Chapter 3

Setting up the cart, I did a quick inventory. If business was good, I could sell out in half a day.

My smoked meats had a stellar reputation around town. I used top-grade cuts and crafted my own marinades.

Several high-end restaurants in the resort had tried to recruit me as head pitmaster with generous six-figure salaries.

I had turned them all down just so I could have flexible hours to wait on Scarlett hand and foot.

As I fired up the charcoal, Gus, an older pitmaster who ran a nearby diner, walked over.

"Hey, Logan. Trouble in paradise?"

"Your girl literally called my diner phone looking for you."

"Take it from an old dog—young couples fight all the time. Blow off some steam and make up. Don't let your ego cost you your relationship."

I kept wrapping meats and prepping sauces, not saying a word.

Gus continued, "She told me to let you know she blocked your number and on Snapchat. Said she doesn't want to see your face today and that you need to sit in the corner and reflect on what you did."

In the past, our fights were strictly between us—and Trevor, of course. Scarlett never aired our dirty laundry to strangers.

This time, she was truly desperate to put me in my place.

If this had happened months ago, I would have dropped to my knees, crying, begging for her forgiveness.

Now? It just felt pathetic.

"Gus," I said, wiping my hands on a towel. "Scarlett and I broke up."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. And remember that signature spice blend recipe of mine you’ve been begging to buy?"

"Give me five hundred bucks, and it’s yours. Cart and moped included."

Gus stared at me like I had grown two heads. "Five hundred? I offered you thirty grand to come work for me and share that recipe, and you wouldn't budge! What changed?"

He went quiet for a moment, then sighed softly. "Are you really letting it go, kid? And I don't just mean the barbecue."

I exhaled a cloud of white vapor into the chilly air and nodded.

"Forget five hundred," Gus said, clapping a heavy hand on my shoulder. "I'll transfer you five grand right now. Truth is, back when I tried hiring you, I planned to steal your secrets and fire you. But you’re a stand-up guy, Logan. I'm not ripping you off."

I chuckled. "Appreciate the honesty, you old bastard."

A few hours later, every last rib and brisket was sold out. I handed the keys to the cart and the moped over to Gus.

I unlocked a rental bike and pedaled back toward my apartment complex.

Right outside the front gate, Scarlett's luxury sedan was parked by the curb.

Inside, she was dressed in a pristine white dress, laughing playfully with Trevor in the passenger seat.

She tilted her elegant chin up, asking Trevor, "Well? How do I look in this dress today?"

"Stunning. Absolutely breathtaking," Trevor replied, his eyes filled with shameless lust.

I locked the rental bike and walked past them with an indifferent expression.

Seeing me, Scarlett smirked. She reached out and tapped Trevor on the chin.

"Trevor, my stocking has a little run near my thigh. Smooth it out for me, would you?"

Trevor looked thrilled, but put on a coy, hesitant act, glancing in my direction. "Oh... won't that mean touching your leg, Scarlett? Isn't that a little inappropriate?"

"Look, Logan's right there. Why don't you have him do it?"

Scarlett cast a disdainful glance my way. "Him? He doesn't deserve to touch me."

With that, she grabbed Trevor's hand, pressed it against her sheer-stockinged thigh, and guided it upward. Then she slammed on the gas and sped away.

I let out an amused snort.

Childish mind games only worked on foolish boys.

A year ago, a scene like that would have driven me completely insane with jealousy.

Now? My heart was as cold and still as the falling snow.