He pressed the toe of his shoe to mine. “I’m sorry, but Jesus Christ, Thad, you’ve had your head up your arse the entire time I’ve known you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did you miss the sympathy part of my last comment?”
He ignored me, his expression turning serious. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened, but if it’s made you rethink a few critical areas of your life, then I for one believe that’s a good thing.”
I sighed and took another swallow of beer. “Go on. Educate me. You’re going to anyway, so what the hell. Hit a man while he’s down, right?”
“Fucking drama queen,” he scolded. “But you know I’m right. The fact thatI’mhere in your apartment having this conversation with you, and not with Judd or Phillip, says everything I need to know about how good this could be for you. What the hell were you thinking, moving in with pasty face?”
I choked on my beer, spitting a mouthful down my shirt. I brushed at the wet patch, grumbling, “Pasty face? Really?”
JB harrumphed. “Judd’s a fucking idiot. Lily and I never understood what you saw in him other than he love-bombed you those first six months until you couldn’t think straight.”
I gave a derisive snort. “Yeah, well, that didn’t last long, did it?”
“It shouldn’t have lasted at all,” JB pressed, sounding angrier by the second. “He cut you off from me and you fucking let him. I’m still smarting about that, by the way, but that’s a conversation for another time.”
“Please,” I agreed. “I don’t have the energy for more self-flagellation. Just add it to the list.”
JB’s expression softened. “I’m sorry. But you were never going to be happy with Judd, and almost everyone saw it, except you. He loved your success, your money, your looks, the freedom you gave him, and the fact that he could lead you around by your nose, because most of the time it was stuck to a screen and you had no idea what was happening around you.”
I winced. “Gee, tell me what you really think.”
JB arched a brow.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “Go on.”
JB eyed me for a moment, then continued. “Judd was dicking around on you with your best friend, who, by the way, is a top-class arsehole, for five months, Thad.Fivemonths. Now, I’m not saying that you should’ve known, only that maybe you’d have picked up the odd clue if you’d been paying more attention and not laser-focused on your work to the exclusion of everything else. You moved Judd in with you like he was the puzzle piece you were looking for to make your mum happy. Then you left him to it and returned to your work like your mission was done. Tell me I’m wrong.”
I couldn’t, of course. I’d come to that same conclusion, and it wasn’t pretty.
“Yeah, I thought so.” JB sighed and twirled his bottle on the arm of the chair. “You know that I love your mum, right?”
I did know that, even if my mother wasn’t as fond of JB as she’d been of Phillip and Judd. Maybe that said a lot for her ability to read a man’s character. JB’s forthright manner played a role. He didn’t shower her with flattery like the other two had.
“If this is the part where you remind me that I can’t take responsibility for my mother’s ongoing disappointment, you needn’t bother. That ship sailed a long while ago.”
He regarded me with a level stare. “But has it, Thad? Has it really? Because if that’s true, then I’m wondering why the hell you’re back in this same place... again. Wasn’t your desperation to make her proud part of why you ran away to start with? So you didn’t have to face her? You still haven’t told her yet, have you?” he pressed. “About Phillip, I mean. And I bet you haven’t told her about selling the company either.”
Heat raced into my cheeks, and I couldn’t hold his gaze. “No. Not yet.”
JB sighed, regarding me like a wayward child. “Yeah, I thought not. She called me the day before yesterday, when she couldn’t get anything from Phillip about where you’d gone. It got me wondering why she’d be calling Phillip after what he’d done, until it hit me that you still hadn’t told her. Damn, Thad.”
“I know. I know.” I leaned forward and put my empty bottle on the coffee table. “It’s one of the first things I plan to do. You’ll be pleased to know there’s a list.”
“It better be a long one, because this whole fuckup has given you a chance to make some long-needed changes in your life and with the people close to you, including me. Don’t fucking screw it up.” He ended with a glare that pinned me to my seat.
“I won’t,” I promised.
JB rolled his eyes and got to his feet. When I joined him, I was pulled into a bear hug that took my breath away. When he finally let me go, he stepped back but kept his hands on my shoulders.
“I haven’t said anything about this guy you met—” JB’s gaze fixed on mine like he was willing me to pay attention. “—but anyone who can do this to you in just a few weeks, who has you being honest with yourself for the first time in maybe fucking forever, that man isn’t someone you should just walk away from. Not even if he pushed you away. The reasons he did that have to include how he feels about you. He cares enough for you to hurt him. And you sure care about him, that’s for certain. I’ve never seen you like this over a guy.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“So do what you can to unfuck this whole situation and then try and talk to him again.” He left his hands on my shoulders, waiting until I eventually nodded. “Good boy.” He gave my cheek a couple of light slaps. “And my work here is done. If I make it home before ten along with some of the best Thai takeoutin Wellington, then Lily might actually invite me back into our bed.”
I thanked him once again for dropping everything to come and get me, and when he was gone, I stood like a zombie in the middle of my living room, hating everything I saw. Memories of Judd were ingrained in every last piece of overpriced, uncomfortable furniture. The place reeked of affluence, not home.
