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Brady raised his eyebrows at her, and she knew what he was thinking. That she could lay off the steaks. Thankfully, he didn’t say it. He turned toward Cora. “I think you’ve met my girlfriend, Cora.”
The surprise in Cora’s eyes told Jewel they might not actually be dating in that capacity. Maybe this was their first date. If it was, it was a crappy way to start out, although staying in the small town where they all lived was probably not ideal for a first date.
“I have met Cora.” Jewel turned to the young woman. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too,” she squeaked out, her voice timid. It was so unlike when Jewel had seen her at the school and it involved her kids, although she was generally one of the quiet parents. She rarely made a fuss about what happened with her kids.
“I’ll let you get back to your date,” Jewel stated, hoping Brady would get the hint and leave. She did not want another scene like the grocery store parking lot incident or what had happened at Lea’s, and she was going to do her best to keep her cool this time. Maybe he really had moved on.
“Where’s your girlfriend?”
Jewel blanched. Her head whipped around from focusing on her plate full of food to him. “My what?”
“Girlfriend.” He said it so smugly, and all she wanted to do was wipe that look off his face.
“If you’re referring to Azalea, my best friend—not my girlfriend—I imagine she’s home tonight doing whatever she wants. I don’t keep tabs on her.” Jewel bit her tongue. That may not have been the wisest choice, but she couldn’t help defending Lea in whatever way she possibly could. But giving away Lea was likely home by herself had not been the best course of action either.
Brady snorted. “You two are made for each other.”
“And why would you say that?” Anger flared in Jewel’s chest again, and she tried her hardest to rein it back in. She did not want to fight with him again, but their breakup and his antics afterward were still too fresh in her mind for her to fully walk away just yet.
“You’re both cold-hearted bitches.”
Jewel drew in a deep, slow breath, her hand curling on the edge of the counter. Cora tried to pull Brady away and make him leave, but she was half his size so it was next to impossible. Jewel very deliberately stayed seated, but she could tell those immediately around them were paying close attention to what was happening, including Tommie on the other side of the counter.
“You are free to think what you want, Brady. But I don’t think trying to force Azalea to change her mind about your offer of a date quite paints an attractive picture of you, either. I think your friends might find it interesting that you all but tried to barge into her house after she rejected you.”
Brady paled at first, but then his cheeks grew red, his eyes bulging as his anger was about to hit.
Jewel smirked. She knew she had him. She remained as calm as possible when she added, “And, Brady, Azalea Fuller is way out of your league. No one here is surprised she didn’t give you a second glance.” Twisting to Tommie, Jewel pointed at her food. “Can you wrap this up for me?”
“Sure thing.” Tommie took the plate, and Jewel stayed focused on the far side of the bar.
Brady muttered, “She is a sexless prude.”
Jewel chuckled low, knowing that was far from the truth, as the sudden press of Lea against her came unbidden into her mind. Lea absolutely was not sexless. She knew precisely what she wanted and when she wanted it. “Again, you are allowed to hold the beliefs you do.”
With her food in hand, Jewel dropped a twenty on the counter, not willing to stay for change. She stood up and made to step toward the door, but Brady got in her way and stopped her cold. She tilted her chin up to stare at him.
“You’re in my way.”
“And you’re in mine,” he growled.
Jewel cocked her head to the side. “Now, Brady, I thought you were here with Cora, who is a very sweet and gentle woman. I love her two kids dearly. How in the world am I in your way? Lea has turned you down, multiple times, and you and I are no longer together.”
Stunned, he stepped back. Jewel grinned.
“That’s a good boy.”
Without another word, she walked out of the Grill House and to her car. After she got in and was two blocks away, she let out a breath, her heart finally racing. That could have turned out so different. She hoped Brady’s friends were with it enough to keep him there instead of chasing after her. For the first time in ages, the first thing Jewel did when she got home was lock up the house. She did not need any middle of the night wake up calls.
She ate her dinner in bed while watching mindless reality television she would never admit to liking. She set her empty container on the nightstand before grabbing her phone and remembering Lea had texted. She wished she could talk to Lea about what Brady had said, but how on earth could she spill that without hurting Lea in the process? It would be impossible, and Brady had caused enough drama as was.
Reading the text again, Jewel hovered her thumb over a reply. The only difference between that week and two weeks ago had been Indigo, and Indigo had made all the difference. They weren’t just friends anymore. They were something else, and in that, Jewel hesitated. Three weeks ago she would have gone to Lea first—would have gone straight to her house even—barged in on her life, vented, and let Lea listen to her ramblings. But tonight? Tonight all she cared about was not wanting to hurt Lea in the process of revealing what had happened.
What were they to each other? Normal friends or girlfriends didn’t go an entire week without talking unless it was impossible, did they? But they weren’t dating. She couldn’t bring Lea out to the Grill House and show her off like Brady had been doing—not that Lea would ever want to be shown off. She had much more class than that. But what did that make them? Friends with sometime benefits? No matter what, they needed to talk. Jewel answered Lea’s text with one simple word.
“Yes.”
