Reckless Abandon (November Blue, #2)(24)

bound. Monica and I have been left to work with Rae and David for a majority of the day. Our conversation at the diner isn’t

choking the air between Bo and me. He’s pleasant when we see each other—perfectly business.

Just like I wanted...

We’ve checked out the warehouse space Bo purchased to renovate for the community center, and I’ve spent today digging through

Bill Holder’s old files to try to organize his contacts and make new ones.

Monica’s fallen as deeply in love with Rae as I have. She’s so sweet, so good, and such a breath of fresh air. It’s not awkward

at all for me to be spending time with her, and I regularly check in with her to make sure she feels the same way. She asks Monica

and me to lunch, and we accept.

“This week has been really great, Rae. DROP is really on top of things; you’re thoroughly prepared for this center,” I say as we

settle into our table at lunch.

Rae starts to answer but stops mid-sentence with her eyes peering over my shoulder. “You’vegot to be kidding me,” Rae sighs. I

turn to see what she’s looking at.

Ainsley Worthington. Of course.

“What?” Monica turns around.

“That,” I whisper, “is Ainsley, Bo’s ex-girlfriend.” I ignore the glaring reality that I’m now a member of the same club.

“She’s such a bitch.” Rae rolls her eyes. “She knew we’d be here. I always come here, and she knows you guys are in town. She

’s trampy, but she’s not dumb.” Rae runs her finger over the silverware. “Perfect, she’s coming this way.” She throws her

fork on her bread plate and sits back in her chair.

I can smell her bubble-gum-like perfume before I turn to meet her icy gaze.

“Rachel, hi! How’ve you been? God, I can’t believe those *s ...” Ainsley pesters Rae with her condolence speech regarding

the blackmail. Rae nods and gives tight smiles throughout her rambling.

“Well, it’s all fine now, but thanks for your concern.” Rae turns her attention back to her empty bread plate as Ainsley turns

hers to me.

“November, right? I’m sorry things didn’t work out between you and Spencer.” Her face is anything but sorry.

When the hell did she start calling him that? Rae looks at her like she’s a complete idiot as soon as she says it.

“No, you’re not.”Well, that came out right. Both Monica and Rae throw their napkins to their faces to cover their grins.

“Excuse me?” Ainsley steps back, putting her hand on her chest as if I just implied her baby was ugly or something.

Having lost my appetite, I push my chair back and stand. “I said you’re not sorry. Why would you be sorry that I’m no longer

with someone you’ve been pining after for years? The unfortunate part is—you burned that bridge with Spencer long before I came

along.” Out of the corner of my eye I can see Rae’s eyes widen in excitement. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to

work. See you around.”

Adrenaline pumps through me as I brush past the underweight ex-cheerleader and head outside. I pause, waiting for Rae and Monica.

When they come out, sporting canyon-wide grins, Ainsley is a step behind them.

Oh for the love of ...

“You think you know me?” Ainsley starts in without invitation. “You don’t know anything about me, except what you may have

heard from baby sister over here.” Rae simply rolls her eyes. She’s gone a few rounds with Ainsley in the past, this appears to

be nothing new to her ears. “The fact is you abandoned Spencer in his time of need. I would never do anything like that. Who’s

the tramp now?” As quickly as she can, Ainsley pushes past me and takes off in her car.

Holy shit. Is she right?

“It’s Bo, Ainsley, just Bo!” Rae hollers after her.

“What the hell is up her ass?” Monica’s first encounter with Ainsley was a doozy.

“Ember, don’t listen to what she said. She’s a bitch,” Rae pipes in.

They continue to talk as we walk to the car, but their chants of reassurance and revenge are drowned out by a shrill voice

condemning me of abandoning the man I thought held my future, when our short past was based on lies. I don’t know what facts

Ainsley has, but it barely matters. Her opinion is likely shared by those who don’t know the story. We drive back to DROP in

silence. I lock myself in the office and immerse myself in work for the afternoon.





Chapter Ten


A soft knock on my office door pulls me out of my two-hour long mail-merge-a-thon.

“Ember?”

“Yeah, Bo, come in.” I turn down Dave Matthews’ voice and sit back from my computer, still trying to drain Ainsley’s words from

my brain. I motion for him to sit in the chair across from my desk.

He sits and rubs his hands down the front of his thighs before speaking. “Rae told me you guys saw Ainsley at lunch ...”

“It was a treat.” I roll my eyes.

Bo leans in, placing his elbows on my desk, staring into my eyes. “Don’t listen to a thing that comes out of her mouth. She doesn