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“I’m sorry, Rachel. It’s just that I felt it was time for the two of you to work things out. He’s not seeing anyone, and neither are you. You’re both living in the city now, we could all be together again, one big happy family like the old days.”
Her words were spilling out so fast I could barely wrap my mind around them.
“He broke my heart, Shauna. He left me, making it perfectly clear where we stood.”
“You still love him. Don’t even lie. You ask me about him at least once every other week and then get mad if I try to discuss him for too long.”
I had been trying to use restraint and had even made her promise we wouldn’t let the break-up come between us.
“And how often does he ask about me?” I waited for her response which came after a bit of hesitation.
“He asked me about you the other day.”
“Really? And how often does that happen?”
“Okay, it’s not often, but it’s the way he asks and when he asks. Rachel, he’s never stopped caring, I just know it. Please talk to him.”
“I have no other choice, do I?” She’d made sure of that. I’d see him every single day until this production was over and as I was thinking of what to tell her next, her phone cut out.
“Hey, I have another call. I’ll call you back.” She hurried off the phone, and I peeked around the prop, seeing Duncan who was ducking off to the side on his phone. Shauna. He’d called his sister too. I knew the two hadn’t planned this together because Duncan was just as surprised as I had been.
I stared as he chewed his sister out. God, he was gorgeous. He’d really grown up to a be a beautifully fierce man. I tried to ignore the heat building between my legs and quenched the burning with anger as I crossed the room.
I walked right up to him where he leaned over whispering into the phone and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around and straightened, becoming a good head taller, and I looked directly into his eyes. “Tell Shauna I’m not done with her.” I crossed my arms and shifted on my feet, as Jefferey waved for my attention over Duncan’s shoulder mouthing ‘are you okay’.
“I’ll call you back, Shauna. Neither one of us is done with you.” He hung up the phone and spun around to see Jefferey giving him the eye. I had no doubt that as fierce as Duncan was, Jefferey wouldn’t back down if need be and he wouldn’t let anyone disrespect me.
Then he turned back to me. “We need to talk.”
Need to talk? I remembered the night that he broke up with me. He’d called me out to the backyard, to the swing set where the two of us used to play as children, under the tree we used to climb, where I got my first skinned knee, and he was the one to comfort me while his sister went to get my father. That night, I had told him that we just needed to talk it out, but instead he had told me that he had nothing more to say; what was done was done.
I dropped my hands to my side, balling them into fists as I glared at those damned hazel eyes. “I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
As his eyes narrowed, I turned and stormed away.
CHAPTER FIVE - DUNCAN
So much for my
week. It had started off perfect, but after canceling the date with the blonde which I had only set up hours before seeing Rachel, it had taken its turn. Not that I cared at all about missing out on the date, but now I had to figure out how to get Rachel to give me the time of day. At least I’d have the duration of my new contract to try and make that happen, but I’d seen that look of determination in her eyes. She’d shot at me, and I couldn’t blame her.
I had been home for an hour, contemplating my next move and trying to get my laundry sorted from the cleaners. I still had to have my clothes perfectly pressed and kept my townhouse apartment tidy. It was instilled in me to the bone like many other things, so after my shirts and jeans were all hung up in the closet, I decided to call my sister again.
She answered the phone with a hesitant tone. “Hello.” She’d never answered the phone so formally for me in her life like she knew the scolding she was due, or worse like I was our father. I got a pang of guilt and decided to take it easy on her.
“You should have warned me.” I kept my tone level and soft.
“I know. You’re absolutely right to hate me right now, but I didn’t see it backfiring.” She let loose a long breath as if she’d been holding it since we last spoke.
“I don’t hate you, never that, but I am a little pissed you didn’t tell me sooner that she was in this area and single. You could have asked me if I wanted to meet up and for God’s sake, Shauna, think of how this made Rachel feel. I broke up with her, and if today is any indication of her feelings for me, then I’d say you’re wasting your time.”
“No, I don’t think I am. I’m not sorry I got the two of you in the same room. I’m only sorry that I was a sneaky about it. She still loves you. I know she does.”
“Yeah, well she’s got a hell of a way of showing it. Those lasers of death in her pretty green eyes today told me differently.” She’d always had the brightest green eyes, like a new spring leaf, with tiny flecks of gold, but that gold had turned molten with anger.
“She was just shocked to see you. She asks about you all the time, she’s never dated anyone steady, Duncan, and I mean, like no more than one date. And according to her, well, she’s never even been with a man. I can’t help but think that all this time, she’s longed for you.”
“You don’t know that. I could have just turned her off men completely.” I wondered if she truly was a virgin or if any of those one-nighters had been fruitful. Even after all these years, the thought of another man’s hands on her made my gut clench.
