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Both pause at the exit so that the stretcher is free to cross the threshold.
“I can’t believe you broke his hand.” Sloan turns to hug Jake.
“You’re welcome,” he says, holding her tight.
Sloan pushes at his chest. “I didn’t say ‘thank you’.”
He looks down at her with a goofy smile. “You will.”
She wipes her eyes and wraps her arms around his neck.
“Now go.” Jake’s voice booms in an all too familiar Jake manner.
“You’re such an ass,” Kimber remarks, shaking her head, and following Sloan out to the parking lot.
The door closes. I’m stuck in place, confused by what I’ve just witnessed.
“It’s nice to see you, Paisley. I didn’t think I was going to be, but I’m glad you’re here.
“What did you do, Jake?” I want answers.
“Dusty agreed to teach me how to use a hammer.”
“Not very well, apparently.” My palms rest on my hips.
“I think we have better things to argue over.”
“That’s where you are wrong. We have nothing to discuss, since there is nothing between us.” I make a wild gesture back and forth.
The theater is empty and I have no desire to be alone with this man. I spin on my heel to leave.
“Hey,Corazon?”
“What?” I yell. Jake using the pet name he’d given me sets me ablaze. How dare he?
“How mad does a person have to be that they’ll return a dozen roses to the doorstep of the person who sent them?”
“Not angry, Jake. Unwilling to let you hurt them.” By returning the flowers, I maintained the upper hand.
“Funny thing about those roses. I started sending them the day I didn’t have to. It was a coincidence that our six months were up.”
I pause before leaning into the release bar and speak into the metal door. “I’m thrilled you found humor in toying with me.”
“Nah, it’s funny because you becoming my girlfriend stopped being make-believe before we’d pulled the wool over on my friends… Come over tonight?”
“No!” I whine in shock.
Who does this man think he is? And why is my heart clinging to his words?
Jake’s front meets my back. He laces his fingers into mine and turns me around.
I’ll sink into that warm spot where I felt so safe if I look up or stop defending myself.
“I won’t kiss you.” He cups my cheek.
Jake’s once pristine fingernails are riddled with hangnails and cracked at the cuticle. The callouses on his hand are more pronounced.
“Well, that’s for certain,” I balk, still not meeting his gaze.
