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23
Elizabeth
“Have you called him yet?” Julianna asks, her voice strained from the shot of Patrón.
Still holding my breath, I shake my head. My mouth puckers as the liquor runs down my throat, burning and souring my stomach as soon as it hits.
I’d sworn off tequila in college after an awful experience—learning the one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor rule the hard way. I got sicker than I’d ever been in my life that night, sleeping on the bathroom floor then waking up to take my finals the next morning. The memory of the way the smell seeped out of my pores all day will forever haunt me. But Julianna needs her friend by her side, and for the moment, that means doing shots with her.
“No. I don’t know what to say,” I admit. “Anyway, you need me right now.”
When she called me the other day to tell me she found her husband cheating on her, I was enraged. She uprooted her whole life for that asshole, moving away from all her family and friends. Then she helped him get his law practice off the ground. He owes her so much and repaid that debt by sleeping with someone else. In their bed.
She was desperate to get away from him as soon as possible but had nowhere to go. I told her to come back home to live with me until she got settled with a job and place of her own. She isn’t thrilled with the idea of being back in Tennessee but agreed it’s the best place for her right now.
“Oh, bullshit, Lizzy. You can’t use me as your excuse. I just got here, and you haven’t spoken to him in two weeks. Why don’t you sleep with him and get it out of the way?” She chuckles, winking at me.
I arranged for the kids to stay with my parents for the weekend to give Julianna some time to adjust. The night out drinking was meant to get her to talk. Instead, she’s spent the night grilling me about Brenden. The only reason I even told her what happened was to get her to open up, but it seriously backfired on me. She refused to drop the subject.
“Funny,” I murmur, shaking my head to banish visions of my dream about Brenden. “I’m going to go get us some more shots. Do you need another beer?”
“Yes, please.”
I make my way through the crowded bar, my mind drifting to the last time we came to Zane’s. Everything around me fades as I remember being in Brenden’s arms and swaying to the music. He made me feel safe and content, even back then, and he’s proven himself to be a good friend since. I’m a real dumbass for throwing that away.
I order another round of shots and beer at the bar, pulling my vibrating phone from my back pocket. My heart leaps in my throat as Brenden’s name flashes on the screen, my shaky thumb hovering over the answer button. My self-doubt rears its ugly head, and I hit ignore before stuffing it back in my pocket.
“So, you are ignoring me.”
Brenden’s masculine smell washes over me, his breath tickling the back of my neck. He’s so close I can feel the heat from his body. Flashes of my dream resurface, and a shiver runs down my spine. I sigh, briefly squeezing my eyes shut to clear the inappropriate images of Brenden from my mind.
He steps up beside me at the bar, but I’m too mortified to face him. He witnessed my cowardly behavior firsthand.
“You know, if you don’t want to be found, you should probably tell your friend to stop posting your whereabouts on Facebook. It gives people like me the ability to track you. This makes twice now. I may officially be your stalker.” He leans into my line of sight, one side of his mouth tipping up into a smile.
The familiar ease relaxes my body, and laughter bubbles out of me. “Wow, really? I’ve never had a stalker before.”
My heart skips a beat when our eyes finally meet, both of us silent for several seconds.
“I wasn’t really given a choice,” he says, his features darkening a bit.
Guilt twists my stomach, embarrassment heating my face as my eyes drift back to the bar where the drinks I ordered are now waiting. I fiddle with the tray, trying to think of a good way to apologize for my behavior. Before I have the chance to speak, Brenden places his hand on my arm, bringing my attention back to him.
“I’m…” He runs his hand through his hair, locking his pain-filled eyes on mine. “God, I’m so sorry I acted like an ass the other night. It’s been killing me that you’re so upset with me.”
His words make my chest ache. The fact that he’s been blaming himself makes me feel even more like a shit human being. I acted like a jealous girlfriend—which I have absolutely no right to do—and then ignored him. He shouldn’t be the one apologizing.
“No.” I shake my head and smile, resting my hand on his bicep to feed my desire to touch him. “I’m not upset with you.”
“You’re not?” His face twists with confusion as he rubs at his jaw. “Then why have you been ignoring me?”
“I, uh…” My brain scrambles to think of an explanation, my hand dropping to my side.
It’s not like I can be honest. He doesn’t need to know about the jealousy or the sex dream.
“Things have been a little crazy.” The lie comes out with no conviction behind it, but I keep going. “You see…my friend, Julianna, she found out her husband was cheating on her and moved back here. I offered to let her live with me for a while. It’s been a little overwhelming. I’m sorry.”
He doesn’t say anything, his eyes searching my face as though it holds a clue to the things I’m not saying.
