Page 99 of Falling for the Grinchy Bad Boy

37

JOY

Iwas attacking a chili dog with all the grace of a starving wolverine when trouble arrived in the form of designer heels clicking across the town square’s brick pavement. Chili sauce dripped down my chin, my hair was escaping from its ponytail in wind-blown wisps, and I was pretty sure I had chili on my festival coordinator T-shirt. With exactly thirty-seven items left on my pre-opening checklist and approximately zero time to pee, let alone eat like a civilized human being, graceful dining wasn’t exactly an option.

Maybe I was a little too comfortable in my current situationship with Cooper. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone else. I wasn’t looking to snare a man. I was there to get shit done and couldn’t care less what people thought about my quick meal.

Well, most people.

But the woman approaching me looked like she’d stepped off the cover of a magazine. Every blonde hair was perfectly in place despite the December wind, her makeup was flawless, and her black wool coat probably cost more than my car. She moved with the kind of confident stride that said she owned whatever space she happened to be occupying.

I knew exactly who she was before she opened her mouth. We went way back after all.

Lynn Ziegler. Cooper’s ex-fiancée. The woman who’d broken his heart and then disappeared to Salt Lake City like a coward.

She didn’t look like my old friend. She had changed. We both had, but she had always been classy. Elegant. And time had only given her more of a regal quality.

“Joy Murphy,” she said, her voice carrying the kind of honeyed sweetness that immediately put me on alert. “I heard you were back in town.”

I swallowed my bite of chili dog and wiped my mouth with a napkin, buying myself a few seconds to figure out what the hell was happening. “Lynn, I heard you were in Salt Lake City.”

“I was. But family emergencies have a way of bringing you home, don’t they?” Her smile was sharp as a blade. “I wanted to thank you for all your help organizing this lovely festival. Though I have to say, I’m surprised you found time for community service, what with trying to steal my man and all.”

The accusation perplexed me. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, don’t play innocent. It doesn’t suit you.” Lynn stepped closer, making a big show of looking me up and down. “We both know what you’re doing.”

I blinked, genuinely confused. “I’m trying to steal your man?”

“Yes.”

“Are you talking about the tennis pro? Because I hate to break it to you, but I’ve never even met that guy.”

Okay, yes, I knew who she was talking about, but fuck her. Was she staking a claim on Cooper? Did she not leave him at the altar after cheating on him? Where was Katrina when I needed her?

“Obviously Cooper,” Lynn said with disgust. “My fiancé.”

“Ex-fiancé,” I corrected automatically, then immediately regretted engaging with her obvious baiting.

“Temporarily ex,” she said with a smile that made my skin crawl. “I made a mistake leaving him, but I’ve learned from it. I’ve changed. And now I’m back to claim what’s mine. We have history. We’ve been together a long time. You’re not going to swoop in and take him.”

The possessive way she said “mine” made my stomach churn. Cooper wasn’t property to be claimed. He was a human being with his own thoughts and feelings and choices. But pointing that out to Lynn seemed like it would be about as productive as explaining quantum physics to a goldfish.

“Cooper can make his own decisions about who he wants to be with,” I said instead, crumpling up my chili dog wrapper.

“Oh, sweetie.” Lynn’s laugh was musical and completely devoid of warmth. “You really think this thing between you two means something, don’t you?”

The condescending tone made my hands clench into fists. “I think that’s between Cooper and me.”

“Let me save you some embarrassment and heartbreak,” Lynn continued, apparently warming to her theme. “You’re just a rebound. A pleasant distraction while he gets over the pain of losing the real thing. And the real thing—that’s me. The man is young and healthy, and he has needs. I don’t fault him for finding someone to warm his bed. It’s temporary. But I’m back. And I know how to please him.”

Her confidence was staggering. The sheer audacity of showing up after a year of radio silence and declaring herself “the real thing” left me momentarily speechless.

“You walked away,” I said finally. “You called off your engagement and left town. You don’t get to come back and act like nothing happened.”

“I told you, I made a mistake. But that’s what second chances are for, isn’t it? True love deserves forgiveness and another opportunity to flourish. It was a break. Nothing more. Cooper and I have a long history filled with ups and downs, Joy. We have a foundation that you could never understand or compete with.”

“I’m not competing with anyone,” I said, though even as the words left my mouth, I wondered if they were true. Standing here next to Lynn’s polished perfection, I felt like exactly what she was accusing me of being—a cheap substitute for the real thing.