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Jillian slid down from the island to join him in the living room. “Cole, what’s going on? What’s this about?” she asked.
He stopped his movement and eyed her. “Which is it, Jillian?” he asked. “Do you not see that Warren loves you? Do you not care that he loves you? Do you want him to love you still? What?”
“Warren does not love me, Cole,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.
And instantly remembered giving her mother the same gesture.
What’s going on with you and Warren?
She also remembered the grunt her mother had given her.
That grunt had said so much without saying a thing.
“He loves you. He wants you. Now, where are you with this?” Cole eyed her across the divide.
Jillian was confused by his anger. “Wait. What?” she asked. “You want me to turn the job down? Stay unemployed? Stay strangled by new debt? Not work? What?”
Cole wiped his hand over his mouth. “I would never try to control you like that, but I would like for you to be aware enough to understand when you are putting yourself in a compromising position,” he said.
“Acompromisingposition,” she scoffed.
Cole jerked the hem of his shirt from inside his pants as if feeling restrained by it.
“Don’t be blinded by jealousy, Cole,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. “I didn’t even know you had a problem with Warren.”
“Blinded by jealousy?” he snapped.
“Yes,” she insisted, turning to walk back into the kitchen.
Cole followed.
She ignored him as she removed plates, linen napkins and cutlery from the cabinets and drawers to set the dining room table.
“Do you want a relationship with your ex?” he asked.
“Which one?” she asked sarcastically as she breezed past him.
“Jillian,” Cole said calmly.
She set the dishes down on the corner of the table and looked to him.
“Do you want a relationship with Warren?” he asked.
“Definitely not,” she insisted. “I see him as nothing but a friend. Damn near a brother, if we hadn’t made the mistake of crossing the line from friends to more.”
“He doesn’t feel the same,” Cole insisted.
“You’re wrong. You don’t know him. You’re assuming,” she said, now focusing on setting the table. “As a matter of fact, you’re wrong about me. WhyassumeI would be inappropriate with an employer?”
“You were with me.”
That felt like a blow.
She looked at him again, fighting an urge to toss something at him. “Really, Cole?” she asked, her tone accusing. “I guess I spread it out for everyone right along with the meals. Right?”
Cole released a heavy, harsh breath before pressing his fingers to his closed eyes. “I didn’t say that.”
“You said a lot,” she charged.
