Page 31 of Love Unbound
“How dare you?”
Josh straightened from where he was standing, loading a cooler with ice and a pack of beer cans. Two golf bags leaned against the back of his Lincoln, ready to be loaded into the trunk along with the cooler. His eyes traveled up and down Jodi from toes to the top of her head.
Angrier than she’d been in a long time, she’d driven to Josh’s apartment, slamming the Jeep door with more force than necessary. He was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved polo shirt, flip flops on his feet. He leaned his shoulder against the side of the car, crossing his ankles casually, crossing his arms over his chest. His hazel eyes were bright; she knew he was enjoying seeing her flustered, but she was too angry to care.
“You look like hell, Jodi. What happened?”
“You stay away from me, stay away from Freeman, stay away from my home, and stay away from my store!” Jodi snarled, pointing her finger at his chest angrily. She was shaking with fury. The door of his condo opened and a woman with light brown hair stepped out, wearing a golf skirt and polo’d tank top. Jodi laughed derisively. “How dare you seek him out and tell lies! We are not married anymore, Josh! I am allowed to move on, just like you have! At least I waited until the divorce was final, because you sure didn’t!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Josh murmured innocently, pushing away from the side of the vehicle. “Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you need some help?”
Barely controlled rage trembled through her, making her entire body shake. “You know what you did, and I know you’re the one breaking into my store. Leave me alone, Josh.”
Josh looked over at the brunette, who was watching them closely. He blew out his breath and shook his dirty blonde head, “Yeah… you’re acting crazy. You need to leave.”
“Go to hell,” Jodi seethed. Walking back to the Jeep, she opened the door and climbed in. “Stay away from me.”
“You came here,” Josh chuckled, holding up his hands in feigned innocence, walking several steps forward to stand next to her window. Leaning forward and whispering quietly, “You have no proof that I was at your store, Jodi.”
“Not yet, but I will.”
He laughed then, his eyes narrowing on her face. “If you want to go down this road, that’s your choice. Have a good day.”
Jodi backed out of the driveway of his condo, driving away, still shaking. Pulling over onto the side of the road when she’d gotten far enough away, she screamed in the private confines of the car, then buried her face in her hands, crying until she was hyperventilating.
She knew his game, knew the way he worked to threaten her, using manipulation and gaslighting her into questioning her own sanity. She hated him. She’d hated herself for a long time, hated how weak she’d been, how weak he still made her.
Pulling herself together, she scrubbed at her face, snorting a laugh when she looked at herself in the rearview mirror. One thing she knew for sure, she would catch him in the act of breaking into her shop. If she knew Josh, he wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.
Chapter 23
Slipping the simple gold hoops into her ears, Jodi looked around in surprise when a knock sounded on the door. She had showered and pampered herself all morning in preparation for the wedding celebration later in the afternoon. Her makeup had been deftly applied and she was pleased with the results, grateful that the puffiness from crying the day before had subsided and was easy to conceal.
The temperature had cooled slightly from the day before, the humidity lower, to which Jodi was thankful. She had left her hair unrestrained, and her curls cascaded down her back in ringlets, her hair parted drastically to one side, the other side clipped back with a decorative comb.
The dress she had chosen was navy blue and fit snuggly, showing off her curves. It hit just above her knee, with a slit up one side, leaving one thigh tantalizingly bare. The sleeves were long, flowy, and cuffed at her wrists. The rounded neckline cut across her chest below her collarbone, but the back dipped into a deep V to the middle of her spine, just above the small of her back.
Another knock sounded, and she padded on bare, freshly manicured feet to the door. Opening it, her heart climbed into her throat, and she swallowed hard.
“Wow,” he whispered hoarsely, his aquamarine eyes traveling over her, and she was just vain enough to enjoy his appreciation.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, her throat tight.
“Uhh,” he stuttered, bringing his gaze back to hers. Thediscoloration under his left eye was darker today, his eye swollen just the slightest. It looked painful to Jodi. He shook his head slightly and one corner of his bewhiskered mouth tilted up. “I’m sorry, I—” he blew his breath out. “You look stunning.”
Jodi gave him a baleful look, but said, “Thank you.” She waited several seconds before repeating, “What are you doing here, Free?”
“You never gave me an answer.”
“I’m pretty sure going to bed with another woman two nights ago was enough of an answer,” Jodi muttered.
“I didn’t sleep with her, Jodi, I told you that,” Free said earnestly. “I swear to you, nothing happened. I was just angry and really drunk. Which I know—” he said and raised his hands in front of him placatingly “—isn’t an excuse. I never meant to hurt you. My pride was hurt and I reacted abominably, and I’m so sorry.”
Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she nodded and then sighed, still staring at the bruise on his cheekbone. Opening the door wider, she moved aside. “Come in. Let me do something with that bruise.”
Free’s mouth tilted up again slightly, stepping through the door. Jodi closed it and walked down the hall to the bathroom, coming back a few seconds later with her makeup bag. She motioned for him to follow her to the kitchen, sitting him in one of the barstools that she moved in front of the sliding glass door, which offered the best light.
Opening the makeup bag, she rifled through, looking for a shade dark enough to match his tanned skin.
