A Mess of a Man (Cruel & Beautiful #2)(49)

“I should—”

“Jenna, let him be. Your boyfriend is here. Who is this guy to you anyway?”

“No one,” she says and turns away from me.

I stop her and ask, “Why wouldn’t you have him meet you at your place instead of here knowing Kenneth was coming?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Her terse words get under my skin stoking the fury that had roiled through me minutes before.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She spins to face me with an evil smile on her face. “Tell me exactly what you know about relationships.” When I only stare, she adds, “Exactly nothing. You know nothing. How can you help me?”

“Try me. Just because I don’t want a relationship doesn’t mean I don’t get them.”

A huff escapes her and she flings her hair over her shoulder. “The longest relationship you’ve ever had is Karen.”

“We weren’t in a relationship.”

She shakes her head. “Bingo. That’s why you know nothing. You were with her exclusively for months. You brought her over for Sunday dinner.”

“That was a mistake,” I interject.

“Mom and Dad didn’t see it that way. You took her to business meetings.”

“It was convenient. She was convenient. It was easier to f*ck one girl.”

“Yeah, and I hear you’re dating Samantha Calhoun now.”

My jaw drops. “I’m not dating her.”

She knows exactly what I mean by that.

“You are a piece of work, big brother. And you want to give me advice?”

I ignore her because I need to know. “How do you know Samantha?”

Jenna gets a gleam in her eye. “You like her.”

It was a statement and not a question. “No.” The lie burns on my tongue, but I press on. “I’m just curious how you know her and why you think we’re dating.”

She studies me and I pray she doesn’t read my eagerness to know the answers to those questions. Jenna can be a real bulldog about things when she has a scent.

“Mom told me you brought her to dinner. And how do I know her? She’s got a business and I’ve seen her around. She’s your type as far as looks go. But I haven’t seen her with many guys over the years. I’m guessing she’s the relationship type, which you claim not to be.”

I almost sigh in relief. For a moment I thought maybe there were rumors about me and her. Charleston is big, but not that big in certain circles. Last thing I would want would be her reputation to be sullied by being involved with me.

She jumps to her own conclusion when I don’t answer. “You do like her.”

I cover my eyes hoping my next lie will be accepted.

“I don’t. There might have been something, but I cut it off. I don’t want to hurt her. She’s a good one.”

“Oh. My. God.”

“What?”

“Your lame excuse for not involving yourself with her is actually a declaration that you care.”

“I do not.”

“Do too. When have you ever cared about whether or not you hurt a girl’s feelings?”

“Always.”

“Bullshit. You break up with them with silly excuses and they all end up broken hearted. Except I think you met your match with Karen. She’s not giving up, dumb girl.”

I groan not liking the direction of the conversation and changing course.

“And what about you and Kenneth? It’s so obvious you’re into Brandon. What gives?”

“Are we talking boys now?”

I glare at her.

“Fine, I like him. I like him a lot. But Dad will never accept him.” I open my mouth to disagree then shut it. “See?” she adds.

“You can’t run away from what you want. Dad isn’t the one in a relationship with the guy.”

“You sound like Drew.”

I become rigid for a second with the reminder.

“Ben, I’m sorry.”

I pull her in for a hug and kiss the top of her head. “It’s okay.”

But it’s not. I miss the hell out of the guy. As my sister hugs me back, I think about my advice to her. I know what Drew would do about Samantha if he were me. The question is what will I do, especially since I can’t stop thinking about her.





It’s time to call a meeting of the minds. Lauren’s in charge of gathering the flock together at our place, with promises of copious amounts of food and alcohol. My only wish is that they’re waiting for me when I walk in the door from work.

Lauren comes through like she always does. The door’s not even closed behind me before Hayley grabs my handbag and laptop bag I’m carrying and Berkeley shoves a shot of tequila and a lime in both of my hands saying, “Bottoms up.”

I put the shot glass to my lips and tilt my head back, feeling the burn of the liquid silver run all the way into my stomach. “Thanks. I needed that.”

Britt comes up behind me with another one. “Here.”

Since this is my liquid therapy session, I don’t refuse, and tip shot number two back. “Ahh. Just what the doctor ordered.”

“Good. Now go put your comfy clothes on and tell us what’s got your thong wadded up your hoohah.” Leave it to Berkeley to come up with an image like that. I don’t argue but go and change so I can get all this baggage off my chest. The weight of it is crushing me.