Pushing the Boundaries (Picking up the Pieces #3) (30 page)

“So, things are good?”

Things at the salon were momentarily quiet, so Kenzie and I were taking a much needed Starbucks break while hanging out at my station.

A goofy smile spread across my lips.

“I’ll take that cheesy smile as a yes,” she laughed.

I nodded enthusiastically. “Things are fabulous.” As I spoke, my already-huge smile spread to almost-manic proportions. “Seriously, Kenz. He’s just…amazing.”

“You kinda look like the Joker right now, you know that?”

I threw a nail file at her head with a laugh. “Oh, shut up.”

“Seriously, though,” Kenzie started after taking another sip of her coffee. “I’m really happy for you. You deserve this. I’m glad you and Trevor finally got your heads outta your asses.”

“You’re so sentimental,” I teased, getting an eye roll from her.

“And good Lord,” she fanned herself. “Could that man be any hotter? I mean, come on! It’s ridiculous!”

I couldn’t disagree with her on that. My man was Fine with a capital
F
and three exclamation points.

“Am I interrupting?” a voice like honey asked from behind me.

Looking over my shoulder, I met the gaze one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. Long, pale strawberry-blonde hair draped like a curtain down her shoulders. A light-blue twin set which helped to accentuate crystal-blue eyes was matched with an ivory pencil skirt and nude heels. This woman looked like she’d just stepped out of an Anne Taylor catalog. It definitely wasn’t an outfit you’d typically see someone wearing on a Saturday in our small town, but something told me this woman most definitely wasn’t the jeans and t-shirt type. Everything about her screamed posh.

“Hi,” I replied cheerfully. “What can I do for you?” The smile she gave me was less than warm and sent a chill down my spine.

She held up one of her hands, showing me the light-pink polish. “I’ve heard this is the best place in town for a manicure.” Her words, while complimentary, came across completely fake. But she was a paying customer, so I pushed her frosty demeanor to the back of my mind and kept a polite smile plastered across my face.

“Well, you’ve got good timing; my next appointment isn’t for another hour,” I explained, waving to the chair Kenzie had just vacated. I pointed toward the wall where we kept all of our polish. “Why don’t you pick a color and I’ll get set up.”

The woman’s heels clacked against the tiled floor as she went over and perused our selection of nail polishes. My gaze cut over to Kenzie to see her face scrunch up like she’d just bitten into a lemon. Yeah, she got the same chilly feel from this woman I did.

The lady came back to my table and set the polish down before taking a seat and primly placing her hands on the table, a massive princess-cut diamond adorning her left ring finger. I picked up the bottle and noticed it was another pale pink, just a shade or two darker than the one already on her nails. I wasn’t surprised. No way would a woman like this wear something as outlandish as blue or purple.

“So,” I started as I began removing the existing polish from her well-manicured nails. “Are you new in Cloverleaf? I don’t recall seeing you around here.”

I was never really a fan of idle chitchat, but it came with the territory. Luckily, having grown up here, most of the clients I saw had known me for years, so those conversations never felt forced like this one did now.

“I’m here visiting someone,” she informed me.

“Oh, that’s nice. I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay here so far.”

“It’s certainly been…different.” Her tone made it obvious that she didn’t consider different to be a good thing. “I guess I’m just not used to being in such a small town.”

“Cloverleaf might be small, but trust me, we have great things to offer. Virgie May’s just down the street has some of the best home cooking you’ll ever have the pleasure of eating.”

Her nose scrunched up as she regarded me. “I’m not really one for
home cooking
.”

Yeah, this definitely wasn’t a woman I’d ever be long-term friends with—or even short-term, for that matter.

“You could always try Colt 45’s. It’s the best bar in town.” I didn’t know why I kept trying to sell this woman on all the wonderful things in my little town. I just couldn’t help myself; I loved Cloverleaf and everything about it.

“Bars aren’t really my scene,” she said with a smile that could freeze water.

Okay, so no more trying to talk up my beloved town. Got it.

Instead of trying for more polite conversation, I went about doing my job, filing, buffing and painting my little heart out in silence.

We both remained that way for several minutes before she finally asked, “I see you’re offering waxing and massages?”

“Oh,” I looked up and followed the woman’s eyes to my nearly-finished back rooms. “No, not quite yet. My husband and his friend are just about finished with the construction.” I smiled at the thought of Trevor. Man, I was turning into one of those sappy women…and I loved it.

“Oh, that’s sweet. You know, my fiancé was pretty handy, too. I love watching him work up a sweat.”

I laughed in agreement. “Yeah, nothing better than a hot, sweaty man straining his muscles, is there?”

“No there’s not.” She studied me intently, something in her gaze sending my instincts on high alert.

“So, is your fiancé in town with you?”

“Oh, he lives here temporarily actually. I’m from Louisiana.” As soon as she said that my back and shoulders went stiff, a feeling of impending dread coursing through me. “That’s actually why I’m here,” she continued. “We had a little bit of a falling out a while back, but we’ve been talking a lot lately and have managed to move past the things that strained our relationship. We’re better than ever now.”

“That’s nice,” I offered, not knowing what else to say.

“Well, you must understand all about that, seeing as you’re married. It’s tough, you know? Relationships are difficult. It takes a lot of work, but when you really love someone, you’ll look past all the bad because you know the good times are worth it.” She let out a haughty laugh. “Well, I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir. What married woman hasn’t been there, right? And my fiancé and I have been through so much together. I’m just happy he’s moving back home where he belongs.”

“That’s good for you and your fiancé,” I replied, trying to ignore the twisted knots forming in my stomach. The coffee I’d been drinking just minutes ago felt like it wanted to come back up.

“Yes, he’s finally seen the error of his ways. He told me just the other evening that he can’t wait to come home and start his life with me. He’s starting at his father’s company as soon as we get back. Everything is turning out just as it should be.”

All of the air left my body, and I felt as though I couldn’t breathe. Everything she was saying was just too coincidental. It couldn’t be.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh, silly me,” she laughed cheerfully…way too cheerfully. “I’m Marissa Boudreaux. Well, soon to be Marissa Devareau. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

No, no, no, no.

My vision wavered, blackness closing in. This couldn’t be happening. No, not Trevor. He wouldn’t do something like this to me. He loved me. He swore it. He couldn’t have lied to me.

My heart felt like it was breaking in my chest.

“Devareau,” I whispered brokenly. “No. No, no, no.”

“Is something wrong?” the woman who’d just destroyed my life asked, but I couldn’t focus on anything. Tunnel vision had taken over. I only had one goal.

“I have to go,” I breathed out as I stood from my station and stumbled, bumping into the table and knocking everything over.

“Lizzy?” I heard a voice call, but it sounded like it was coming from so far away. “Lizzy? Lizzy, honey. Are you okay?” Kenzie stood in front of me with her hands on my shoulders, concern etched into her expression.

“I have to go. I have to go,” I repeated as I made my way to the front door of the salon. “I have to go.”

Without another word, I booked it toward Ink Addicts, not bothering to get in my car and drive since it was only a little under a mile. With every step, fury took hold of my despair, twisting it inside of me until I felt nothing but rage. I was going to kick his ass if it was the last thing I did.

I slammed through the front door of Trevor’s shop and stomped in with all the righteous indignation of a woman scorned. I didn’t even care that there were people everywhere to witness the fallout. I was going to Kick. His. Ass.

“You son of a bitch!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “You’re
engaged
?”

“You son of a bitch!”

My gaze shot up to the front of the shop to see Lizzy standing there looking like she was about to start breathing fire at any minute. Everyone around me grew deathly silent.

“You’re
engaged
?”

What the ever-loving hell?

“Huh?”

“You heard me, asshole.” Lizzy charged at me like a bull ready to gore the living shit out of a matador. “You’re engaged! To another woman!”

“What the hell are you talking about? I’m not engaged to anyone. I’m married to you.” She was confusing the hell out of me.

“Oh, yeah?” she laughed cynically. “Then you wouldn’t mind explaining why your lovely
fiancée,
Marissa, decided to stop by the salon for a manicure today.”

My jaw dropped and my eyes went wide. “Oh, shit.”

“Yeah,
oh, shit
! She couldn’t stop going on and on about how you two had rekindled your romance and you were planning on moving back home to start your family.” She finished that last part using finger quotes.

This situation was quickly spiraling out of control.

“Baby, that’s not true at all. She’s a manipulative bitch. I swear, I’ve had nothing to do with that woman in years!”

“So you haven’t been in contact with her recently.” It wasn’t a question. Her hands were on her hips, her eyes narrow as she studied me.

Dammit
.

“Okay, yes. We’ve talked. But it’s not what you think!” I rushed when I saw the tears welling up in her eyes.

The laugh that left her throat sent chills up my spine. It was anything but happy. “I can’t believe this shit. I
knew
I shouldn’t have trusted you! You’re just like every other lying, cheating, piece–of–shit asshole out there.”

Each tear that coursed down her cheek was like a knife to my heart, but at the same time, her words built an anger inside me I couldn’t ignore.

“Lizzy, you need to calm down and let me explain.” I tried desperately to remain calm, knowing she wasn’t the most rational of people when she was upset. The last thing either of us needed was to say words we’d never be able to take back.

“Calm
down
? Fuck you, you bastard! I want a divorce!”

Words like that.

My breathing became labored. I could feel beads of sweat popping up along my forehead. I was having one wicked feeling of déjà vu. Standing before me was yet
another
person in my life who would rather think the worst of me than give me a chance.

“You’re treading on really dangerous ground, sweetheart,” I warned. I wanted…no, I
needed
to know she believed in me. That she’d trust me enough to hear my side of the story—the
real
side—before doing something that couldn’t be undone. “What she told you today wasn’t anywhere near the truth. You need to let me explain—”

“I don’t need to let you do shit! What I
need
, Trevor, is for you to get your shit out of my house and out of my life! This is over. I’m so done.”

And that cut worse than anything I’d experienced in my life. Lizzy’s words hurt worse than anything Marissa or my father had ever done to me. This was the woman I loved with everything I was. I’d put her above all else. And she couldn’t even trust in me enough…believe in me enough to let me tell her the truth. I could take that from my father; hell, he’d been shoveling that shit in my direction practically since birth. But I couldn’t handle Lizzy looking at me as if I was beneath her.

Something inside me died with her words. And in that moment, I realized one very important truth: handing my heart over to anyone led to more pain than it was worth. I was finished. She’d told me she was done. Well, so was I. I couldn’t even bring myself to fight with her.