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“Well then I won’t tell you that Jana looks pale and sad, withdrawn. She probably wanted to cancel on me, but she did as promised and gave me an evening of good food and great conversation.”
I was still jealous as hell of Tate, but not the way I was when he’d first told me about her invitation. This time, it was because he was welcome and I wasn’t. “Yeah I’m glad for you.”
He laughed and shook his head like it was the most amusing thing in the world. “You’re a terrible liar, but that’s okay. I’d be feeling like an asshole too in your position.”
“Yeah, thanks,” I told his retreating form and turned back to finish off the nachos, wishing I was sitting in Jana’s colorful kitchen eating it while the smells of cooking still filled the house. Her sweet smile shining down on me, waiting for me to take that first bite. “Shit.” I stood and went to get my phone, shooting off a quick text that simply read, “thanks for the food.” I waited and waited but she never replied.
I felt shitty. Awful. But also, proud that she’d stood up for herself.
Too bad it was against me.
I grabbed the bottle of Jack and went to my room to face my demons.
Alone.
***
As soon as my eyes opened—for the second time—I hopped up, showered to wash off the drunk sweats and got dressed. I had only one thing on my agenda for the day and that was getting Jana to talk to me. I owed her an apology, a bigger one than I knew how to give so I hoped simple would do. When I finally left my room, I found Tate already in the kitchen. “You’re up early.”
He shook his head. “No, you are. Tough night?”
I shrugged and went for the coffee pot. “You could say that. What are you up to today?”
“Meeting with the lawyers.”
“I’m headed to Jana’s. I’ve got to get her to listen to me so we can talk.” I shook my head and set the empty mug in the sink. “Listen to me, I sound like a fucking pussy. You spent six years in prison for a crime you didn’t commit and I’m bitching about a woman.” Disgusted, I looked around for my boots and found them under the kitchen table.
“See? That shit right there, that’s why I accepted Jana’s offer to dinner. She talked to me, about her boring ass job, her beautiful best friend always trying to make her go out in public and how she misses the parents she can barely remember. She didn’t hold back on her shit because of mine. That’s what I need.”
Shit. “You couldn’t have just said that shit? For all my good looks, Tate, I am not a goddamn mind reader. You know how helpless I fucking felt when I came here and found out what happened? I’m your older brother, been protecting you most of my life. Fuck.”
“First off, fuck you, I’m the pretty one.” He batted his lashes and just like that the tension disappeared and we were both laughing like fools.
“You might be pretty, but I’m the hot one. Everyone knows that.”
Another smile curved his lips and he stood. “Well get your hot ass on over to that woman and grovel if you have to. And Max, trust me, you have to.”
The drive to Jana’s was short, but even obeying every traffic law hadn’t delayed my arrival by more than a couple minutes. I sat inside the air conditioned car for a few minutes to gather my thoughts but I knew I couldn’t stay long before someone called the cops about the perv sitting in his car. I made the short trip from the curb to her door, only she didn’t answer. But her car sat in the driveway, cool to the touch and I knew she was home.
I had a feeling I knew where she would be this time of day with the sun shining but the heat not yet oppressive, and that’s where I found her. Enticing figure kneeling on the ground, heart-shaped ass wiggling in the air as she played in the dirt, giving me a long,
seductive look at nearly all of her curves. I kept my presence quiet for several long moments so I could just…soak her in. “I’m sorry,” I finally blurted out.
Jana froze at the sound of my voice, pushed her hands on the hard earth to spring up to her feet. A scowl had already set on her pretty face, making the red scar an angry shade of red. Clearly, she was unhappy at my unannounced visit. “Don’t be, Max. You said what you thought.” She slid her sunglasses over her eyes, shielding them from me as she crossed her arms over her chest. There was enough distance between us for me to know just how much my words had hurt her.
“I didn’t mean it, though. That’s why I’m apologizing. It was anger and jealousy talking.” I took a step forward and she didn’t budge. “I was an ass and I’m sorry. Forgive me?”
She shook her head, blond tendrils flying loose from the high bun on her head, framing her face like a halo when the sun caught it just right. “No, I don’t forgive you Max. Not because I’m mad, because I’m not really. I shouldn’t have expected more than the sex, but I think we’ve run our course.” She spoke so calm and quiet, like she’d given this a lot of thought. A lot more than I had if I’m being honest.
“Well I don’t.” I tried to match the calm in her voice but I heard the tension and I knew she did too.
But she shook her head again, this time sending the entire blond bun falling down around her shoulders. “That’s because you don’t want an actual relationship. You want someone to sleep with who won’t make demands of you, and you thought I was that girl. It’s not your fault, I thought I was that girl too, willing to accept what I could get. But it turns out, I’m not.”
“I can’t believe you would say that to me. What have I done to make you think that?”
She scoffed and shook her head. “Really? Okay, let’s start with the fact that you never stay the night because heaven forbid I see the pain you’re in. You won’t even talk about it with me, and there’s the fact that you think I’m the kind of woman who could fuck you, your brother and a client of mine. I think that covers it.” She grabbed up her gardening tools and dropped them into a large plastic pail.
“So, I’m a bad guy for wanting to protect you?”
