I felt myself flushing. No doubt, my face was a bright, unattractive red. I hated being the center of attention, especially when that attention was focused on both me and my cheating fuck of an ex. He looked like shit, his hair a mess and his shirt stained, as though he’d run all the way from the city to find me.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, trying to keep my voice low as I glanced around at all the people watching us from the open door. There was no way in hell that this wasn’t going to be the talk of the town tomorrow, so I just had to play at damage control as best I could.

“You just left,” he replied while looking desperate. “And you wouldn’t answer your phone. I needed to see you, to talk to you in person—”

“There’s nothing we need to talk about,” I fired back, pissed as hell. “I walked in on the two of you together. Or do I need to tell everyone here what I saw you doing?”

Two dark spots of color stained Mark’s cheeks as his eyes slid around the room. It seemed as if he had momentarily forgotten his audience, but I could tell it was just clicking that there were a lot of rich, important people around. People he would normally do his best to impress. But as it was, he was just standing there in the middle of the room looking like a grade-A idiot.

“Please, Mia…” He made his way toward me, marching across the space and closing the distance between us.

I could feel everyone staring at us, including my parents. Had they set this up somehow? They’d been so convinced that Mark was the right choice for me so I wouldn’t put it past them to drag him out to something like this in the hopes of getting us back together.

“Get away from me,” I spat as I shifted backwards. I felt such a visceral hatred toward him, as though all the emotion that I had done such a good job ignoring when I had walked in on him before was suddenly roiling and growling inside of me, catching me off-guard. I wanted to punch him. I clenched my fists and forced myself to inhale long, deep breaths. I wasn’t going to make any more of a scene here. I would get rid of him and that was going to be the end of us once and for all.

“I deserve an explanation,” he continued, and his voice had taken on an edge. Anger replacing the apology.

I couldn’t believe he was seriously pulling this shit on me. He had the nerve. What in the world gave him the right to come in here and treat me as though I was the one who’d done something wrong, when he’d been fucking one of our friends? “You deserve an explanation? You?” I asked. I felt so angry my voice was shaking.

He took a step back. I could see in his eyes that he hadn’t expected to see me so angry. Mia the doormat was over. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said.

“You don’t deserve anything,” I stated quietly as I noticed he was moving toward me once more. I stood my ground. This was my hometown, and I wasn’t about to let him push me around.

“I know what happened was hard for you, but you need to give me a chance,” he wheedled hopefully.

I fought the urge to punch him on his weak, faithless jaw. “I don’t need to give you anything.”

“It wasn’t what you think, Mia. I swear it was an accident. It was just that one time. It meant nothing.”

Even though I was angry and felt it like a ball of fire in my guts his statement made me laugh. “An accident? You must really think I’m a fool, right? Whatever. I don’t love you, Mark. Now, will you please get out of here? Someone else is trying to have their wedding party, you know—”

“I know.” He nodded and suddenly, he was right in front of me, staring into my eyes with this imploring expression that was enough to make me want to head butt him. “And I don’t want to ruin their night, but I need you, Mia. I need you back. The apartment has been so empty without you. Please come back. I swear, you won’t regret it.” And with that, he reached out and gripped my arms.

I froze on the spot. I wanted to shove him away from me, but I couldn’t. He was so much bigger than me and his fingers were sinking into my flesh. I felt so useless, so weak, pathetic. “Mark, let go of me,” I commanded coldly.

He didn’t move a muscle. He was still looking at me with those big, hopeful eyes.

“Mark,” I warned him one more time, and the bastard leaned in and actually tried to kiss me.

I twisted my head away from him desperately and looked around the room at everyone who was just standing there watching this unfold. Why wasn’t anyone doing anything? Was this good enough gossip fodder that they were happy to just stand by and watch me get harassed by my asshole of an ex? My eyes met my parents.

They were frozen with shock. They stared at me in horror.

And then, out of nowhere, the back door banged open and footsteps barreled toward me. I was pretty sure I knew who they belonged to, before looking around.

Suddenly, Jesse was in front of us, yanking Mark away from me, shoving him hard. “What the fuck are you doing?” Jesse demanded. “She clearly doesn’t want to be anywhere near you.”

“Who the hell are you?” Mark snarled, gathering himself up and marching toward Jesse. In his mind, Jesse was a long-haired hick and he could instantly tell that he was dealing with an important outsider. He was so sure of his God given right to be the superior man that the fact he was a couple of inches shorter than Jesse didn’t compute until a few second before he reached him. It made him suddenly shrink into himself in a panic.

“I’m the only person here willing to do anything,” Jesse snapped back.

Like any bully, Mark looked around him for gang support. He seemed to find it in the faces of people there. Emboldened by the look of disgust and disapproval they had for the stranger, he shoved Jesse in the chest.

That seemed to be all Jesse needed to react. It fact, it was probably what he’d been waiting for. He pulled back his fist and launched it at Mark’s jaw.

The punch sent Mark sprawling to the floor.

A gasp went up around the room, but I couldn’t help but grin at the sight of my asshole of an ex crashing to the ground, clutching his face. A trickle of blood was running down the side of his mouth. Jesse did what I wanted to do.

“He hit me!” Mark pointed up at Jesse, like a sniveling child.

Ignoring the commotion that exploded around us as the crowd began to move once more, Jesse looked round at me. “Are you all right?” he asked, taking my face gently in his hands and looking anxiously into my eyes.

I could still feel the spots where Mark’s fingers had dug into me when he was trying to let everyone in the damn room know that I was his, as though they’d been branded into my skin, but I nodded. “I am now,” I said softly.

He smiled at me and I smiled back. For a moment, I was able to pretend the entire town hadn’t just pretty much exploded into flames around me.

“You!” A man emerged from the crowd and yanked Jesse away from me. “You need to get out of here, right now!”

“Fine.” Jesse held his hands up and started toward the door. “Not my scene, anyway.”

“I’m coming with you.” I chased after him.

“Mia,” my mother called.

I turned back to look at her. “See you later,” I said and ran to him. Without thinking, I slipped my hand into his. He grinned at me, and I spotted Julie glaring at me from across the room, beyond a crowd of people who seemed to be helping Mark back to his feet. I didn’t care about any of them. I was out of here, and nothing could hold me back. Jesse and I headed for the door.

I left the fancy party with my mechanic. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.