Beautiful Broken Promises(5)

I knew everything about her. I knew that her biggest fear was being alone. I knew that her hair got outrageously frizzy with even a small amount of humidity. I knew that her friends were everything to her because the family she left behind all those years ago meant nothing to her—at least she tried to make me think they meant nothing. I knew that she loved to sneak peanut butter in the middle of the night and that she had to keep two cups of water by her bedside because she always woke up thirsty. And I knew she was in love with Jace Riley the very first time she spoke about him, even if it was to tell me how much she hated him.

I could only hope the next time I fell in love I would know the girl half as well as I knew Audrey. She was my sister, maybe not by blood, but in every way it counted. She was my best friend and I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I’d made amends with her, no matter how small the divide was between us.

Audrey knew me better than anyone, but she didn’t know everything. I’ve kept some of my biggest secrets from her and if she were to ever find out, it would kill her. I understood her heart though. If she knew all of my secrets, she wouldn’t rest until everything was resolved. And that was not her job—it wasn’t her burden to take on. It was mine. I had made those promises, and I was doing everything in my power to make things right.

“Doll, you have to know how sorry I am. I realize how tired you’ve been lately with a newborn. I’m sorry a thousand times over. Good news is I’ll be out of your hair soon. My landlord said that the house should be done any day now and I need to head out of town tonight, so you and Jace will be Lane-free in a matter of hours.”

“No!” she cried and then shifted so we were facing one another. “You can stay here, please don’t leave. I hate when you go out-of-town… you never come back happy.” Tears began to well up in her eyes and I had to remind myself Audrey was on hormone overload--every little thing could bring on the waterworks. Tread lightly, buddy.

Audrey was used to my out-of-town trips, as I’ve been taking them since she met me. I never came back happy because I never got the result I was hoping for, which was having her back in my arms. Going on those trips was the only thing that made me feel as if I were actually getting closer to her.

“Trust me, you could do without me for a few days. I think Jace will like having his girls all to himself again,” I teased her. The mention of Jace brought a small smile to her face, but it was fleeting. I had a house in town that I rented, but while my landlord had been fixing a burst pipe, I’d been hopping between three of my buddies’ homes.

“I wish you would just stay here.”

“Doll, half of my job involves travel, so there will always be times that I have to go. Don’t forget your husband is my boss. It’s his orders. Besides, we can’t all afford big estates on our own piece of land.” I may have omitted that this trip was not on her husband’s orders.

She rolled her eyes. “Why would you bring a girl home? You have never, and I mean never, done that. And why her? Is there something special about her?” she asked, grimacing.

“I just learned her name when Jace barged in the room. Trust me, doll, it wasn’t the girl. I messed up. I drank too much and she gave me a ride home. Before I knew it, she was following me up the stairs and... well...”

“Yeah, I don’t need to know the rest,” she replied in a flat tone. Then she sighed deeply, and I could sense her heavy thoughts.

“Spit it out...” I coaxed.

“I just hate...”

“Come on, I won’t leave until you tell me and it might get weird when your husband comes back to bed.”

“I hate that Jace saw her body. It was so perfect. Perfect breasts. Perfect ass. Not a stretch mark on her. While I’m... well, I can’t even talk about it.”

My mouth dropped open and I had no words. I knew she wouldn’t be happy seeing a trampy bar girl parade around her house, but I never thought she would compare herself. Maybe she forgot that she just had a baby. Or maybe she forgot how her husband worshipped the ground she walked on. The idea that Jace would give even a second thought to Gemma made me laugh hard.

“Don’t laugh! This is serious,” she scolded.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I tried to hold it in.” I continued to laugh. “Man, I wish Jace had heard you say that.”

“I don’t,” she groaned.

“Too bad, babe. I could have heard that ridiculous comment on the other side of the house,” Jace interrupted.