“I’m showing you this not because I want to hurt you.” Unlike her, who intentionally tried to hurt me. “I’m showing you because either way he’s a dick.” I point toward the door where I’m guessing Ben is probably standing outside. “What I don’t get is why you hooked me up with someone with the intention of hurting me?”
She swipes the phone off the counter, causing it to hit the floor with a loud crack. Conn starts to move but I grip his arm tighter so he doesn’t. Smittens hops on the back of the sofa to glare at Trish like she always does. My cat hates her. Always has. Ben too. I should have known. She loves Conn though.
“Where’s Bear?” I look up at Conn, realizing he’s not here. My sister mumbles something about how terrible the Christmas decorations look. I want to slap her now. All the other things she’s done and said, I can let slide, but her putting down Conn is going to be my breaking point.
“Doing his job,” he answers. His death glare remains on Trish.
“He has a job?” What kind of job could Bear have?
“Watching dipshit outside.” He looks down at me for a moment. The side of his mouth turns up as he looks at me. His eyes go soft. Yeah, Conn is rough around the edges but he is trying to be sweet with me. I like to think I bring it out in him.
“Little Miss Faith. The one that’s always so perfect and nice,” Trish snips. “Why can’t you be more like Faith? She’s happy with what she has. Why aren’t you more grateful?” I know she’s repeating someone else’s words but I’m not sure whose. “That’s all I hear from Mom and Dad.” She answers my unspoken question. I’ve never heard them say any of those things. I was always looked over. At least it felt that way.
“Now I’m in trouble because you took off! It was only sex, Faith. It means nothing. Get over your little ass tantrum and come home. You’re being ridiculous. Benjamin said you wouldn’t put out! Men have needs. You should thank me for having sex with him for you.” I don’t understand why she’s now mad that Ben wants me if she never wanted him. Heck, I’m not sure Trish knows what she wants. She clearly has issues and I am sick of being the person she takes those out on. I want her out of my life. She is only here because she upset my stepmom and dad. That’s where she gets all of her money. It’s the only reason she’s trying to get me to come home. She also doesn’t seem to care that some of the texts Ben sent me where downright creepy.
“Sex with someone like Faith isn’t just sex,” Conn says. His voice is calmer now. I look up at him. One of his big hands comes up to cup my face. “It would be like finding heaven.” My heart turns over in my chest. I can’t believe he said something so sweet. “One might even make an ass out of themselves in hopes of her letting them get a little bit of that heaven.”
“Conn.” I breathe out his name. Yeah, he is rough around the edges but he is smoothing those out for me. I don’t want him to lose all of his roughness. It is a part of why I love him so much. My breath catches. I love him. Is this love that I’ve been feeling?
A loud growl comes from outside. “Sounds like Ben has a death wish.” Conn rounds the counter, grabbing my stepsister by the arm while pushing her toward the door.
“What are you doing?” She tries to jerk from his hold. Conn opens the door and releases her at the same time as she jerks from him again. She stumbles out the door onto the front porch. Bear stands on the porch with his teeth bared, growling at my ex. Ben stands there stock still, his face is as white as the snow that is coming down.
“My coat!” Trish screeches. “This is Burberry.” She pushes to her feet trying to clean the snow off the coat.
“Bear, heel.” Bear sits down instantly and stops growling.
“Are you going to let him treat me this way?” Trish asks Ben, whose eyes are bouncing between Conn and me.
“Are you Conn Wilson?” Ben asks.
“Leave. Both of you.” Conn doesn’t answer him.
“Like the Conn Wilson?” Ben tries again.
“How does he know you?” I whisper, looking to Conn.
“Because Conn Wilson created an artificial intelligence module that sniffed out micro transactions some traders had been using to defraud companies out of billions of dollars. He sold that to a banking consortium for like a billion dollars and then dropped off the face of the earth.”