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“I wasn’t very good at it, but it wasn’t because of my age.” Regret and grief of what could have been settled around my shoulders, and I needed to shake it off. “Anyway, I don’t really want to get into that. As for your guy, just ask him what he’s feeling. If he keeps going out with you, he’s interested in something. Ask him what that is, and then decide for yourself if you want the relationship to move forward.” I looked past her just in time to see a familiar hat peeking over the hill. “Oh, Brendan is coming. Go hide! Actually, crap. Don’t hide. Stay with me.”
“Damn it. I don’t need another one of his lectures,” Kim growled as she ducked into the far empty stall.
“But I don’t want to talk to him either!” I grabbed my bag, but there was no escape for me. He entered the stables just as I was trying to walk out. Shit. I couldn’t just run. “Brendan,” I said so brightly I made myself cringe. “Good morning. I was just checking on Silva, and now I’m leaving because I’ve got a million things to do today.”
He quickly grabbed my arm to stop me. “You’ve never been one to run away, Jillian,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t tell me that you’re about to start now.”
“I’m not running away,” I lied. “I have a dissertation to write and—”
“A conversation to have. Jillian, we need to talk about last night.”
I was all too aware of Kim hiding in the back. “We really don’t. At least not right now. Maybe over lunch. Or dinner. Tomorrow might be better.”
“Are you ashamed?” His eyes studied me intently. “Technically, we’re married, and we’ve never had any issues in the sex department.”
There was no way that Kim didn’t hear that. I sighed and closed my eyes. “This wasn’t supposed to happen, Brendan. It complicates things, and I don’t want things complicated.”
“It’s just sex, Jillian. It doesn’t have to complicate anything. It’s not like we plan to actually pursue this marriage. You just need to lighten up a little bit.”
Pain shot through me. I’d been preparing for some sort of conversation about how good we were together. Not a play for us being fuck buddies, and it hurt more than I wanted to admit. “I’ve got things to do, Brendan. I’ll see you later, okay?”
He let me go. “Okay. I just want to make sure that we’re on the same page.”
“Yup. Same page. Bye.” He walked away, and the stall door at the end opened, the hinges giving a creepy sounding creak.
Before I even looked, I could feel Kim’s angry glare. “Seriously? You want a divorce but you’re already fucking my brother. You really are a crazy bitch.”
I opened my mouth. “But—”
Kim’s lip curled into a snarl. “But nothing. Why sleep with him? Just because you could, or is it the money?” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I thought I was wrong about you.”
I couldn’t even look at her as she stomped by. Instead, I just moaned and leaned my forehead against the wood. “Don’t fall for him, Darling. Sex and men are nothing but trouble, and I’m sure that stallions go through the same thing.”
She whinnied, and Silva glared at me. Sitting heavily in the chair, I pulled out my paper. Sex with Brendan was complicated, but it made some things very clear. I didn’t belong here, and Brendan and I weren’t meant to work out.
“Dissertation and divorce,” I murmured. Those were the only things I needed to focus on.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Brendan
“Call Ticker. Lana needs shoeing, and he isn’t scheduled to come for another two weeks. I don’t think she’s going to wait that long,” Ben said as he straightened and patted the girl’s flank.
“I thought I made it clear. I don’t like Ticker,” I snapped. “Fire him. Find me someone else. Who does Blackwell use?”
“Ticker. Everyone in this area uses Ticker. There aren’t a lot of farriers around. Why are you in such a bad mood?”
“Not liking Ticker isn’t an indication that I’m in a bad mood,” I grunted. Seeing the look of horror on Jillian’s face had put me in a horrible mood. It was sex. It was great sex, so she really didn’t need to duck me like I had the plague.
“No, but yelling at everyone you come across generally means that you’re in a bad mood. You also made your staff work through lunch. I’m fairly certain that’s not even legal.”
Hanging up the saddle, I glared at him. “I’m trying to expand operations here and prove that I can handle both my land and Blackwell’s. If that means that everyone needs to work a little bit harder, then so be it.”
“It’s your wife, isn’t it? You two have a fight?”
“What, are you on her side now? Sticking up for your therapist?”
