Divided Interests (Southern Bride 3)

“Why not?” Her perfect eyebrow went up. Were those even real, or had she had them painted on or something? Why was I just noticing how fake they looked? “Do you still care for this girl?”

I gave her a humorless laugh. “I’m not doing that because I’m not going to make it look like my Granddad lost his mind in the end. He wanted Paige to have the house, so I have to figure out a way to make Paige not want the house.”

Her hands went to her hips. “No. I am not moving into that dumpy little house.”

“It’s not a dumpy little house, Bianca.”

“Whatever, I’m not living here in the middle of bum-fucking-Egypt.”

“I’m not asking you to move here. I’m moving in with her.”

Her face dropped, then she started to laugh. “That’s rich, Lucas. You really had me there for a minute.”

Stripping out of my clothes, I stepped into the hot water. “I’m not kidding. I’m going to move in and make her life miserable. Maybe I can hire someone to make her think the house is haunted or something.”

When I didn’t hear Bianca, I pulled the shower curtain back. She was no longer in the bathroom. I breathed a sigh of relief. Leaning my hand against the tile, I pulled in a deep breath. What was going on here?

I wanted to be away from Bianca. Truth be told, I had known long before Granddad’s death that this needed to end. I just hadn’t wanted to see another relationship fail. The last nail was hammered when she pretended to lose her passport. She hadn’t cared about me or my family. She never had.

“This isn’t working,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

I shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist and headed into the other room.

“George, I don’t know this little tramp’s name. Paige Mustard? No, Mulligan? No. Listen I’ll find it out, and I want you to dig up as much dirt on her as you…hey!”

I grabbed the phone out of her hand, and hit the end button.

“What in the hell are you doing?” I asked.

She grinned. “I’m hiring my best private detective to dig up some dirt on Paige. Now, sweetie, what’s her last name? I’ll take care of this little witch for you.”

I shook my head. “Bianca, you’re not going to hire someone to pull up dirt on anyone, especially Paige.”

Her hands went to her hips. “If you think for one minute I’m going to let you stay in the same house as her, you are insane. You are my boyfriend, soon to be fiancé, and you’re not staying with her.”

I reached for my jeans and pulled them on. Then I grabbed the first T-shirt I could find. I went into the bathroom, grabbed all my shit and tossed it into my bag.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m packing up my stuff.”

“Thank God. We’re going home!” She practically bounced into the bathroom and started packing up the hundreds of bath products she had hauled with us to Fiji.

I set down the keys to the rental car.

“Bianca.”

“I honestly thought you were losing your damn mind there for a second. I was actually feeling a small sweat coming on. You know how much I hate to sweat.”

“Bianca.”

“My lawyers will handle everything. Don’t you worry, baby.”

“Bianca!” I shouted, causing her to freeze and look at me.

“Jesus! What?”

“I’m leaving you.”

A short laugh slipped from her lips. “I’m sorry. What are you saying?”

“This isn’t working. You want something I can’t give you.”

“Excuse me?”

I shook my head. “I’m not ever going to ask you to marry me because I don’t love you. I think you’ve known for some time. I can’t do this anymore, I’m sorry.”

Her face twisted up into an evil expression. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“Yes, and I should have done it back in Fiji and left your ass there so I could make it back in time for Granddad’s funeral. Hell, I should have done it a long time ago.”

Her mouth worked open and shut a few times. “Is this because of her?”

“This is because you and I are nothing alike, and I’ve only been pretending. I’m not happy, and I really can’t believe you’re happy with me either. If you were, you wouldn’t be trying to change me all the time to fit your idea of what a perfect boyfriend should be.”

“I only tried to change you for the better!” she spat out.

I sighed. “Enjoy your life, Bianca. I’ll send someone to Austin to pick up my clothes. Everything else, you can keep.”

I didn’t own a car, since we lived near downtown Austin. Leaving behind the place we lived in wasn’t a big deal at all. It was all in Bianca’s name, and I didn’t want a single thing. Bianca had picked out everything in our apartment. Nothing was mine. I actually hated the fucking place. It had never dawned on me how much I hated it until this very moment.