Page 50 of Until Joy

“Normally I would love to have you and Randy come for a visit, but not if you’re coming to tell me how to live my life. I’m not a kid anymore.”

“JoJo, I know you’re not a kid. But you came back from London wrecked. I will not allow that to happen to you again. I know it was some man. And you’re making another shitty choice.”

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. I hadn’t told a soul what had happened in London. It hadn’t been some man I’d dated or had an affair with. It was worse. Of course I had come home wrecked.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I snarled. “What’s more, if you come here like some judgmental big brother, I will rip your nuts off!”

“He’s a biker!”

“I don’t care if he has three eyes and belongs to Hell’s Angels. He’s the man I want, so shut the hell up!”

“JoJo—”

I pulled in a deep breath. Seth and I, going head-to-head, never accomplished a damn thing. I needed to calm down.

“Seth. I’m twenty-four,” I said softly. “You’ve always said I had a good head on my shoulders. You’ve got to trust me on this. When you can come and visit me with no preconceived notions, and no intentions of breaking us up, I would love to see you.”

I could hear him breathing through his nose. “Why didn’t you tell me about this guy before?”

“I did. I told you about Graham. He’s the guy who bought Miss Laverne’s groceries and painted her house.”

“That’s him?”

I snickered. “Yep, that’s Graham.”

“Aw, shit.”

My snicker turned into a laugh. “Let me know when you’re coming for a visit. Love you, big brother.”

“Love you, too.”

I hung up the phone, then turned my eyes up to look at Graham. I still couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking or feeling. This was not good.

“You, okay?”

Graham nodded, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. “I'll get dinner going.”

As he walked away, I couldn't shake the feeling that my brother's words had done more damage than I'd realized. Seth was loud enough that I was afraid Graham had heard every word about bikers and my past, and now he was pulling away.

I just didn't know why.

Chapter 14

I’d been standing in the kitchen, trying to focus on prepping dinner, when Joy’s voice cut through the house like a blade. I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but when someone’s yelling about ripping off nuts, you tend to pay attention.

I walked out into the living room and stood against the wall. I wanted her to know that I had her back, but she was so intent on her conversation, she didn’t notice me at first.

Seth said something, then she fired back.

“I don’t care if he has three eyes and belongs to Hell’s Angels. He’s the man I want, so shut the hell up!”

Shit, this was about me. I felt all my muscles lock up.

Fuck!

Her back was to me as she paced the living room, her phone clutched tightly in her hand. I watched as her ponytail bounced with each step she took. I’d been halfway through prepping the chicken for the grill, but now all I could do was stand there and force myself not to snatch the phone from her hand and yell at her brother.

She stopped moving and took in a long breath. Then she started talking again in a soft voice. “Seth. I’m twenty-four. You’ve always said I had a good head on my shoulders. You’ve got to trust me on this. When you can come and visit me with no preconceived notions, and no intentions of breaking us up, I would love to see you.”