If I had to guess, “don’t see him” means he knows damn well where I am and is trying to save me a beating. I definitely owe him.

“Well, if you do, tell him Scarlett Lashenta is out front asking for him.”

I feel like I’ve been punched. Not because of Scarlett. I can deal with her. But because Shay’s pink cheeks just turned ashen. Because this is really shitty timing. Again.

I catch her gaze and shake my head. “Don’t freak out,” I whisper.

Jake coughs. “Scarlett is here?”

“Yep,” Carter says. “And not even a little incognito. She’s holding court at the bar.”

“I have to see this,” Jake says.

The sound of their voices fades until I can only assume they’ve left the kitchen.

“She’s right on time,” Shay says, a cruel smile twisting her lips.

“She likes to be unpredictable,” I tell her. “It’s just the way she is.”

She huffs out a wry laugh and bends over to grab her panties off the floor. “You’d better get out there before she comes in here looking for you. I’m sure she has some life-changing news.”

“Don’t do this. Don’t shut me down.” I swallow. “Shay, what just happened between us . . . That was too fast. I’m sorry.”

She pulls her underwear up her legs then smooths down her dress. She won’t even look at me. “Stop being a prude. We scratched that itch, and now we can move on.”

Is she kidding me? “You’re going to drag me in here, beg me to fuck you senseless against the wall, and then go back to being cold? Back to hating my guts?”

She shrugs. “That’s all we’re good for, Easton. Fucking. Getting each other off.” She rakes her gaze down my body and back up. “And you’re good, I’ll give you credit for that. But I do remember you having a little more stamina.”

I don’t take the bait. If she wants to judge me for lasting less than ten minutes when I’ve wanted her for years, she can fucking judge me. That’s not the part of her little speech that bothers me. “We still need to talk.” It sounds so ridiculous now with a used condom hanging off my dick and my ex-wife in the next room. Grabbing a tissue from the desk, I clean up the condom and zip up my pants.

When I turn back to her, she’s frozen by the door, like she’s torn between running away and chewing me out.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking I was the most obvious person to warm your bed since you’re back in this tiny town, but now she’s here, so I can go.”