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I sighed. He knew me way too well. There was no faking or avoiding anything with Trick.
“He could hurt me,” I finally came right out and said. “He could hurt me worse than anyone ever has. And I’m not in a good place to deal with that right now. I…I can’t. I just can’t. My heart can’t take it.”
“The human heart beats up to a hundred thousand times a day and pumps two thousand gallons. It can take a lot more than you give it credit for.”
“Mine can’t.” My voice cracked as I spoke. “He has slept beside me every night since the kidnapping.” Except for last night, I didn’t add. “And never once did he tryanythingeven remotely sexual. Because he doesn’t think of me that way.” And I was still refusing to believe he’d truly known what he’d been saying when he admitted to ever wanting me this morning.
I had to break your heart before I desired you in the way you needed me to.
His head had been in a bad place; he hadn’t really meant that. Because hedidn’twant me. He couldn’t.
“He never has, never will,” I insisted. “And I’m not going to let him force himself into a relationship with me when I know he can’t truly, passionately love me like I was the air he breathed. I’m just not going to do that to him. So that’s why I need you to take him out andremindhim why he likes being a single man. Because I know he wasn’t looking to set down roots with anyone when Dad put this stupid idea into his head. He’s most happy being abachelor.”
“So you just…what? You want me to take him out and get him laid?”
“What?No!” The very idea of Luke with another woman made my stomach turn. “Just lead him along the path back tohimself. Because this is not him. He doesn’t want me. Remind him whatishim. Can you do that for me?”
My brother was silent for a moment, clearly contemplating my request. Then he released a breath and said, “Chloe, I would do anything for you, so yeah, I can do this.”
I exhaled in relief. “God, thank you, bubba. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I still don’t like it, though,” he added. “Last time I was asked to take someone out for a guys’ night, bad things happened.”
“You’ll do fine,” I assured. “Everything will be fine. Besides, lightning never strikes in the same place twice. Right?”
“Actually—”
“Okay. Thanks,” I cut him off cheerfully before he could quote another statistic at me. “See you later. And love you, bye!”
24LUKE
Three nights.
It had been three long-ass, miserable nights that I’d slept in my own bed, and I still hated it as much as I had the first night I hadn’t fallen asleep beside Chloe. I hadn’t been lying in the slightest when I’d told her she had ruined me. I wanted back in her bed so bad I fucking ached.
The problem was I still hadn’t come up with a plan of how to fix everything I’d broken. So I told myself, I was giving her some time. Except thetruthwas, I didn’t know what to do to make everything right again. I’d never repeatedly broken someone’s heart over and over for years before. I was completely out of my depths here.
And her brother calling me incessantly wasn’t making it any better. I kept blowing him off every time he asked to do something with me. But then he started to irritate me enough that I finally gave in.
I didn’t even want to go out. Honestly, what I wanted most was to stay in. With Chloe. We could eat pizza, and she could cuddle on my lap again, while we watched awful movies and made fun of them all night, or take another bubble bath together, or make love until dawn. Hell, I didn’t care what we did. I just wanted to be with her. My heart freaking ached. I missed her, even though I talked on the phone with her half a dozen times a day. It just wasn’t the same.
It was my day off, however, and I’d already stewed all afternoon, trying to come up with a brilliant plan to patch our problems, and failing, so I guess I needed to take a break for a bit.
“Are you ever going to tell me what tonight’s really about?” I asked as I followed Trick into his dad’s bar.
I know; it was my night off, and what did he do? He took me back to fucking work. But that was Trick for you.
“What do you mean?” he asked evasively.
I rolled my eyes. “Really? You’ve been acting sketchy as fuck for the past three days until I finally agreed to this. So what’s the deal? Oh…” As an idea came to me, I gripped his arm and stopped both of us. “Shit,” I breathed, terror consuming me. “He bonded out, didn’t he? Freston’s out of jail.”
“What? No. Jesus, man. Do you really thinkthisis how I’d tell you that? He’s still firmly behind bars, I assure you.”
I hissed out a relieved breath and clutched my chest, bending slightly at the waist. “Dude. Don’t ever scare me like that again.” As I straightened, I swung at him like I was going to punch him in the nuts. Only when he jerked back, clutching himself in defense, did I start to feel better again.
He scowled at me, and I laughed, slapping his shoulder. “Now, seriously… Why the fuck did you call me to hang out tonight?”
“Well, it’s certainly not because I just miss hanging out with your charming self. God…” He shook his head and blew out a breath, still trying to recover from the scare. “You’re fucked up, man. I see why Chloe begged me to take you off her hands for the evening.”
