Heartbreaker: A Filthy Dirty Love Novel

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The citrusy cologne filling Joss’s nostrils reminded her of some very happy times, causing her to nearly lean into Nick’s warm body before she’d thought better of it. She quickly pushed against his chest, now inhaling the booze wafting off him, and hastily removed herself from his arms.

“Damn, Joss, you look”—his bright blue eyes roamed over her from head to toe before reaching her face again—“you look really great.”

A compliment from Nick hadn’t been on her to-do list tonight, but nonetheless, it felt nice to hear that rather than the last words he’d said to her when he dumped her. Besides, she probably looked fitter than he remembered. Police academy did that to a body. She studied the man in front of her, the one who’d once held her heart in his grip. He looked the same, with his all-American good looks, straight, white teeth, stylish, brown hair, preppy clothes, and a sparkling smile that could charm anyone. “What are you doing here?” she asked, shocked spitless that he was there.

He snorted a laugh, shoving his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans. “I came home to see the family and thought I’d meet up with some friends for drinks. Why? Is that a crime?” His grin turned a little devilish. “Are you going to arrest me?”

“No. No, of course, not.” Joss attempted to smile and even laugh a little, but she failed miserably. She wished she’d seen him before he’d taken her into his arms to prepare herself for this conversation. Then maybe she wouldn’t feel like she was Alice falling down the rabbit hole. “Sorry. I’m just surprised to see you.”

The tension between his brows faded, his posture slowly relaxing. “I haven’t been home in a while, but my mom kept hounding me, so I made a quick trip back for the weekend.”

Which was only a reminder of why they’d broken up. Nick didn’t want a blue-collar job and looked down his nose at those who did. He had his sights on something more white-collar, including building an empire in New York City on Wall Street. The decision to go to the prestigious, Ivy League Harvard to pursue a career as a stockbroker when Joss had chosen the University of Washington led to their demise. After he’d been introduced to the lavish lifestyle of the upper elite in New York City, his simple life in Seattle with Joss hadn’t looked so appealing anymore.

I think we need a break was the last thing she remembered Nick saying to her. Now, over a year later, there he stood, half-drunk and ogling her. She stared at him, feeling like she didn’t even know the guy in front of her anymore. Or maybe she’d changed so much in the last year she felt different around him.

“Yeah, yeah, get me a Heineken,” he called out over the music and voices in the crowd to Timothy, another friend from high school, who was standing at the bar ordering drinks.

“On it,” Timothy replied, turning back to the bartender, waving a twenty-dollar bill at her.

Joss snorted and rolled her eyes. It shouldn’t have surprised her that Timothy had dismissed her as if she weren’t even there. Timothy had disowned Joss when she and Nick broke up, going so far as to not say a word to her when he saw her on the street. But, seriously, how and why would someone be such a dick?

She didn’t miss their friendship back then, and she certainly didn’t now. Hell, staring into Nick’s baby blue eyes now, she realized she wasn’t the same person as when she’d last seen him and his get-along gang. It just so happened she liked the person she was now far more than the woman she’d been with Nick.

Stronger. Smarter. Sexier.

She lifted her chin a little higher when he finally looked at her again, giving her that warm smile she used to love so much. “My mom told me that you’re a cop now. Congrats on that.”

“Yeah, I am. Thanks.” She forced a smile, wondering how his mom knew about her, but she also didn’t doubt that the woman checked in on Joss’s life through others. When the relationship ended, Nick’s nosy mom had seemed more upset than Joss. But wasn’t that the dream? Perfect family. Perfect love. Perfect white-picket fence.

Before she could barf on Nick’s shiny, fancy shoes, he chuckled, nudging her arm, his eyes twinkling. “To be honest, Jossie, I can’t even picture you in the uniform.”

She nearly rolled her eyes at him now but refrained. Kicking him off his high horse wasn’t worth her time. He also wasn’t leaving, and this conversation would get back to his mother. She ignored his stupid remark and tried to be kind by asking, “How are things going for you in New York?”