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“Your brother thinks you’re a jerk,” I spit out, my chest heaving with the emotion toiling in my stomach.
“My brother tried to get with Breanne, too,” he retorts. “Right after I told him what a good lay she was.”
The concrete parking lot may as well open up beneath my feet and swallow me. “You’re lying,” I breathe out. “Brody didn’t know.”
One eyebrow arches speculatively on Jackson’s face. “Is that what he told you?”
His wicked smile should be enough to make me turn and do everything I can to get away from him, but I’m rooted in place.
“Brody knew I was fucking Breanne while I was with you,” he continues. “He’s the one who saw her at that party we went to at Tyler’s house one night and actually suggested I should tap that. He saw how she was eye-fucking me from across the room.”
“You’re lying,” I say again, but all the venom has been stripped from my tone, leaving me with only defeat and weakness.
“Whatever gets you through the day, sweetheart,” he sneers, holding his hands up. “I’m just here to tell you, if you think Brody Marsh is your fucking Prince Charming, Cori, you’ve got another thing coming. He’s screwing you because he thinks this is a game. He just wants to be able to brag about getting in your pants at the next family holiday get-together.”
“You’re lying.” It’s the only thing I can say, and the tears that escape down my cheeks aren’t helping matters. “You must really enjoy breaking my heart, Jackson.”
The scoff that sounds from his throat is just as demeaning to me now as it would have been the day I found out he cheated. “Trust me,” he says. “It isn’t me breaking your heart this time. Brody is doing a bang-up job of that himself.”
He turns, intending to head back toward his car. “Or don’t trust me,” he adds. “I don’t really give a damn either way. Good to see you, Cori.”
Chapter Twelve
Brody
It’s been only a few hours since I saw her last, but Corinne may as well be standing in this room staring at me with those seductive hazel eyes the way my mind conjures her up into eve
ry room of my house. She occupies the space around me even in her absence. It might be my mind playing tricks on me, but I’ve been watching Spencer look around the room all evening as though in search of her, too.
He’s not the only one with a crush on Corinne Hastings.
Which is exactly why I log on to LookingForLove.com. I’m going to cancel my plans with LaughLoudLiveQuiet. Because I don’t want to be someone that Corinne feels she can’t trust. I’m not saying I’d go on this date and end up sleeping with the woman behind the username, but there’s no reason to even attend the meeting when my heart and mind are already completely preoccupied with everything that is Corinne. It wouldn’t be fair to Corinne or to LaughLoudLiveQuiet, even if it is just a meetup as friends only.
I open our messages and type out a simple message.
I know we’re supposed to meet tomorrow, and believe me, I was looking forward to it. However, I think I should be honest and tell you that I have met someone. A really, really amazing woman. She’s completely unexpected. She’s also completely wonderful. I know you and I were just meeting up as friends, but I don’t think it would be fair to meet someone else at this point in time, not to you and not to her. I’m just not that kind of guy. I hope you understand, and I’m truly sorry for the last-minute cancellation.
I send it, feeling guilt boil in the pit of my stomach. That woman doesn’t deserve to be cancelled on, but she sure as hell doesn’t deserve to meet up with someone who’s already got his sights set on someone else.
And I do. Corinne is directly in my crosshairs, and everything I do and say from now on is so that she’ll know that I’m completely and utterly falling for her.
The shrill ringing of my phone in my hand startles me, mostly because my initial reaction is to prevent Spencer from being awakened by the sound. I see Corinne’s name on the caller display and smile. Her ears must be burning with all the thoughts I’m having about her.
“It’s not Monday yet,” I joke by way of greeting. “Couldn’t wait till then?”
“Tell me it’s not true.”
As soon as her voice meets my ears, I’m sitting upright, my brows drawn down as a shiver rolls down my spine. “Corinne, what’s wrong? What do you mean?”
“You said you didn’t know,” she gasps out between sobs. “You said you had no idea Jackson was cheating on me.”
“I didn’t,” I confirm. “I swear I didn’t, Corinne.”
“Then why did your pathetic excuse for a brother just tell me you suggested he go after Breanne, Brody?” She’s yelling into the phone, distraught. “Why did he tell me you tried to screw her, too, because she was easy?”
“What?” My mind is struggling to catch up to what she’s saying. “If Jackson said that, he’s a fucking liar,” I hiss into the phone. “Corinne, you’ve got to believe me.”
“I did believe you,” she cries. “That was my first mistake. The second was trusting you enough to think you were any different than him.”
