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“She’s half in love with you,” I blurted out before I could stop myself, then slapped a hand over my mouth. Fuck, I hated my inability to keep thoughts in my head at times.
Jordan jerked in reaction to my announcement, causing hot tea to slosh over the rim of the cup he was adding honey to. Cursing, he shook out his rapidly reddening hand. “What are you talking about?”
I sighed heavily and dropped my hand. “Arella.” There was no use in lying about it. “She looks at you like you hung the moon. And while I know you feed off that kind of adoration from the masses of the female population who fall at your feet with just a flick of those pretty, long lashes of yours, my sister doesn’t know the score like they do.”
“Arella isn’t one of the masses to me,” he said, his voice becoming all growly.
“Good. But she’s also young. Too young for anything, serious or otherwise. You’re free to do whatever you want, with anyone you want. Except her.”
He glared at me angrily. “You honestly think I would do something like that? She’s my friend, Nevaeh. Like Mia—”
I held up a hand. “I sure as hell hope not. I know about you and Mia.”
He cursed viciously. “That was a one-time thing. She was hurting, and things got crazy. It was long before Barrick even came into her life, and it will never happen again.”
“I didn’t say it would,” I told him frustratedly. “I’m just saying you’ve never had a purely platonic relationship. And considering how my sister feels about you, I can’t see you starting with her.”
“Okay, first, Mia and I are completely platonic. I didn’t think of her that way before we had sex, and I don’t think about her that way now. And I don’t think of Arella in that way either.”
A soft gasp had us both turning to see Arella standing only a few feet away, Braxton right beside her. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at Jordan as if her heart was breaking. “Y-you slept with Mia?” she whispered, her voice cracking.
Jordan’s face paled, and he took a step toward her, causing the uncovered tea to slosh him again. But he didn’t seem to feel the sting of the heat burning his hand this time. “Arella—”
Her tear-glazed eyes went from him to me. “I really can’t believe you, Nevi. Braxton’s not the only guy in the world who can wait years for the one they love. There are plenty of other good guys out there just like him. Why did you have to go put your nose in my business?”
“I’m sorry,” I tried to apologize. “Arella, I only wanted to—”
“If you say ‘protect me,’ I’m going to scream. Everyone wants to protect everyone else in this family. Yet they don’t know how to keep their damn noses out of everyone else’s business and worry about themselves for once. Maybe if they just left things alone, everyone wouldn’t be so miserable all the time.” With a huff, she turned her glare back to Jordan. “And just for the record, I’m not in love with you. You don’t have to worry, because I don’t want you like that either.”
Turning, she walked away without a single glance back.
Jordan went after her, dropping the cup of tea in the trash on his way out the door. I watched them, feeling guilty for having stuck my foot in it. If I’d kept my mouth shut, my sister wouldn’t have been so upset.
Braxton walked over to me. Taking my coffee from my hand, he lifted it to his lips and took a sip. “Your dad wants to talk to you,” he said when he handed my cup back to me.
I should have known he would. Not much got by him, apparently not even when he was less than twenty-four hours out of a life-changing surgery.
Chapter 23
Nevaeh
Daddy’s room was empty of everyone except him when Braxton opened the door for me a few minutes later. For some reason, I felt nervous as I stepped inside and the door closed behind me. It was just him and me in the huge room, and I wiped my sweat-dampened palms on my jeans as I walked toward him.
He was still sitting in the chair where I’d left him earlier, his jaw tense as he watched me approach.
“Hi, Daddy,” I greeted with a nervous smile.
Something softened in his blue-gray eyes when he saw how anxious I was, and he nodded to the chair beside his as I neared. “Sit with me. We need to talk.”
I sat on the edge of the chair, turning my body to face him.
“Has anyone ever told you what a fuckup I used to be, Nevaeh?” he asked after a moment.
I blinked at him from behind my glasses. “You could never be a fuckup, Daddy.”
His laugh was self-deprecating, and he shook his head, causing his long hair to fall into his face. “Trust me on this, sweetheart. I was the biggest fuckup in history. The day I realized your mom loved me the way I loved her was the same day she left me. That was when I checked myself in to rehab for the first time. Sure, I’d gone plenty of times before, but it was never my choice. Losing her made me open my eyes and realize I was tired of letting my addiction mess up my life.”
I frowned at him, still unable to picture him the way he was trying to paint himself. “What did you do to make Mom leave you? I mean… I just can’t picture the two of you breaking up. You get upset when you’re away from each other for more than a few hours at a time.”
