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"I keep telling you, there won't be a next time. No way I'm putting myself through that again."
The refrain was a familiar one to JT. Ever since Liam and Kristie had split, his friend hadn't wavered. Still, JT wasn't convinced. Liam was only thirty-four—too young to resign himself to being alone for the rest of his life. "You just haven't met a woman yet who can convince your stubborn ass otherwise."
"Oh, I've met plenty of women," Liam said with a wry smile. "I'm not giving any of them a chance to convince me otherwise. Speaking of women," he drained the last of his beer and put the glass on the bar, "how long have you been fooling around with my sister?"
JT tried to unglue his tongue from the top of his mouth. How the hell had he figured it out? "What makes you think—"
Liam held up his hand for silence. "Cut the crap. I knew there was something brewing the last time I saw you two together and as soon as I saw you two tonight..."
JT remained silent. If Colleen had wanted her brother to know, she would have told Liam herself. On the other hand, the idea of lying to his friend didn't sit well with him.
"Look, I know it's not really my business," Liam continued, his voice pitched low so as not to be overheard. "I just think you should be careful."
"I'm not going to hurt her," JT said, his eyebrows pulling into a frown.
Liam rolled his eyes. "You may not mean to. And she's not the only one I'm worried about."'
"Why would you be worried about me?"
Liam shrugged. "I know you always had a big crush on her."
"Everyone had a crush on Colleen."
"Just don't be stupid enough to think your high school crush is going to morph into happily ever after."
"You think I'm not good enough for her?"
"Of course not," Liam said, looking genuinely offended. "You're a great guy and if the circumstances were different I'd be thrilled if you were dating my sister. You're certainly a massive step up from some of the other losers, especially her dickhead ex."
JT's relief took a dive at what Liam said next. "Problem is, she's not in a place to appreciate that, and I have serious doubts she ever will be."
"Just because your divorce turned you all bitter and cynical, doesn't mean it's like that for everyone else."
Liam's green stare pierced him, unrelenting. "Maybe not." He sighed and ran his fingers roughly through his hair.
"Besides, it's not like we're even serious," JT said.
"A better big brother would be pissed to hear you all but admit you want nothing more that sex from my sister. But I know you and I'm pretty sure that's not all you're after."
“I know you got burned before but you still want the wife, the kid, the proverbial picket fence. And I love my sister to death, but I'd hate to have you put all your hopes and dreams into her basket, only to have your heart broken again."
"Like I said, it's not that serious." But even as he said it, he knew it was a lie. He'd casually hooked up with women before, and when he'd texted them he didn't wait, constantly checking his phone for a reply. When he knew he was going to see them, he didn't spend the day feeling an electric buzz of anticipation.
When they smiled at him, he didn't feel like some hero who'd just hung the moon.
And when he was naked in bed with them, he didn't feel like he was claiming his own piece of heaven on earth.
"I'm a big boy," he said finally. "And like you said, I've survived a broken heart before. Not that it will come to that, but if it does, I'll survive it again."
Chapter 14
JT spent the night and following day stewing over his conversation with Liam. Was he a complete idiot to hold out any hope that he and Colleen could turn whatever they were doing into something real? Or was he once again being a fool, waiting and wishing for something that was never meant to be?
Maybe it would be better to cut things off sooner rather than later, before he got even more attached.
But at the first sight of her later that evening, the smile she flashed him from behind the bar, and he knew there was no way he was giving her up. No way he could give up that thrill of anticipation, the shot of adrenaline that coursed through him every time she so much as looked at him. Not to mention everything else that would come after she closed the bar for the evening.
Later, he excused himself from going back to his brother's cabin and went to help Colleen close up.
