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed the city and her old law school stomping grounds until she returned.

After speaking with Chyna, Lexi had decided on a date to fly back to the city with Jack to visit. He had been there with her during that first winter in New York City, but she’d had so much more to show him this time around, and they had spent a majority of their time wandering the city and eating at all her favorite restaurants. It had been a totally different experience with Jack. After the past couple of weeks, she had been glad that she was able to share it with him.

They had both moved out of their previous residences, and for the time being, they were living in his tiny one-bedroom apartment in Atlanta. The majority of their stuff was in a storage unit just outside of the city until they decided what they were going to do.

Lexi had thought that Jack would keep his stuff in the house that he now owned outright, but as soon as the house had been moved into his name, he had met with a real estate agent to get rid of the property. He hadn’t wanted to keep it as a reminder any more than Lexi had. He was still waiting on the divorce money from Bekah to come through. While he was uncomfortable with that, the truth of the matter was that with the amount of money he would receive, they would be able to start over anywhere.

And Lexi was ready to get out of Atlanta. The Bridges owned half the city, and she didn’t really want to stick around for any backlash.

“It’s getting late,” Lexi said as she led Jack across the street from the law school to the edge of Washington Square Park.

“It’s not even dark yet,” Jack told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to try to help warm her up.

“But it’s cold.” She buried her fingers deeper into the pockets of her white peacoat.

Jack laughed. “Can we look at the arch one more time?”

“You want to walk through the park right before nightfall? Do you want to get mugged?” Lexi asked.

“Live a little. We’ll be fine,” Jack said, shaking his head at her.

Lexi shrugged and directed them to the entrance. They still had enough light to get them through the park before nightfall. Lexi knew the stories about Washington Square Park at night, and she didn’t care how secure Jack felt. They were not going to stay in there.