Fractured (Lucian & Lia #2)(24)
“That’s okay; I got to stare at your hot boyfriend for a few minutes at least,” she jokes. Then she adds, “At least he’s not a complete cheating * like mine.”
My mouth drops open at her statement. Is she talking about Jake? I look at her carefully, thinking maybe she’s joking, but by the way she’s twisting her hands together, I don’t think she is. “Rose, what’s going on?” She lays her head back wearily against the couch.
“I shouldn’t have said that. The last thing you need is to hear about my problems. Just forget I mentioned it.”
I’m already shaking my head before she finishes speaking. “Oh, no, you don’t. You can’t drop something like that on me and then clam up. And trust me; I’d rather focus on anything other than myself right now, so spill.”
She groans loudly before turning to look at me. “Jake’s been cheating on me. I started suspecting something a few weeks ago when things just didn’t add up. Suddenly he would forget to call me or show up late for our dates. He was going off the grid for long stretches of time with no real explanation for where he’d been. Then there was the perfume I smelled on him, and when I asked him about it, he actually had the nerve to get angry with me for questioning him. So…I followed him one night when he said he was studying with the guys. He went to a house I didn’t know and locked lips with some skank right in the doorway.”
“NO!” I interrupt, unable to contain my amazement. Oh, my God, Jake cheating on Rose? They were like a super-couple. Together forever and sure to marry in the near future. They always seemed perfect for each other. They were one of the few things in my life I thought of as a constant. “Oh, Rose, surely there is some explanation. Maybe she’s just a friend.”
“Hmph, you don’t stick your tongue all over a friend’s tonsils while grabbing her ass.”
“Wow,” I say, still shocked. “I can’t believe that. Did you confront him?”
Fidgeting in her seat, she smirked, “Well, kinda…”
“Uh-oh.” I know that look well. Rose has done something evil; I can always tell.
“I might have waited until they went in her house and took out my heartache on his car…and possibly got arrested.”
She tagged the last part on so fast I almost missed it. “Wait, what?” I ask as my mouth falls open. Rose, smut-mouthed but law-abiding Rose.
“Yeah,” she says while shaking her head. “I guess the gunshots woke the neighborhood and my shouting match with Jake when he came flying out of the whore-bag’s house probably didn’t help much.”
“Holy crap, gunshots?” I know my eyes are bugging out of my head, which no doubt makes my battered face look even more unsightly than it already does.
Rose shrugs her shoulders. “I got a little excited and took my emergency shovel out of the boot of my car and knocked his windows out, but I wasn’t strong enough to puncture his tires with it, so I had to use my gun.” She looks so matter-of-fact that I feel like I’m overreacting for a moment before I shake it off. Hell, no I’m not!
“Oh, my God! Are you crazy? And what are you doing with a gun and a shovel in your car?”
Sounding perfectly reasonable, she says, “You know how much it snows around here in the wintertime. Sometimes, you need a shovel to navigate sidewalks or parking lots. As for the gun, I’ve had one for years. My daddy is a firm believer in protecting yourself. I’ve been able to hit a bull’s-eye in target practice every time since I was eight.” Cocking her finger, she points at me, adding, “Honey, if you’re ever in a gunfight, you are going to hope and pray I’m on your side.”
“Who are you, and where is my Martha Stewart best friend?” I ask, still flabbergasted. Do I know this girl at all?
Rose starts giggling, clutching her sides as she rolls around on the couch. “I’m still your Martha, bitch, but I’m also your Dirty Harry. Thanks to Mama and Daddy demanding equal time, I can bake and shoot with the best of them.”
I laugh with her for what seems like the first time in years. I’ve had nothing to laugh about lately, and my voice sounds rough as if it hasn’t been used nearly enough. Before I can catch my breath, Lucian comes into the room at a fast clip, looking startled by the scene in front of him. The male fantasy of two girls lying all over each other is probably a little skewed for him as he takes in me slumped over a reclining Rose as we both hold our sides and howl with laughter. I don’t know what’s so funny anymore, but I can’t seem to stop the flow. He pauses next to my head and as I stare up at him, I only laugh harder. He looks adorably confused, but I also see the glimmer of a smile at the corners of his mouth. He’s been so serious and uptight the last few days that it pulls at something deep inside me to see him relax if even for a moment.
“What’s so funny, ladies?” he asks when our laughter finally dies down to something more like hiccups.
“Just talking to my friend Martha Harry here,” I say with almost a straight face. Beside me, Rose giggles while Lucian looks between us as if trying to solve a puzzle. In a move that surprises me, he lowers a hand to my face, gently tracing my smiling lips before cupping my cheek.
“I’m almost afraid to know what that means, but if it puts this smile on your face, I don’t care. I’m even going to brave it and ask.” He lifts a brow in inquiry to Rose.