The Closer You Come (The Original Heartbreakers, #1)(52)

He stiffened. Did she want him to date her sister? “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“I know. But maybe one day you’ll find someone willing to put up with you.”

“I won’t.”

“That’s what I told Jessie Kay,” she announced.

He frowned, not liking her adamancy. He could commit if he wanted. Look at Daphne. If she’d stayed with him, he would still be with her. They’d be married, maybe even have a kid.

A pang of longing hit him, but he quickly quashed it.

There’d be no kids. Not for him. Not ever, he reminded himself. He didn’t want to be responsible for someone else’s emotional or physical well-being. If he screwed someone up the way he’d been screwed up, allowed his own flesh and blood to be hurt, the increase of guilt would finally choke him. He was sure of it.

“Jessie Kay wants to prove a picture of a girl won’t burn the skin off your chest,” Brook Lynn added. “If you open it up, you’ll find her favorite selfie.”

Something about her tone stuck with him... Was that jealousy? He wanted to study her features, but wouldn’t permit himself the luxury. “Being with her was a mistake,” he said softly. “You know that, don’t you?”

She hesitated before starting, “But—”

“No. No buts. She’s a good girl. Pretty, smart and capable, if only she’d try, but she’s not for me. That’s never going to change.”

“Fine. Sir.”

The word he’d meant in jest somehow created the very distance he’d thought he needed between them, but he realized now he couldn’t stand it. “I’ve changed my mind. You’ll call me Jase.”

“You’ll be lucky if that’s all I call you,” she muttered.

The sun must have shifted outside, because a beam of light suddenly spilled through the curtains, hitting the locket; the beads glimmered, and he couldn’t pull his gaze away. Clear stones in varying shades of red were anchored together with tiny black ones. Such exquisite detail, each piece glinting in perfect harmony. He remembered seeing similar trinkets in the shop and being impressed by the craftsmanship.

“Did you make this?” he asked.

Silence.

Finally, he glanced up. Brook Lynn’s attention had moved from him to...he wasn’t sure where. She would be totally deaf this week, he remembered Jessie Kay telling him.

He tapped her arm, careful not to linger too long on her softness, and when she faced him, he repeated his question.

“I did, yes,” she said, her pride obvious.

“I—” Love it. “Thank you,” he said, carefully placing the necklace in his pocket.

“I’ll tell her you were pleased.”

“Don’t,” he said. “That will only encourage her.”

Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “Sleeping with her also encouraged her.”

He thought he heard irritation mixed with another hint of jealousy. As if. Only hearing what I want to hear.

He gnashed his teeth. “Rest. I’ll be outside if you need me.”

“I don’t have my bell,” she replied with sass.

“All you have to do is shout, and I’ll come running.”

*

THIS DAY IS going wonderfully, Brook Lynn thought. And terribly.

She didn’t rest, and she didn’t leave her implants on silent, as ordered; she got started on her chores, listened for Jase and pondered. Her mind was like a playground for naughty toddlers, different thoughts swinging from different parts of the jungle gym.

After her bout of crying last night, she’d picked herself up yet again and decided to put all of her eggs in Jase’s basket. And okay, that was a stupid saying, making her think of female eggs and Jase putting his—

Never mind. Now that she was putting all of her time and energy into her job with Jase—better—she would be able to get a full eight hours of sleep every night. A dream come true! She would get to cook, one of her favorite activities, and still have time for fun. Finally! She and Jessie Kay would be able to eat right because she would ensure Jase and his friends ate right, the four main food groups part of everyone’s daily diet: something fried, something with gobs of butter, something with heaps of sugar and sweet tea.

For the first time in a very long time, she had nothing to complain about. She had hope again, all because of the man interested in seeing to her every need.

So...why do I feel so unsatisfied?

Jessie Kay had taken off before Brook Lynn had awoken, so she’d sent her sister a text telling her she’d be at Jase’s and afterward, Brad’s. It was time to plan the details of their date.

Her sister’s response?

Will U B drinking while UR w/Brad?

No.

Playing strip anything?

No.

Having sex?

NO!

Then why the heck R U going 2 see him?

A woman rounded the corner, her short, dark hair mussed, her cheeks flushed from exertion. Her clothes were wrinkled and her button-up top misaligned. She also had on a pencil skirt and mile-high heels, and she was clearly a professional of some sort, not in the hooker sense, but in the someone-who-worked-inside-an-office sense.

She spotted Brook Lynn, skidded to a stop and scowled. “Who are you?”

“Uh, that would be my line.” The woman was unfamiliar, not from Strawberry Valley.