James (Resisting Love #3)(40)

“He will,” he agrees with a slight nod of his head.

I stand up.

***

“Can I ask you something?” I ask Kade.

“Of course you can. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna answer,” he smirks.

“Are you always this annoying?” I huff.

“Is that your question?” he asks with a raised eyebrow. His hair is growing longer again and I’m glad cos he’s sexier that way.

“Do I only get one question?”

“Did you just check me out?” he counters.

“I did,” I admit, downing my shot. I believe this one was called a squashed frog.

Kade sips his beer, his shoulders shaking with laughter. Does this man do anything except laugh?

“Are you gonna ask me or what?” he says as he signals for another two drinks.

“Oh, right. Why did you take me here? It looked like you wanted to kill me then all of a sudden you changed your mind and were on my side,” I ask bluntly.

He thinks it over for a bit, gathering his thoughts before answering. “You were right. I wasn’t looking at it from your point of view, only from my baby brother's. I had Layla’s back when shit went down, now I’m gonna be here for you. James is one of my favourite people in the world, and he’s probably fuming mad right now, but he'll deal. And you two will make up,” he says with confidence.

“What bar is this? I’ve never heard of it,” I say, looking around. It’s definitely not a place I'd frequent. I’m tempted to pull out the small hand sanitizer I carry around in my bag.

Kade smiles, almost proudly. “I love this place,” is his vague answer. I see a woman walk past wearing a bikini and short shorts.

“I’ll bet you do,” I mutter. Kade sends a message on his phone, before turning to look at me.

“You wanna play some pool?” he asks, ignoring my comment.

“Sure,” I say, standing up and wobbling a little.

“You look like Bambi trying to walk for the first time,” he says, shaking his head at me.

“Hey! I hardly ever drink, you know,” I say defensively. Kade captures me by the arm and walks with me to the only available table. I break, and don’t sink anything. Kade rubs the back of his neck with his hand, and then cracks his neck.

“That’s gross,” I say.

“You have bigger issues right now. Like your embarrassing pool skills,” he says.

“You’re probably right,” I say seriously.

“Hey, man,” a guy says as he walks over to Kade. They do a fancy looking handshake that I have no idea how they remember.

“Who’s the hot chick?” random guy asks.

“My sister-in-law,” I hear Kade tell him. The comment makes me scoff.

“I’m pretty sure your sister in law is some hag named Nancy,” I say as I bend over to shoot my next shot.

“Sasha,” Kade snaps. The man eyes me for a moment, not being subtle in the least.

“So, are you taken, or not?” he asks me, licking his lips.

“She’s taken alright,” comes a quiet voice laced with menace.

I stare at James, who is fuming, and then turn to Kade.

“You didn’t,” I say accusingly. Kade just shrugs and gives me a shit-eating grin.

“Can’t trust any Steeles it seems,” I snap. Kade’s grin instantly fades, but at this moment, I don’t even care. James is still staring the guy down, and I’m able to check out his handsome profile. He really is sexy.

“What a shame,” I think out loud. James and Kade have some sort of communication with their eyes, and then Kade nods.

“Sasha, let’s go home, baby,” James says, his eyes softening. I put my cue away and head out of the bar. James puts his hand on the small of my back, in a possessive gesture. It kind of pisses me off.

“So, where’s Jye’s evil stepmother?” I ask, my voice spiked with sarcasm, as I slide into James’ car. Kade decided to stay at the bar.

“Sasha, that’s enough,” James demands, slamming his hands down on the steering wheel in frustration.

I make a sound of disgust.

“I’m sorry, I’m so f*cking sorry, okay?” he says softly, his voice full or hurt and regret. We drive to Layla’s and pick up Jye before heading home.

“I’ll give Jye his dinner and a bath. You go have a shower and then we'll talk,” he decides. I roll my eyes at being told what to do but then a shower and bed does sound really good right now. I hug and kiss Jye and then head for a long, scalding hot shower. The ride home sobered me right up, and now I just feel agitated. I dress in my least sexy pajamas, flannel with cupcakes on them, and go to check on Jye. He's freshly bathed and in his own pajamas.

“Did he eat?” I ask James.

“Yes, I made him a sandwich,” James says, his expression not giving away his mood.

I read Jye a book in his bed until he falls asleep.

Time to face James.

***

James

I watch as Sasha walks out of Jye’s room and plops down ungracefully onto the chair. Her eyes are slightly red, they get like that after she has a few drinks.

“Will you listen to what I have to say?” I ask gently. She nods, her wide brown eyes locked with mine.