The Favor

I sharply swung open the door, disappointed that he smoothly backed up and evaded it. I slid out of the vehicle and put my hands on my hips. “You really are an asshole, you know.”

Taking another sip of his coffee, he held up the car key to the Audi that was parked further along the garage.

I snatched the key out of his hand with a snarl.

He gave a satisfied nod. “Good girl.”

“Fuck off. And fix my car while I’m gone.”

Ashley pulled me into a hug. “I still haven’t gotten used to not seeing you every day.”

I hugged her back. “Can I take it that you’ve forgiven Tucker?”

She drew back. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough.” I turned and greeted Hanna, who hugged me just as tightly, even though I last saw her only two days ago.

“I noticed you drove here in an Audi,” said Hanna. “I’m guessing that means Dane wore you down.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I mumbled.

She did her best to stifle a smile. “All right.”

Ashley fluffed the back of her hair. “Well, girls, let’s get moving. I have a dress to buy for the reception.”

“So do I,” said Hanna.

The cool air conditioning hit us as we walked through the automatic doors. The mall was huge. It honestly seemed to go on forever with its many stores, kiosks, and eateries, so there was no shortage of places for us to shop.

Hanna gently nudged me with her elbow. “Is married life still treating you well?”

I smiled. “It is, thanks.”

“I’m happy for you,” said Ashley. “But I also wish you’d move back into your old apartment. The man who lives there now is a miserable old fart who’s always banging on the wall, complaining that me and Tucker are too loud.”

I suspected the man was just annoyed by how often his neighbors argued, but I kept that to myself.

“We should have our upcoming girls’ night at my place and be extra loud just to make him cry,” Ashley added.

Hanna frowned. “Nu-uh, we agreed we’d have it at my place.”

“It would make more sense to have it at mine,” I cut in. “There’s a media room, a small bar, no neighbors who’ll complain. Plus, I have guestrooms. You’d be able to stay over instead of getting a taxi home late at night.”

Hanna gave me a pained look. “I’m sorry, Vienna, I just can’t. It’s my boss’s house.”

I rolled my eyes. “Hanna, we’ve been over this.”

“I know, I know. It would just feel weird to go there and …” She trailed off and frowned at something over my shoulder. “Well, it seems like Heather’s bagged herself a new man.”

Ashley tensed. “What? Where? Oh.”

Sure enough, Heather was sitting opposite a guy in the café nearby, oblivious to our presence. As I took in the way they were leaning toward each other, looking somewhat cozy, my stomach twisted.

I drew in a deep breath through my nose. “Fucking unreal,” I ground out. “I don’t know who I want to slap more—her or him.”

“Wait, you know him?” asked Hanna.

I licked my front teeth. “Oh, I know him. Remember the guy I told you about who I was briefly engaged to?”

Hanna’s mouth fell open. “No way.”

Ashley’s brows flew up. “Wait, that’s Owen in the café over there?” She’d heard about my ex but never met him.

I swallowed. “That’s Owen.” I flapped my arm, at a loss. “This doesn’t make any sense. He loathes her. And she detests him because he never fell for her charms.”

“It might not be a date, though they do look mighty friendly,” said Hanna. “I thought he was married.”

“He recently separated from his wife,” I told her. “They filed for divorce.”

Ashley glared at them, shaking her head. “If he’s dating that skank, he’s doing it for one reason only—he thinks you still care for him, and he wants to hit you where it hurts.”

“I thought Heather didn’t date single guys,” said Hanna. “I know he’s still married on paper, but …”

“She’d date him if she thought there was the slightest chance it would upset Vienna,” said Ashley. “God, I want to smack this bitch down so bad.”

Hanna looked at me. “I agree with Ash; they’re doing this to upset you. Is it working?”

I sighed. “It doesn’t feel good to know that they’re both so eager to hurt me. Especially Owen. He was important to me once.” I narrowed my eyes as Heather reached across the table and linked her fingers with his. Owen smiled at her, though it wasn’t a full-on smile.

I turned away from them, grinding my teeth yet again. I wouldn’t have thought he’d ever go this far—dating someone who’d treated me like shit for years—in an attempt to hurt me.

Ashley rested a hand on my shoulder. “At least you know about it now. They can’t sucker punch you with it at an odd moment and take you off-guard, which is probably what they meant to do, or Heather would be crowing about it by now.”