I make my way up the steps trying to calm myself down. When I walk in the door all of the lights are out. I walk into the living room and when I turn on the lamp my breath catches in my throat.

Dan is standing in the middle of the room with a bouquet of roses and he is wearing a suit. “Welcome home, beautiful.” The anger inside me vanishes as I realize how amazing the man I married is. I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck.

“If this is the kind of greeting I get, I’ll buy you flowers every day,” he whispers as he trails light kisses down my neck. Dan and I have been together for almost six years. We started dating my freshman year of college. It was weird at first because we had been friends for so long. Also he was there throughout my whole relationship with Brian, and saw the mess I was when it ended.

I pull back and look up at him thinking about how he saved me from the shell of a person I had turned into. “What did I do to get so lucky?” I laugh at how cheesy I sound. The thing is that it’s true he showed me that love didn’t always need to hurt and that people didn’t always take you for granted. From the moment we got together he has shown me every day how much he really loves me.

“I don’t know, I guess you just hit the jackpot.” He smiles and winks at me. “I’m taking you out to dinner, go get dressed.” I turn to walk away from him determined to put all thoughts of Brian out of my mind. If he is going to be here then I need to learn to deal with it. I can’t spend every day avoiding him, or letting him get the best of me. He ruined my one summer abroad, he’s not going to ruin the rest of my life. I can’t let him win again.

Chapter Four

Brian

I am on my way to meet a bunch of my buddies for dinner, but all I can think about is Jules. I have to say I am enjoying toying with her more than I probably should, but it serves her right. After everything she put me through I have no sympathy for her now, she was the one that ended things. Now I’m just trying to have a little fun.

I pull up to the restaurant and head inside. Jake, Ryan, Mason, and Hunter are all sitting at a table, beers already ordered. All five of us served together in the marines, it’s crazy how we lived so close to each other but had never met before then.

“Yo, dude! Why are you always late?” Jake shouts as he sees me coming.

I just shake my head. “I was dealing with some business.”

“Oh yea? You just got back into town today. What the hell business could you be doing?” Ryan looks over at me and I swear to God he knows I’ve been up to no good. He is like a damn human lie detector.

“I put in a bid for a house. The owners have been trying to settle forever and are just looking to get rid of it at this point.” I laugh as I remember Jules’ face when I called her neighbor.

“Putting down roots already?” Mason cocks an eyebrow at me. “I remember hearing you bitch for four years about how you were so happy to get out of this damn place.”

I’m about to answer him when something catches my eye. In a matter of seconds my entire body goes rigid as I see them. Dan and Jules. The motherfucker is holding her hand and she is smiling up at him. My hands fist at the table trying to control the anger flowing through my veins.

“Dude, did you just fucking growl?” I look up at Hunter with a “don’t fuck with me” expression on my face and he immediately backs off.

I’m staring at her, at their joined hands, at their smiling faces. When the waitress leads them back to a table our eyes meet and I can see the look of shock in her eyes at seeing me. She’s had it every time I approached her today, and I love it. She better fucking get used to it though because I’m not going anywhere. Jules slows her pace and Dan turns around his eyes following her gaze. When his eyes meet mine he looks more taken back than she does. She hasn’t told him? I thought that would have been the first thing she did when she got home. Maybe she didn’t tell him because she didn’t want to admit that she cared that I was back. If that’s the case then why would she have screwed me over in the first place? Dan leads her back to where the waitress went but her eyes don’t leave mine until she is out of sight.

I take a drink of the beer in front of me clenching my jaw and trying to make myself stay in this chair and not go after them.

“Brian, what the hell was that?” I look up and see them all looking at me like I’ve got two fucking heads.

“That? That was fucking Jules.” I take another drink of the beer as I see the realization set in.

“The girl you never stopped talking about?” “The bitch that fucked you over?” “That chick that married the asshole?” Questions are coming at me like wild fire but I don’t feel like answering any of them.

“The girl that has moved on with her life, and that’s exactly what the fuck I’m gonna do too,” I say with an irritated tone letting them know the conversation about Jules is over. “I’ll be back”

I get up and head toward the bathroom needing to walk a little and shake off some of the tension. When I turn down the hallway where the bathrooms are I see Jules coming out of the women’s room.

“Will you stop following me? It isn’t funny, Brian!” she yells in a whispered tone.

“Hey, princess, I know you think the world begins and fucking ends with you but I just need to take a piss.” Her cheeks flush and I smile at the effect I have on her.

“I’m just supposed to think this is a coincidence? You come into my shop, show up at Lacey’s office, and then you’re buying the house across the street from me?” Her hands are on her hips and I have to admit that she still looks sexy when she gets pissed off. It’s why our fights never lasted long when we were together. I couldn’t resist her like this.

I take a step forward so that we’re so close that an inch more and we would be touching. “I don’t know what to tell you other than you better get used to seeing me around ‘cause I ain’t going anywhere.”  I grasp her chin between my forefinger and my thumb. “Now why don’t you go back to Dan the Douche and stop accusing me of shit.” I take advantage of her frozen state and place a kiss on her cheek enjoying the feeling of my lips on her skin again. I pull away and then walk past her toward the bathroom.

“Why did you come back?” she asks, her voice so low that I almost miss the words.

“Guess that’s for me to know and you to drive yourself crazy over.” I step into the bathroom leaving her out there in the hallway. I know I’m acting like an asshole but I can’t control it. I am still as in love with her as I was the day she broke my heart. I’m acting like this because even after preparing myself, seeing her is fucking killing me, especially seeing her with that asshole. I take a deep breath to calm myself down hoping that she isn’t out there when I leave.

Then I see the last person I expected to, Dan. He takes a step toward me and looks as if he is about to say something. “Listen, dick, I advise you to fucking walk away right now.”

I walk past him slamming my shoulder into his as I pass. “You need to leave Julia alone.” I can tell he is trying to sound tough but the little rich boy inside is shining through.

I immediately stop walking and turn around to face him. My hand darts out and slams him against the wall causing him to flinch. “You will not tell me what to fucking do. I still remember you as the nerdy little shit you used to be before you became this hot shot CEO. I will do what I want. When I want. And with whomever the fuck I want to. She was mine first.”

I walk away before I decide to bury my fist in his face.

When I get back to the table, I mumble something about needing to leave and barely say goodbye to anyone.

The entire drive back to the hotel my hands are clutching the wheel so tight my knuckles are turning white. I can’t believe that asshole thought he was going to warn me away from Jules. Who the fuck does he think he is? I don’t give a shit what he wants, I’d never listen to his punk ass. Hell, I wouldn’t let him throw water on me if I was on fire.