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“No.” She slammed the door closed and watched through the opaque glass as Paul put a hand on his chest as though deeply offended by the gesture.
He knocked this time. “Hey. You can’t tell me no. I’m here to see my brother.”
She opened the door again. “He doesn’t want to see you. He doesn’t need amends. He’s good. Go away.”
Paul put a hand out to stop the door from closing. “I need to talk to him. It’s about a case.”
She bet he had money, too. “Excellent. You can talk to me. I handle half the cases here now.”
He looked her up and down, but not in an assessing way. “You’re a lawyer?”
“Don’t let the bunny slippers fool you. I’ve practiced for years.”
“And you have a dog. You’re the colleague Quaid is working with.” Paul laughed like that was the funniest thing ever. “When he told me he was working with someone here in town and they were staying over, I thought for sure you were a man. You must be Jayna Cardet. I heard you were back in town and got your law degree. No wonder Mom is worried. But you are not my brother’s type. I’ll tell Mom she doesn’t have to worry about you making a move on him. Damn, you look good, girl. You can be my type.”
Yes, he’d also been a high school lothario. “How can I make a move on your brother if you keep interrupting us? Since you heard Quaid has a guest and I wasn’t staying here until last night, you must be the reason he got called to the sheriff’s. Did you get arrested?”
“No,” Paul replied, seemingly offended. “Why on earth would you think that?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you got arrested a lot when you were younger. Also, logic.” She could logic a lot of things. Having to deal with his brother being arrested would absolutely put Quaid in a bad mood and lead him to think his life had gotten more complicated.
“None of those charges stuck,” Paul pointed out. “And I haven’t been arrested in more than three years. I went to rehab and I graduated and everything. That’s why I’m here. I’m going to make amends with my brother.”
“He doesn’t want amends. He wants breakfast.”
“Well, I could eat,” Paul replied.
“What kinds of amends are you making?” She wanted to find out exactly what she was dealing with.
Paul seemed to think about that for a moment. “Well, I thought I could spend time with him. Keep him company while he works. Rebuild our relationship so he knows the new me.”
That felt like a powder keg waiting to explode. She also noticed Paul had managed to center the “amends” around himself. “No. Come up with better amends.”
Paul’s hands went to his hips as he stared her down. “Look, Cardet, he’s my brother and you can’t make me leave. Don’t try to intimidate me with that big fluff ball of yours. That dog might lick me to death, but that’s the worst danger I’m in. So you might as well move that cute ass of yours and let me see him.”
That was not going to happen. If he wasn’t intimidated by her fluff ball, she would see how much he remembered about living in Papillon. “If you don’t leave Quaid alone, I’m going to tell everyone I can that Paul Havery came home because he’s lonely and really wants to meet a nice girl.”
Paul’s eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would,” she vowed. “I’ll sit in that café and tell every grandma who walks in that there’s a single man in town and he is looking to change his luck. I’ll say the name Havery and they will drool, Paul. Then I’ll give them your phone number.”
His hand went to his pocket as if to guard his phone. “You don’t have my number.”
“Oh, but I bet Quaid does,” she replied. “Imagine it. Every momma and granny with a single daughter will flood your phone. You won’t be able to hook up with a single female because you’ll be surrounded by all the ones who want to marry you. The casseroles sent to your house will be never-ending.”
Paul took a long step back. “You are a monster.”
Jayna followed him out, not caring that there were people on the street all gawking her way like they’d never seen a lawyer in PJs threatening one of the town’s scions with the possibility of true love. “I am a woman who has lived off mac and cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for months. My mother still makes tuna casserole and thinks Spam is a breakfast food. Your brother promised me I could buy whatever I want at the grocery store if I could get you to leave, and I want steak. I want shrimp, and I want actual vegetables that didn’t come from a can. I am desperate, so yes, I will rain my vengeance down on your overly coiffed head.”
Paul stared at her like she might attack. “Well, then. Tell Quaid that I’ll talk to him later. I hope you enjoy your steak.”
He turned and practically ran away.
Everyone on the street was staring at her. She nodded to the blond woman with the toddler. “Good morning.”
The woman smiled. “Well, not for Paul it wasn’t. You go, girl. He’s an asshole.” She looked down at the stroller. “Don’t you repeat that. That’s a momma word. Morning, Quaid.”
“Morning, Hallie.”
