ZOEY"You look beautiful."

I eye rolled, scoffing. "It had better be a good reason if you have me coming out to meet you."

His brows raised. "Don't forget you used to be excited to be with me."

"That was in high school, William. Grow up and move on because I have." I adjusted myself on the chair opposite his, a table between us.

I picked up the menu, perusing through the drink section, opting for the healthy ones.

A waitress approached our table.

"I'll have a bottle of Clicquot. As for her, she'll have a glass of cranberry juice."

I raised my head for the menu to give him a stare. "Don't pretend you know me."

His hand snaked out to reach mine across the table. "But I do know you."

I let it linger before removing mine. I snapped the menu close. "Get me a bottle of red wine. Any brand is good." I ordered, tearing my eyes away from him to the waitress.

She nodded and left.

"You don't like cranberry juice anymore?"

"Like I said, I have grown up and moved on." I leaned backwards, studying his composed appearance. "Why did you call me out here, William?"

His ocean blues searched my face. I wondered what he was looking for. "Tell me, Zoey, are you really dating Zac because you love him or because he's suddenly rich and has lost all that fat."

I shifted. "My personal life is none of your business."

"And you think he's perfect? That he doesn't have eyes for other girls?" He mused, a corner of his mouth quirked.

My brows furrowed. "My life is none of your business! But if you must know, I chose Zac because he is nothing like you. While you choose to be an unrepentant cheat, he is loyal and loving. Have you forgotten why I broke up with you in the first place, you cheating jerk?!" I was riled, and I didn't want to be.

At least, not in the presence of strange faces. I was a public figure myself and getting a negative report about my behavior on the news was the last thing on my to-do list, especially since I was trying to make a lasting name for myself.

"Come on, Zo. It was a mistake and I apologized a thousand times." He appeared apologetic.

My frown deepened, eyeing him suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"Making you realize how good we are together." He reached out for my hand again.

I snatched it back. "You have a girlfriend, William. Or so I heard."

"Yeah. Something like that." His response was vague. "But I don't love her, it's you I want."

Annoyance sprouted. "If this is why you brought me out here, you just wasted my time." I made to stand up and leave.

"So you trust Zac?" He abruptly changed the conversation much to my relief.

I sat back down. "Yes. Absolutely."

"Hm."

I was about to ask what he meant when the waitress arrived with our order and placed our drinks before us, respectively.

"Enjoy." She said politely, after making a quick work of uncorking the bottles and filling our glasses before walking away.

"What's that?" I asked when we finally had our privacy again.

"What's what?" He took a sip from his flute.

"The 'hm'. What does that mean?" I inquired, taking a small sip from mine.

"What if I have proof that Zac is not loyal and loving as you put it?"

The pit of my stomach clenched, denial on the tip of my tongue. "What do you mean?"

"Why didn't you come watch the game yesterday?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Why? Were you expecting me there?"

"You should have come see what I mean."

Curiosity mixed with annoyance. "Spill it out already."

"Your loyal and loving boyfriend left the stadium with another girl." He informed.

The pit clenched tighter, denial still on the tip of my tongue. "What girl? You know what," I immediately added, not wanting to believe a word he was saying. He could be lying. Trying to make me see Zac in a bad light and come back to him. "I don't even care because I know it's a lie. You're just trying to make me come back to you."

"You think so?" Blonde stray curls fell into his face, shadowing the looks in his eyes.

William was handsome, he knew this and never failed to flaunt it before girls. And they were lots of them.

Thankfully, Zac was a far cry from his former fat self and was currently even more handsome than William, which was a lot coming from me.

I'd never be caught dead with a physically ugly guy. Zac had the money, I suspected it was even more than William's net worth. It should be considered he was presently the highest paid player in the country. He wasn't just rich. He was a fucking billionaire with many zeros.

For me, Zac was a dream come true and he knew how to treat a lady. I was never letting go of him. In a world filled with crazy, stupid men, he was a gem. Thank goodness he wasn't holding the past against me and loved me regardless.

Over my dead body would I let William ruin what I had with him.

"I know so." I replied confidently.

He brought out his phone, pressed some buttons and slid it across to me.

The picture caught my eye and when I picked to look, my blood boiled.

It was one of him and that stupid Dahlia. He even carried her daughter and had a hand draped across her shoulder.

"They look like one big, happy family, don't you think?" If William was taunting me, I really couldn't tell.

But at this point, I couldn't tell anything anymore. My brain was conceiving no thoughts except wringing Dahlia's neck.

I knew Zac wouldn't do this to me. It could only be Dahlia trying to force her way into his life. He was too sweet to do that to me. That dumped, disowned gold-digger!

I knew what to do. I knew just what to do. Zac was out of the country on an emergency. It would give me time to send a message to the boyfriend-stealing dropout.

Pretending I wasn't affected by that picture, I flashed a smile, took a long sip of my wine. "I trust my Zac, William. If this is the reason you called me out here, then you just wasted both our time." I checked my gold wristwatch. "I need to get going."

Before he could say another word, I'd bolted out of the chair and headed for the door, ready to make a call.