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“Why not? You did it all the time.”
Her older sister paled briefly then her cheeks returned to that bright shade of red. “I—”
Dianna chuckled. “Looks like you found the person who would have told James to stay away. The question is why.”
Constance’s head swam. Brielle was the one intervening in her life? How could that be possible? She’d been the one notorious for sneaking out and dating guys before she was allowed to. She glared at Brielle and took one quick step in her direction. “Hypocrite!”
“What? No, I’m not,” Brielle sputtered. “I didn’t tell him to stay away because I didn’t want you dating. I said it because—” She snapped her mouth shut, glancing from Dianna to Constance again. “He’s not good enough for you!”
A sharp bark of laughter exploded from Constance’s chest. “He’s not good enough for me? That’s ridiculous. He’s probably the most eligible bachelor in town except for Shane Owens—who, by the way, asked me out last week.”
Brielle’s eyes almost bugged out of her head. “What’s the matter with you?”
“What’s the matter with me? What’s the matter with you? I’m just doing what you were doing a few years ago.” Fire and ice combined in Constance’s chest. The pressure continued to build and a deep seeded ache overwhelmed all her senses. “I’m allowed to be happy. And when the guy I’ve liked my entire life finally notices me, I’m going to leap at the chance.”
“You’re not.” Brielle’s jaw tightened.
“I don’t know why you of all people are taking this so seriously. I’m an adult and I deserve to be happy. And if you’re so selfish that you can’t get out of our way so we can have a chance at it, then you can suffer in your own pit of unhappiness for all I care.”
Brielle reached for her, grasping her forearm. “I mean it, Connie. He’s no good. There are so many other guys that would be worthy of you.”
Constance jerked away from Brielle and snorted. “Somehow, I think if it had been any other guy, you still would have reacted the same way.” Constance shoved past Brielle and hurried down the stairs. She wasn’t about to give Brielle the chance to chase after her, or worse, stop her.
The whole drive to the veterinary clinic, Constance grew more and more agitated. Brielle was such a fraud. How could she go around dating as many guys as she wanted, come home and brag about them to anyone who was willing to listen, then turn around and tell Constance she couldn’t do the same?
If there was one person Constance thought she could count on to be in her corner on this one, it was Brielle. Now there was no one she could talk to. No one she could get advice from. Constance knew exactly where Dianna stood. And apparently Brielle had changed her tune the second she was given the green light to date whomever she wanted.
By the time Constance pulled into the parking lot, she didn’t even know if she wanted to go on this date. She wasn’t going to be very good company. It would probably be better to turn around and call James with the bad news.
She put her truck into reverse, prepared to do just that, when the front door to the clinic opened and James stepped out.
Well, now she had to go through with it.
He waved at her, then turned around and locked the door before striding toward her truck. She rolled down the window and peered at him in the darkness. “Hey,” she murmured.
“You look—” James shook his head. “You’re beautiful.”
It started with a small tingling sensation, but it grew the longer he appraised her. He pulled open the door and held out his hand. “Are you ready?”
Constance stared at his hand like it was a snake ready to strike. She lifted her gaze up to his face and bit down on her lower lip. “I was thinking…”
He shook his head resolutely this time. “Nope. None of that. No backing out just because you’re worried it’s not going to work out. We’re going—”
“It’s not that at all.” She grasped his hand and allowed him to pull her from the truck. He nudged the door shut behind her, then moved toward her, causing her to lean against the vehicle.
“Then what is it?” His voice had grown husky, its low timber enough to cause a chill to race down her spine.
“I’m not having the best evening.”
“Maybe I can fix that.” James said gently. “Tell me what happened.”
She swallowed hard. This wasn’t how she wanted their first date to start. It would be better to shove aside her frustrations with Brielle and just move forward. She’d been looking forward to this date for longer than she could remember. Constance shook her head. “How about we just start tonight off right?”
The corners of his mouth lifted. “I know just what to do.” He took hold of her hand and tugged her toward his car.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
