A Perfect Ten (Forbidden Men #5)(128)

“No. Oh God. How could I be okay? He was so mad. Did you see how mad he was?”

“Yeah. I saw.”

When tears fell from her eyes and she sniffed, I lost it. Anger infused me.

Why did he have to go and be like that? Didn’t he even care I was who Caroline wanted? Or try to find out if I was any good for her or how I treated her? I was supposed to be his best f*cking friend, and yet he so easily assumed I was another Sander Scotini.

Well, f*ck him.

Unable to help myself, I untangled my arms from her. “I’ll be right back.” After kissing her hair, I raced after Gam.

He was striding down the sidewalk away from his place when I caught sight of him in the front yard.

“Hey!” I yelled.

He slowed and gradually turned around.

“I’m supposed to be your best friend. Why is it so awful to think of me being with her?”

“Because I know you! I’ve known you since the first day I came to this town. And in the four years I’ve known you, not once have you ever shown a single iota of respect for any woman.”

“What the f*ck ever. I respect plenty of women. What about your wife?”

Noel barked out a harsh laugh. “Oh, yeah, you respected her enough to hop onto a coffee table and ask a crowded room full of her students if she liked to dress up in schoolgirl clothes so I could play the professor. That was so respectful.”

Fuck, maybe Shakespeare had been a bad example. “Man, I was drunk.”

“She ended up getting fired from her job, and the coach posted a topless picture of her on the locker room wall.”

“Okay, fine.” I lifted my hands to shut him up. Shakespeare was definitely a bad example, no matter how much I’d made up with her.

I changed tactics. “What about Ham’s woman then? I let her f*cking move in with us.”

“Oh, you mean the girl you went on a date with where you got her drunk for her first time until she was flirting with a guy who was already dating someone else and then ended the night by puking up her guts in the club’s bathroom. Yeah, great example.”

Fuck, I really wasn’t going to get anywhere with him, was I? I thought of my sister, and uncertainty filled me. The one girl I’d loved more than anything, and I’d failed her; the worst thing in the world that could possibly happen to her had happened. Who the hell did I think I was to try to be anything to Caroline?

Stomach churning, I took a step away from Gamble. “So what did I do to Caroline, then?”

He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe I even had to ask. “The fact that you had to hide what you had with her and didn’t even have the balls to let me know about it tells me everything I need to know. She’s just not that important to you.”

“That’s complete bullshit. She—”

“She wouldn’t have become your dirty little secret if you’d been open about it from the very beginning. That’s all she was to him too. That first prick who knocked her up. She was just his trailer-park-trash dirty little secret. And you’re making her go through that all over again. If she’d meant anything to you, you wouldn’t have gone behind my back, you wouldn’t have hidden your so-called feelings. You would’ve fought to be with her openly instead of sneaking around like a f*cking coward.”

“Jesus, man.” I shook my head. “If this is the way you’ve always thought of me, then why were you ever my friend?”

“Because I’m not a woman. It never bothered me what you did to complete strangers, but I sure as hell wouldn’t want you to become involved with a girl who’s important to me.”

I shook my head slowly. It was enlightening to learn what some of the closest people in my life really thought of me. And not in a good way. I didn’t know what to say to him. Not even one of my stupid, smart-ass comments came to mind. It felt as if he’d just handed me my ass and no matter how I tried to reason it in my brain, I didn’t belong with Caroline. I didn’t deserve her. I’d never treat her right, and if I really cared about her, I’d stay away.

But the very idea made me want to puke.

Not sure what to even do, I just turned away and walked off in a strange daze.





Fear crowded my stomach like a noxious gas, giving me a painful case of indigestion. It was hard to even function I was so scared.

Last week, I’d been hurt. Every time I’d thought about Oren, I’d envisioned him with a new girl in some awful kinky position, and agony had wracked me until I was dizzy with it. So I’d stayed away to protect myself, to heal, and get over my own pity party.

I’d spent a lot of time with Zoey, helping her deal with her pregnancy fears, and I’d begun to calm down. Then I began to miss him. But I also grew uncertain because I wasn’t sure how to approach him and apologize for running off and doing exactly what I’d promised him I wouldn’t do.

Seeing him in my brother’s yard today had been a blessing as much as it had been terrifying. It’d been too long since I’d seen him, talked to him, kissed him. I wanted to run over and tackle him, drag him to my bedroom and have my wicked way with him. But then the nerves had instantly knotted in my stomach because I didn’t even know how I was supposed to face him after I’d left him last week. I’d been so ashamed of myself for letting my tender little feelings get the best of me.