I never used to be afraid of her, but she nearly cost me the life of my unborn child—not once, but twice. My protective instinct kicks in, knowing what she’s capable of. She’d like nothing more than to finish what she started. But I won’t let that happen. I can’t.
Gathering my courage, I pretend like I didn’t hear her and keep going. Maybe if I just ignore her, she’ll take the hint, not wanting to make a scene in public. L.A. was different. No one knew her there. But causing me to cramp up in her hometown definitely won’t go over well.
Her heels click rapidly as she hurries to catch up to me. “You know we had a deal, right?” she threatens, a hair above a whisper, angling herself in front of my cart so I can’t move.
She has me cornered near the stationery. No one’s going to save me here. They’re all too busy hunting down the last can of cranberry sauce or deciding between pumpkin and apple pie. She has me right where she wants me—again.
“And you know what I said would happen if you broke this deal?” she taunts me, gripping the end of the cart with her obnoxiously red nails.
“Forget it, Lauren. I’m not doing the screenplay. You can shove it.” I push forward as hard as I can as we wrangle for control of the cart.
But she’s too strong and I can hardly get the wheels to budge. I haven’t seen her face to face since that terrible morning in front of the cabin, and she doesn’t seem quite right. There’s something off in her eyes, like some part of her sanity has already slipped away. Of course, she still looks flawless on the outside with her lambskin trench coat and honey-colored highlights, but it’s becoming apparent that she’s starting to fall apart on the inside. And that’s what frightens me more.
“Do you really want to test me?” she bristles as I see how bloodshot her eyes are the closer she gets.
“Well, you didn’t hold up your end of the bargain either,” I retort. “You didn’t tell Eric about my appointment. So as far as I’m concerned, you’re the one to blame for ending our little arrangement.”
“Nice try,” she smirks. “But you’re not the one making the rules here. I am.”
“What you’re doing, Lauren, is despicable, and I won’t be a part of it. Blackmailing Tim. Twisting his pain for your own benefit. It’s sick.” I think about the anguish I saw on Tim’s face and it only strengthens my resolve.
“So you’re choosing Tim over Eric, huh? Typical… Just like Cassidy.” Her words strike me like a blow across the face, causing me to reel back. “I’ll just have to tell my father to have the bank start calling in Eric’s loan if you’re not going to cooperate. Foreclosure by Christmas sounds like a great way to ring in the holidays.”
“How dare you make it seem like I’m choosing one over the other when all along you were determined to ruin them both,” I declare, not afraid of calling her bluff. “You were never going to let either one of them walk away no matter what I did.”
“Lest you forget, you signed a contract to complete the screenplay. If you don’t, I’ll have no qualms dragging you into court, pregnant or not.” She glares at me icily.
“I don’t understand why this screenplay is so important to you anyway,” I lash back, getting everything off my chest. “So what if Tim was the father of Cassidy’s baby? Who cares?”
Her eyes take on a dangerous glint as she lets go of the cart and leans into me. “Because I’m going to tell the world what really happened.”
“By making Tim the scapegoat? What good is that going to do now?” I meet her head-on as we go toe-to-toe. “He loved her, Lauren. Really and truly loved her. Anyone who talks to him for five minutes can see that. The two of them didn’t act out of malice. They’d known each other for a long time, and it just happened. It wasn’t planned. They weren’t out to hurt Eric like you led me to believe.”
“You really don’t have a clue, do you?” she laughs, and I instinctively take a step back. “Tim might have told you some things, but he didn’t tell you all of it. Why would he? I’m sure he was leading you on because he was trying to get in your pants the whole time. It’s his style. And considering the black eye he’s sporting, it appears Eric agrees.”
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Will drawls lazily, coming up behind me.
Lauren and I were so caught up in our showdown that neither of us noticed him walking toward us until now. I’m relieved to have some backup, but having him here isn’t going to get Lauren to reveal what she was alluding to. There’s more to all this than she’s letting on, something deeply personal that she’s trying to hide. When she’s angry, she’s not as careful with her words. All right, Tim never came out and admitted he was the father, but who else could it be?