Chapter 34

Yup, it’s still there.

Just like how it was there three minutes ago.

And thirty seconds before that.

I can’t stop touching my new necklace, mostly to remind myself that yes, it’s real. That did happen. Pasha totally gave me expensive jewelry.

And then he kissed me.

I wouldn’t have been opposed to another “tabletop tenderizing,” as Hazel would so crudely word it, but I’m actually kind of glad he didn’t make a move for it. It’s one thing to know I’m the subject of his fantasies—it’s a whole other thing to know he enjoys me in the small moments, too.

At least… I think he does? I hope he does? It’s honestly a bit confusing with him at times, so I’m just going to ride this as it rolls.

“Gawdayum.”

I’m startled out of my daydreaming by Hazel in the office doorway, one hand clutching her coffee mug and the other dramatically clasping her own throat.

“Girl! Gurl! What is this?” She gestures at the necklace, slack-jawed. “Who? What? When? And why haven’t you married him yet?”

“First of all, how do you know it’s a ‘him’?”

Hazel looks at me like I’ve just said the dumbest thing ever. “Because your sister isn’t exactly flush with cash and your mother would sooner wear that herself than give it to anyone else, least of all you.”

She has a point.

“So?!” She plops down in another office chair and wheels over to me, sipping her coffee with an excited grin. “Details!”

I know I’m blushing. I’m also toying with the pendant for the thousandth time. “Well, Pasha just⁠—”

My cell phone starts buzzing on my desk. I’m hoping it’s Pasha, but…

My heart sinks into my gut.

Conrad.

“Ugh.” I send him to voicemail and shove the phone into my desk drawer. “Take a hint, asshole.”

Hazel frowns. “Was that⁠—”

It buzzes again, louder and angrier now that it’s inside the drawer. I yank the drawer open and hang up on him again.

“Super annoy⁠—”

Again.

Hazel grabs the phone from my desk and answers. I try signaling for her to stop, don’t talk to him, but she blatantly ignores me. “Daphne Covington’s phone. How may I direct your call?”

I narrow my eyes at her.

She simply grins and winks at me before returning to her professional mode. “I’m sorry, but she’s unavailable. No, I mean she’s unavailable to you. Specifically you. No, I won’t. No. No, and no. Mister Ewing,” she says with her professional laugh, “I don’t think you understand what the word ‘no’ means. You will not speak to Ms. Covington, and you will cease any and all attempts to contact her after this phone call. Understood?”

I cringe. All these dramatics have got to be unnecessary, right? I have this under control! Ignoring him is better than baiting him. Right?

… Right?

“Okay, I’ll try saying it again in very tiny words for your very tiny brain.” Hazel’s voice drops into a far more threatening tone. “You no call Daphne no more. No. Call. Daphne. Okay? No more. No, no, I don’t want to hear your excuses. Man up and eat the shit you threw.” She hangs up and hands me back my phone.

I don’t know if I’m feeling pissed, violated, or relieved. “I can handle him.”

“Really?” Her brows nearly hit her hairline. “So how is he still able to call you?”

“I…”

“Need to block his pathetic ass.”

“How do I do that?” I pull my phone away when she reaches for it again. “No, not literally. I mean, how do I block someone I spent over half a decade with?”

“Easy. Go to ‘Contacts,’ hit his name, and then ‘Block This Caller.’”

I’m about to roll my eyes at her when I spot someone else standing in the doorway. “Sofi! Hi! Um…” I glance at Hazel, who looks smug enough to rope Pasha’s sister into this debate and I don’t think I want that. Hazel is tough enough without reinforcements. “What’s up?”

Sofi glances between us, her expression just as skeptical as Hazel’s. “I heard about the necklace and came by to see it for myself. Now, I’m glad I did. Who’s calling you?”

“Nobod—”

“Her ex.”

I shoot my best friend a deadly glare. She pointedly ignores me and focuses on doing exactly what I don’t want her to do. “Sidney Conrad Ewing can’t take a fucking hint. He’s been blowing up her phone nonstop. I was just telling Daph she needs to block him.” She grinds the last two words through her teeth and a side-eye.

“Agreed.” Sofi nods at the phone in my hand. “Block him. Be done with him.”

Officially feeling cornered. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Right now.”

Okay. Not loving the pushy version of Sofiya Chekhov. “I said I’ll take care of it.”

“You don’t understand.” She walks over to the other empty office chair and slides it up to my desk with a sigh. “How do you think it looks? That your ex, who is clearly toxic, can still call you? And text you?” She leans forward. “Because you allow him to?”

Something churns in my stomach. It’s not my baby, and I don’t like it. “But I keep telling him to stop.”

“Make him stop.”

“But—”

“Daphne.” Sofi reaches across the desk to take my hand in hers. “You can do this. You need to do this. Not just for yourself, but for his sake, too. You think my big brother is just going to sit on the sidelines and allow this asshole to keep harassing you? Trust me, his version of ‘blocked caller’ is a lot bloodier than a little button.”

I didn’t think about that. I haven’t really seen Pasha in his full form and I’m not sure I want that unleashed on Conrad. Even though I feel like he deserves it.

There’s a part of me that agrees with them. It wonders why the hell haven’t I just cut the last ties with this backstabbing traitor and given myself peace.

But every time I’ve hovered over that button, I haven’t felt right. For so many years, Conrad was my friend. Then he was my boyfriend, and then my fiancé. He would have been my husband by next year, had he been a decent man.

He’s not a decent man, though.

And Sofi’s right. It’s not a good look for me if I insist on keeping this final connection to him open.

Texts start pouring in.

ASSHOLE: Tell your guard dogs to back off

ASSHOLE: I just want to talk to you

ASSHOLE: Grow the fuck up and answer your phone

I take a deep breath. I could block him now. But I should at least do the polite thing and give him a courtesy notice.

ME: I don’t want to talk to you. Period.

ME: Since you can’t respect my boundaries, I’m blocking you.

ASSHOLE: Wait, what?

ASSHOLE: Are you fucking serious?!

I glance up at my friends, who are leaning in to see if I actually do it. At the same time, they rub my shoulders and murmur words of encouragement to help me through.

“You can do this.”

“You’ll feel better. Trust me.”

“Trust us. We’ve got you.”

Another text from him pops up at the top of the screen. I don’t look at it. I’m done.

With one tap of my thumb, he’s blocked.

I blow out a heavy sigh of relief the second his profile vanishes from my contacts. They were right—I do feel better. Like I can finally breathe again.

“Please don’t tell Pasha,” I mutter, unable to look Sofi in the eyes just yet.

She sucks some air through her teeth. “I don’t know if I can keep this a secret, Daph. Just being honest. But,” she adds when I clearly start panicking, “since you did take care of it, I’ll keep this all to myself for as long as he doesn’t ask about it.”

“And if he does?”

She smiles. “Then I’ll tell him you did the right thing and blocked the assbag.”

I guess that’s better than the alternative—telling Pasha just how long I’ve allowed Conrad to try to shoulder his way back into my life.

Hazel glances between us. “Should I be worried about the new guy? Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the protective vibe. But⁠—”

“My brother is hardheaded and intense,” Sofi answers, “but he’s a good man. Family means everything to him. And now, Daphne is our family, too.” I recognize her sweet smile and soft voice more and more like it’s a sort of mask she wears in public.

A smokescreen, So people don’t know about her.

Or her family.

With a capital “F.”