Brooklyn looked downright mortified. “That’s not true.”

  Her ex grumbled, “Everything was fine one day, and the next, you tell me you want a divorce and leave. Everyone in Sugar Mountain knows it’s because of this guy.” He thumbed in my direction.

  “You’re joking, right?” Brooklyn asked, her voice breaking. “This is a joke?” She glanced behind him, as if looking for hidden cameras somewhere.

  “You never even told me you weren’t happy,” he complained, and Brooklyn blew out a breath that told me otherwise.

  “I bet she did, and you were too stupid to listen,” I said before I could stop myself.

  The fact that we were in a place of business seemed to completely escape my brain at the moment. I’d forgotten there was an audience watching and that I was acting in a completely unprofessional manner. All I wanted to do was make sure Brooklyn was okay, and if I verbally demolished this guy in the process, I’d consider it a double fucking win for me.

  “You know, I’ve had to stop playing Wars with the guys. I couldn’t afford to buy all the upgrade packs anymore, and I got left behind. They progressed four levels already since you left me. Do you know how embarrassing that is?” he said, and I wondered what the fuck he was even talking about before it hit me.

  “Are you talking about a video game?” I asked, doing my damnedest to make fun of the guy.

  “It’s none of your business. Brooklyn knows how much that time with my boys means to me. And she took it away.”

  He sounded like a fucking baby.

  “You spent her money on video game upgrades?” I asked because I genuinely couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  Before he could respond, Brooklyn interjected, sounding legitimately hurt by his accusation, “Eli, I’m sorry you can’t play your games anymore, but I promise that I never cheated on you. Not with Thomas. Not with anyone.”

  Her ex-husband made a choking sound. “Right. Because that’s what all cheating whores say.”

  I took a step toward him, my anger rapidly growing. “I’m going to need you to leave before I do something that I don’t want my daughter seeing.” My right hand instinctively fisted, as if begging him to push me just one iota too far.

  “What, Daddy? What can’t I see?” Clara’s little voice echoed from somewhere behind me.

  I turned around to give her a wink before facing the enemy once more. I wanted nothing more than to defend this woman with a ferocity I almost didn’t recognize. My protective streak was a living and breathing thing, and apparently, it didn’t only exist for my daughter.

  Brooklyn put her hand on my shoulder briefly and squeezed. “It’s okay, Thomas. I got this,” she said before squaring her shoulders and standing tall to face her ex. “Maribel, please cover Clarabel’s ears.”

  I glanced behind to see Maribel attempting to give my daughter earmuffs with her hands, but Clara refused the gesture. She wiggled out of Maribel’s grasp and ran away to the other side of the conference room before ducking under a table and peeking out from under the tablecloth.

  “Eli.” Brooklyn said his name with venom in her tone. It was a completely different sound than when she was pissed off and verbally battling with me. There was no real hatred during those times. This was something else entirely. “I did not cheat on you. There’s nothing going on between me and Thomas.”

  Her words were true, but something inside me didn’t like hearing her say them out loud or to this asshole. If she’d wanted to pretend like we were one big happy family, fucking like rabbits every time we were alone, I’d have gone along with it.

  “I left you because I wasn’t happy, no air quotes necessary. I know you can’t seem to comprehend that fact in that fucking pea-sized brain of yours, but if you never hear anything else, please hear this. I. Wasn’t. Happy. You ignored me every single night to play games with your friends. Do you know how many times I tried to get you spend time with me? But you always blew me off. One more game, you’d say. It was always one more game.”

  He tried to speak, but she put up her hand to stop him. “No. I’m not finished. You complained about all the overtime I worked, but you loved to spend my paycheck. I wasn’t sure why you complained anyway; it wasn’t like you wanted to do anything with me. I think you just wanted me around to make you food or do your laundry. I started hating you for it. The resentment ate me up inside until I felt like I was dying, and you didn’t even notice. What’s worse was that when I did tell you, you didn’t even care. So, you can sit here and lie to yourself and act like I never let you know I wasn’t happy, but the truth is, I’d been telling you for over a year. You had the chance to change—or at the very least try. But you ignored it, like you’d been ignoring me. And I couldn’t take it anymore.”

  “You walked away like we were nothing,” he spat defensively like he was the victim of some massive wrongdoing.

  “I didn’t walk away like we were nothing. By the time I walked away, I’d had enough.”

  She sounded so exasperated, and my instincts to protect her flared back to life. I stepped in front of her body, blocking her from Eli’s view completely. Their conversation was over, and if he even tried to continue it, he’d have to get through me first.

  Which wouldn’t be happening.

  The guy had said enough. And Brooklyn had said all that she needed to with an audience watching. If for some reason they felt the desire to continue this discussion, they could do it at another time and place. Today’s charade was over.

  “It’s time for you to go,” I said forcefully, leaving no room for argument even though I silently willed the guy to fuck with me.

  I’d already fired off a text to my head of security, and I could see him making his way over to escort Eli off the property.

  “Tali here will see you out,” I said right as my six-foot-three guard sauntered over, his face looking downright mean. If I didn’t know what a teddy bear he was on the inside, I might have cowered my damn self.

  “Please make sure Eli ...” I paused as I looked at Brooklyn, and she read my mind like it was easy for her to do.

  “Allister,” she responded, giving me exactly what I hadn’t asked for, but wanted.

  “Please make sure Eli Allister is on the no entry list going forward. He’s no longer welcome on resort property. Not even as an invited guest.”

  “Hey, that’s not fair!” Eli whined.

  “Life’s not fair,” I said, thrilled that I could use that stupid old line from my dad on someone other than my brothers.

  I turned to check on Brooklyn, but the expression on her face told me everything I needed to know. She was embarrassed. And hurt. I wanted to comfort her, tell her it would all be okay, and then erase the very memory of that ex from her mind and body. Touch every single inch of skin until she forgot he’d ever been there.

  This was a new feeling for me. If it existed before, it had been dormant for the last eight years, slumbering peacefully.

  So, what was I going to do about it?

  EVERYONE DESERVES A WAFFLE

  BROOKLYN

  I stood there and watched my ex-husband trying to flail out of Tali’s strong grip. It was no use, and I wasn’t even sure why he tried. I couldn’t believe he’d shown up here, of all places, and said the things that he had. Accusing me of cheating on him was one thing. Doing it in front of my coworkers and boss was another.

  “I’m so sorry. God, that was so embarrassing,” I whispered to Thomas before turning around to face the rest of my staff. “You guys, I’m really sorry about that. I’m not sleeping with Thomas, and there was no affair.”

  “It’s none of our business, but we know you weren’t,” Maribel announced, and a blip of relief soared through me.

  “Thank you. I just don’t want any of you thinking that about me,” I said before meeting Thomas’s gaze. “Or him. Us. I mean, there is no us.” I shook my head, clearly rattled by everything that had just occurred.

  Looking into Thomas’s blue eyes wasn’t helping matters. He’d gone to bat for me. Stood up for my honor. Actually balled his hand into a fist at one point, and while I shouldn’t have wanted him to sock my ex in the jaw, I wouldn’t have minded one bit if he had.

  Hell, I probably would have jumped his bones for it and really given everyone something to talk about.

  Rock climbing, here I come.

  Goodness, I was a mess.

  “Hey, it doesn’t matter what people say,” Thomas said gently. “We know the truth.”

  How is he so calm?

  “I don’t want people saying that about you though. I’m sorry, Thomas. I don’t even know how you got dragged into this.” I covered my mouth with my hand and closed my eyes, willing this to be some sort of nightmare that I could wake up from. “If you want to let me go, I’ll understand.”

  “Let you go?”

  I opened my eyes to see him making a ridiculous face before pinning me with those damn eyes.

  “Not happening. Probably not ever.”

  Are we still talking about work? I wondered.

  It was exhausting, attempting to read between the lines, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself from trying anyway.

  “Miss Brooklyn, are you okay? Who was that?” Clara’s voice hit my ears, and I looked down to see her watching me with concern as she latched on to her dad.

  I sucked in a quick breath before giving Thomas a glance that clearly said I wasn’t sure how to explain any of this to an eight-year-old. Did I just tell her the truth, or did I sugarcoat things to make them more digestible and easier to swallow?

  “That was someone Brooklyn used to love,” Thomas answered for me, and I bristled at the wording.

  “But he isn’t nice, Daddy,” she said before focusing back on me. “Why would you love him?” Clara asked, thoroughly confused.

  Great question, kiddo.

  “Well, he wasn’t always like that,” I answered honestly, but still hated the impression I might be giving her. I didn’t want Clara to think it was okay to love a man who was cruel. And Eli had definitely come here, acting that way.

  “I don’t understand,” she said, looking up at her dad for an answer he couldn’t provide since it wasn’t his relationship.

  “He didn’t used to be so mean.” I tried to explain a little more, but I was unsure if I was making things better or not.

  “So, he used to be nice, but now, he isn’t?”

  I nodded at how smart this girl was. “Yes. When we lived together, he was much nicer. But when I left, I guess he got a little mean.”

  She grinned like she understood completely. “ ’Cause you hurt his feelings. Boys don’t like when you hurt their feelings. They always get mean. Like Scott,” she said, and I watched her with piqued interest, wondering who Scott was. “He goes to my school. He’s not nice. But when I hurt his feelings, he gets real mean. But I don’t care because he deserves it.”

  This girl didn’t need my help at all. If anything, I probably needed hers.

  “Is he still bothering you?” Thomas cut in, leaning down to be at the same height as his daughter, protective-dad vibes on full display.

  “Not really, Daddy.”

  He made a growling noise that made my brain instantly go to the bedroom. I wondered if he sounded like that when he was inside a woman.

  WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?

  “I think my daddy was going to punch your meanie though. Weren’t you, Daddy?”

  “I considered it,” he answered her honestly, and it warmed my insides, knowing that he didn’t lie to her. Children were always smarter than parents gave them credit for, and Clara was no exception.

  “What do you say we get out of here?”

  I assumed Thomas was talking to his daughter, but apparently, he was also talking to me.

  “We can send the staff home. They can finish up the room tomorrow before the event starts in the afternoon.”

  “It’s pretty much done anyway,” I agreed.

  We’d been wrapping up the last handful of tables when Eli came in with his embarrassing outburst.

  Thomas turned around the face the small group before announcing, “Everyone, go ahead and go home. We’ll call it a day and come back tomorrow to wrap this up.”

  “Are you sure?” Maribel asked from somewhere in the back corner.

  “See you tomorrow,” he said before reaching for Clara’s hand and walking out of the room completely.

  I followed him like a freaking puppy, my tail wagging the whole damn time. Instead of taking the elevator, we wandered through the interior hallways and found our way back on the main lobby level, where the entire space had been transformed into an incredible fall feast for the eyes. I almost forgot what had just happened with Eli—the decorations were so distracting.

  The walkway was lined with giant cornucopias that overflowed with pumpkins of all sizes and flowers in fall colors as far as the eye could see. Two massive scarecrows greeted guests as they went to check in, and there was even a wagon filled with hay bales and pumpkins that spilled out of it and onto the floor in perfect harmony.

  “Look at all the pumpkins!” Clara shouted as she dropped her dad’s hand and ran to see the decorations up close.

  “Wow,” I breathed out as I took it all in myself. Sugar Mountain Resort never did anything halfway. “They did all this so fast.”

  “They’re really good at their job,” Thomas said.

  A week ago, I would have taken that as some sort of backhanded jab. But today, I knew he simply meant what he said. There was no other meaning behind it.

  “They are. This is stunning.”

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” A deep, gruff voice hit my ears, and I turned to see Mr. O’Grady heading in our direction.

  “Pops!” Clara shouted before running into his arms.

  He scooped her up like it was nothing and held her on his hip, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “Why didn’t anyone tell me you were here? You show up at the resort and don’t come give your Pops a hug? I’m hurt.” He pouted, and she whipped her head back to me to give me a look I couldn’t decipher.

  “But not like hurt, where you’ll be mean to me, right, Pops?” Clara asked, and I met Thomas’s stare instantly.

  The last thing I wanted to do was tell the general manager of the resort what had just happened with my ex.

  “Not sure what you mean, kiddo. I’d never be mean to you. I’m just happy to see you,” he said as he put her back on the ground.

  “Dad, this is Brooklyn. I’m not sure you two have met yet. She took Sierra’s position.” Thomas introduced me to his father, but as an employee, of course.

  What else would he introduce me as? The woman who wants to go rock climbing on my chest probably wouldn’t be all that appropriate.

  “Brooklyn.” Mr. O’Grady extended his hand, and I reached for it. “It’s lovely to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Have you?” I tilted my head to the side, unsure of how to take that. “It’s nice to meet you as well. The decorations are incredible. It’s like a dream come true.”

  He smiled so big and genuine that I couldn’t help but smile back. “They always do such a beautiful job. Wait until you see it for winter. You’ll never want to leave.”

  “I actually believe that,” I said, still smiling.

  “We were just calling it a day, and we’re going to grab some food downtown. Wanna join us?” Thomas directed the question toward his father, and I swore my heart stopped beating altogether as I held my breath and waited for his response.

  “No. You three go and have fun. I still have some phone calls to make. But now that Patrick’s house is done, family dinners are back on. No excuses,” he demanded, and I felt like I was intruding on something a little too personal.

  “I’ve missed them actually,” Thomas said, and Clara jumped in, clapping her hands together. It was something I noticed she did whenever she was really excited.

  “I love dinner at your house, Pops. I’ve missed them too. Did you meet Jasper? He’s the cutest,” she asked, and I watched as Mr. O’Grady’s dark blue eyes narrowed.

  “That scruffy dog? I met him. He’s here with your uncle now.” He shot Thomas a subtle disapproving glance, but Clara’s eyes lit up.

  “He is? Uncle brings him to work. How fun!”

  “Apparently, your uncle doesn’t go anywhere without him anymore,” Mr. O’Grady added, and Thomas only shrugged.

  “I think it’s good for him. Patrick needs a friend,” Thomas said, and I cleared my throat because this really was more than I should be hearing.

  Even though I secretly love it.

  “Can we go see Uncle Patrick? I want to see him and Jasper.” Clara pretended to pout, and I knew it was a tactic to get her way.

  I wondered how Thomas would react to her little game.

  “Not today. Uncle Patrick is working really hard to get something done, and we shouldn’t bother him.”

  “I’m not a bother.” She stomped her little foot in defiance, but didn’t argue the matter any further.

  “Well, I need to get going. It was nice to meet you, Brooklyn. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around,” he said before leaning down to face his sweet granddaughter. “And you. Next time you’re here, you’d better come see me and give me a squeeze, okay?”

  “Okay, Pops!”

  “Promise?” he pushed.

  “Promise!”

  And with that, Mr. O’Grady walked away and left the three of us standing in the middle of a fall dreamland.

  “It’s technically not quite dinnertime yet, but what do you say about going downtown to the diner?” Thomas seemed to ask both Clara and me.

  “Ooh, I love Main Street Diner. Don’t you, Brooklyn the Pumpkin Slayer?” Clara bounced some more. It was like the girl had eaten a fistful of sugar while I wasn’t looking, even though I knew she hadn’t.

  I nodded because everyone from Sugar Mountain ate and loved the diner. It was an institution the same way this resort was. The only problem was that it was definitely not the spot you went to if you wanted to be alone or not be seen by half the town at any given moment. Chances were pretty good that if you went to the diner or the saloon, you were basically asking to have your private business talked about to whoever was willing to listen.