Page 51 of Fixed Up Ever After
“Does he know you have money?” he asked, his question rendering her immobile. He must have seen the anger in her gaze because he put his hands up to subdue her. “Guys like him prey on lonely, wealthy girls looking for companionship.”
This time when she spoke, she couldn't keep the anger out of her voice. “What do you mean ‘guys like him?’”
Archie paled, for once looking slightly uncomfortable. But only for a moment before he schooled his expression back into his normal cocky demeanor. “You know the ones. Guys with tattoos who don’t know how to conduct themselves in public. Guys likehim,” he repeated.
It was one thing to say something nasty about her, but quite another to say anything bad about Javi. She took a step forward, invading his space. She watched as Archie straightened, puffing out his chest as if to intimidate her.
“Let’s be real fucking clear, Archie. I don’t give a shit what you think about me. I stopped caring a long time ago, once I learned what a pathetic excuse of a man you are. But say one more disparaging thing about Javi and I’ll kick you so hard in your balls, doctors will never be able to recover them.”
A beat of silence hung between them as she stared Archie down. He was the first to fold by looking away and clearing his throat. “No need for such dramatics, Lola. I’m simply a concerned friend who knows you and how you jump into things without thinking.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about me,” she spat.
Except he did. He knew some things about her. He had been a crappy boyfriend, but they did spend a lot of time together while they were dating. He was bound to pick up some of her traits.
Was she really that impulsive and not thinking things through?
Well, she was quick to jump into a relationship with Archie. Looking back, there had been so many red flags and yet she chose to ignore all of them. She couldn’t help but think about her abrupt move from Florida back to California to open up a bookstore, something she knew virtually nothing about. Then again agreeing to jump into a fake-dating scenario, not allowing herself to dwell on everything that could go wrong.
Fuck. She couldn’t help but think Archie might be right.
Not wanting to have this personal crisis in front of a man she held no love for, Lola stepped back. “For the record, I’m glad you broke my heart because it made me realize how much I was settling for a man that wasn’t worth my time. I just feel sorry for my sister because even though we may not be close, I still think Marisol deserves better and I hope one day she realizes that too.”
She had said her peace and didn’t need to hear any futile rebuttal Archie might have. She left him scowling after her, not once looking back as she walked away. It was what she always needed to do and even though it was six months late, she felt lighter with each step. She felt like her Archie chapter had finally come to an end.
Yet as she walked away, she couldn’t help but think about Archie’s words as doubts about all her recent choices began to creep in despite her best efforts to keep them at bay.
CHAPTER31
Javi
Much like breakfast, dinner was quiet that evening. Javi kept glancing up from his chicken Alfredo to study Lola. Ever since they walked into the restaurant—the same one from the disaster dinner with her family—something had been off with Lola, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. He didn’t want to push her either, since the weary look on her face indicated she had a hard day of errands.
Lola had hardly touched her meal. She spent most of the time moving her shrimp from one side of the plate to the other, only eating about a third of her meal. Javi frowned. He hated seeing her so disconnected and not knowing the reason why.
Javi let his fork drop on his plate, the soft thunk of metal on porcelain drew Lola’s attention. She glanced up with heavy lashes and her posture stiffened. It was as if she had forgotten he was there.
“I’m sorry—”
“What’s wrong?”
They spoke at the same time and Lola, for the first time that night, cracked a sheepish smile. She finally put down the fork, ignoring her neglected meal. “It’s just been a long day.”
“Did something happen?” It was a gentle nudge because he didn’t want to push her if she was not ready to talk about it. Not knowing would slowly eat away at him, but he wanted to respect her privacy as much as possible.
“I…ran into Archie today. Alone.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but Javi heard it as loud as if she were speaking into a megaphone. His body grew hot and his leg began to bounce with the new energy coursing through his body.
In the back of his mind, he had wondered if this scenario might happen, though he routinely pushed it out of his mind. He planned on accompanying Lola wherever she went, but she had insisted on running errands by herself. Maybe he should have pushed harder to go with her.
“What did he say?” Each word was a struggle to get out. He didn’twantto know, but he needed to hear regardless.
Most likely sensing his internal struggle, Lola quickly continued. “It wasn’t bad. I mean, it definitely wasn’t pleasant, he was being his normal dickish self, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.
“I got to stand up for myself, something I should have done in the first place. I might have threatened bodily harm and told him that I thought Marisol deserved better than him.”
Despite the agitation building in his body, he let out a breathy laugh. “That’s my girl. He deserves to be put in his place.”
“Yeah, he did.” Her smile slowly faltered as she grew pensive. “But he said a few things that really got me thinking. I guess it’s just messing with me.”
