The Homecoming (Thunder Point #6)(33)

“So do I,” she said in a fairly quiet voice. She cleared her throat. “She’s not fat and she’s not missing a tooth in front.”

He grinned. “That put me in a bad spot,” he said. “The first time I ran into her was at Cliff’s, at the bar. I was meeting Mac and she was picking up some takeout. I couldn’t drive the image you’d painted of her out of my mind and I couldn’t stop laughing. She accused me of laughing at her and stomped off. It was embarrassing,” he said, laughing, rubbing his eyes. When he looked up, he found Iris smiling. “I mean, hell, she does have pink hair. And she dresses like she’s still in high school.”

“Sorry,” she said.

“No, you’re not. You always liked getting me into trouble.”

“Not that much. Why are you bringing me gifts, leaving them on my doorstep?”

He lifted his spoon of ice cream. “I’m warming you up. I made a lot of mistakes and I get it, but, Iris, you’re chilly. And so f**king unforgiving.”

“I forgive you,” she said. “Now stop.”

“I’ll stop when I’m convinced,” he said. “Besides, I didn’t do as much of that as Troy did. I’m going to show you I’m not that kid anymore. I’m going to get you back.”

“You can’t talk to me that way, Seth,” she said seriously. “You can’t. You have to stop it. You’re going to hurt me.”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. “You’re going to trust me again.”

“And when you have a change of heart? Walk away and can’t remember what happened or...or who I am? When you get another bout of amnesia?”

He was shaking his head. “You have no idea how much that loss of memory haunts me because I always wanted that to—” He stopped. “Listen...”

“Stop,” she said. She turned toward him, holding her ice cream. “I have a couple of things to say. Things that need saying.” She took a breath. “Seth, I was just a girl. I’ve since become an expert on girls and let me tell you, they don’t get over things like that easily. I didn’t get over it easily. I’m ready to accept your apology, ready to move on, ready to say it’s finally in the past and go forward. I’m all grown up now, but I’m no better at being used or treated like crap. Do you hear me, Seth? Because if you mess with my feelings again, there’s no guarantee I’ll let it go. No simple apology is going to make it go away. In fact, we could become sworn enemies.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I know, Iris, and I wouldn’t blame you. I never would have deliberately hurt you in the first place. I sure won’t in the second place.”

“Good. Be careful, then.”

“I promise.”

“No monkey business,” she said, taking a big mouthful of ice cream.

“We’ll just go to dinner one night. Not in Thunder Point,” he suggested.

“No,” she said. “That would be monkey business.”

“No, it would be dinner,” he said. “You had dinner with Troy. A friendly, non-romantic dinner...”

“Troy is different.”

“Troy can give you gifts but I can’t?”

“That’s right, you know why? Because Troy didn’t steal my virginity and break my heart and Troy is a colleague and friend. We have an adult relationship.”

“Troy loves you,” Seth said.

“Now you’re being ridiculous,” she said. “I have an understanding with Troy.”

“Oh?” he asked. “Friends with benefits?”

“Ack,” she said, punching him in the arm. “I don’t have benefits with anyone!”

He rubbed his arm. “That’s encouraging,” he said. “What is it about me that makes you want to hit me?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m not like this with anyone else. I think when I’m around you I regress to my eight-year-old self.”

“Try to get a handle on that, will you? You’re stronger than you look.”

“I could’ve helped you tonight, you know,” she said, grinning suddenly. “I could’ve taken one of the men and held him while you managed the other one. We did it back in the day. Playground justice—we stood up for each other.”

“We were really young then, Iris. I don’t want you to defend my honor anymore. And I’d like you to stop slugging me!”

“You were so scrappy, but I could take you,” she said. “It’s good that you gave Keith Urban his haircut back, though.”

“Do you really want to bring up the subject of hair, Miss Brillo?”

“Now see, I could be damaged for life from careless comments like that!” But she laughed very happily. “You really did look like a wild child. Some throwback rescued from a jungle or something with your long golden hair when everyone else had buzz cuts...”

“My mother loved my hair,” he said. “By the way, you can’t take me anymore so stop slugging me!”

“You did good tonight, Seth. I watched from the dining room.”

“Watched me take one in the face?” he asked.

“It was just an elbow,” she said. “Kind of an accident. You managed very well. It was impressive, actually. I think you actually grew after high school. How tall are you, anyway?”