“I’ll take the blueberry cobbler à la mode. And a slice of the cheesecake, too. Oh and coffee, please.” I hand over the plastic menu and drop my chin onto my hand as I slide my credit card to the cashier.

“Ooh, rough day,” the waitress comments, a pitying look on her face.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

She hands me back my card, along with a large mug of steaming hot coffee, and I trudge my way over to a table and drop down into the plastic chair. I dump creamer and a few packets of sugar into my coffee, twirling it with the spoon. I’m eager to take the first sip, to erase the taste—and the memory—of Liam from my lips.

The coffee spills down my throat and I lean back in my seat. I feel like a fool. The image of Daphni, standing across the street, watching us, is burned in my memory. She had set me up. She had sent her goon to distract me, because the thought of me being with her “arch nemesis” was just too much for her to swallow.

The waitress brings over my pies and I greedily dig in, stuffing my face in a sad attempt to temporarily dull the ache of the steady streams of humiliation that Liam has generously provided me.

I’m about ten minutes away from putting myself into a diabetic coma when I hear the door of the bakery jingle behind me. I don’t think anything of it until I see my waitress turn suddenly, wide-eyed, nearly dropping the coffee mug she’d been cleaning.

“Oh my God, you’re Daphni Monroe!” she stammers out.

I whip around in my seat to find my sister standing behind me. Helpless, I drop my head onto the hard, metal table and let out a pathetic whimper.

Daphni slides into the seat across from me and I pop my head up to stare at her. “Seriously, Daphni? Just go away. Haven’t I experienced enough humiliation today?”

Instead of responding, she grabs my fork and scoops up a piece of my blueberry pie before taking a long drink of my coffee.

“I know you think I’m some kind of monster, Gabby, but I didn’t send Liam to you. That—that kiss—it was all him.”

I groan. “I am not talking about this. God, how did you even find me?”

She takes another bite as she shrugs her shoulders. “You used dad’s credit card. I just asked to see where you last used it.” She takes a look around the bakery. “But I could have skipped all that. I should have just assumed you would be stuffing your face in the nearest bakery.”

I snatch my fork out of her hand and stuff the remaining pie into my mouth. As I chew, I narrow my eyes down at her, which just makes her roll hers.

“Okay, while you’re busy eating your bodyweight in pie, maybe you can hear me out for once. I didn’t send Liam to seduce you, or whatever. Sure, Jordan is an asshole and Liam is actually a really good guy, but I wouldn’t—”

“Enough!” I shout as I stand up from the table. My outburst catches the attention of the wide-eyed waitress, who quickly looks away when I catch her eye. “Enough, Daphni. I’m so tired of all your schemes and your drama. For the past four years, you have conveniently forgotten that I exist, and now, because I’m dating your ‘enemy,’ you decide to try and sabotage it by sending your hired help to mess with me. I’m actually happy with Jordan, and if you gave two shits about me, you would be happy for me, too. I’m here so dad will pay for law school. The minute the tour is over, I’m done. With the tour and with you.”

The words rush out before I can stop myself, though I’m not sure I want to. My body is almost vibrating with anger and I can feel myself losing control. My tirade has completely shocked my sister into silence and I take advantage of it, grabbing my bag and rushing out the door. I see a parked town car, obviously belonging to Daphni, and I scurry away in the opposite direction, down a side street, where I hail a cab back to the hotel.

Back inside my room, I pull out my phone to find a series of texts from Jordan starting over four hours ago. Shit.

I need to see you.

Okay, sorry if that came on too strong. I’m trying to play it cool.

Screw it. I need to see you. Come out with me tonight? Stupid promo at a club but I want you with me. Willing to bribe you with food.

Okay, forget the club. Whatever you want. Tell me when and where.

I can’t help but feel my lips quirk into a wide smile reading through Jordan’s texts. Why can’t my sister be happy for me? And even worse, why would she send Liam to manipulate me like that? She knew how embarrassed I’d been after my birthday fiasco, how hurt I’d been by his rejection. How could she use that against me? Her own sister?

And while a large part of me wants to hole up in my hotel room for the rest of the day—to draw all the curtains, turn off the lights, and sulk—a small part of me wants to see Jordan, to explore what we have between us.

And yet…I can’t help but wonder. Would he be able to measure up against Liam and the way he seems to dominate every single one of my senses when he’s in the room? Would Jordan’s lips make my body tremble with an unspoken need? Would one look from his clear blue eyes send an electric sliver of want and heat through me the way Liam’s charcoal gaze does?

I groan loudly into my pillow before reaching for my phone and finalizing plans with Jordan tonight. Because in the sage words of one Daphni Monroe, “The best way to get over a man is to get under a new one.”