Page 50 of Drive Me Wilde

"What an asshole," I say. "And Emily—well, we were never friends, so I guess there was no loyalty broken there."

"No, there was only one very loyal person in that scenario, and that was Jameson Wilde."

I sit back almost as if someone pushed me. "But why? He was always angry and scowling when I was hanging around."

Kinsley laughs quietly. "Yes, you mean like the olden days when the boys dipped the pigtails of the girl in front of them in the inkwell because of a crush? Trust me, those of us standing just outside that twisted circle of you, your brother and his two best friends had a much better view of the whole thing. It's like being too close to the mountains. You get a better view from a distance. Jameson Wilde was angry because he had to stand by and watch his friend, Zach, be with the girl he loved. I think having Zach cheat on you with Emily was the final straw for him."

Nev walks in the door. "Hey, what's going on?" she asks as she places her keys on the small entry table.

Kinsley shoots me a sly wink, but I'm so stunned by our conversation I can't return one. "We were just discussing how Indi would make a fine assistant in the sandwich shop."

Nev chuckles lightly as she walks to the kitchen. She sticks a cup of this morning's coffee in the microwave and turns to talkto us over the kitchen counter. She sees our faces and her eyes round. "Wait. You're serious? You had this big, important job in L.A., and now you want to slice tomatoes in my sandwich shop?"

I smile at her. "What do you say? By the way, I know the difference between cheddar and jack cheese."

The microwave dings, but Nev ignores it. "I would love to have you, but think on it for a few days. You might change your mind. It's only part-time work."

"Then you can work at Glenn's Pub the other hours," Kinsley says. My friend is persistent when she's looking for a certain outcome, and having me stay in town is that end result she's pursuing.

"I'll think on it just to make sure, Nev. Thanks." I get up from the couch. "Does anyone else need the shower? I've got sand in all the wrong places."

"Go ahead. I can smell like a deli for a few more minutes," Nev says.

I head into the bathroom to get showered. Then I'm heading over to Jameson's house to check on him and to ask him why the hell he kept so many damn secrets from me.

twenty-two

. . .

Indi

Iopted for a pink sundress, and I'm not entirely sure why. I'm usually a shorts and T-shirt kind of girl, but after the shower, as I was brushing my wet hair, something prodded me to switch it up and be more feminine for a change. Kinsley lent me her car, so I didn't have to pedal across town in a dress.

Jameson's truck is in the driveway, and I can hear music as I get out of the car. The sound is a little too clear to be coming through the thick walls of the house. I realize as I walk to the front door that the music is coming from outside. There's a large deck off the back of the house that looks out over the ocean.

I open the short gate to the yard and walk along the brick pavers to the deck. The horizon is a smear of pastel colors as the sun releases its final sigh for the day. Jameson is sitting on one of the lounges with a bowl of microwave popcorn on his stomach. He's tossing the white, salty puffs to a very happy blue jay. The music is loud enough that he didn't hear me come through the gate or step on the deck.

"That blue jay may never leave again," I say.

He turns to me, and there's a stretch of silence as he brazenly looks me up and down. "Nice dress, Jones."

I pull a lounge closer. There's a unicorn beach towel hanging over the back of it. Seeing it, I realize how much I miss Rio, and I've only known her a few days. It's impossible to imagine how Jameson feels. "May I?" I ask as I wave a hand over the lounge.

"Of course." I'm keenly aware that he's watching my legs as I pull them up on the lounge, and it occurs to me that I want him to look.

"Those legs," he mutters to himself. He holds the popcorn bowl out. "Dinner?"

I reach in and take a few pieces. The blue jay has turned his focus to me, and he doesn't look happy about this whole sharing the spoils thing. I toss him a kernel. He hops over, picks it up and flies off with it.

Jameson's arm has been rewrapped with clean gauze. "Did you have to get more stitches?"

"Nah. Just put on a little superglue. Works in a pinch. I wrapped it tight, so it doesn't start bleeding again." He lifts his hand and stretches out the long, callused fingers. "Can't feel my fingers anymore, but that's all right. Numbness is highly underrated as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes I wish I could just flip a switch and go numb from head to toe."

I swing my legs over and sit facing him. "You'll get her back," I say. "You've got a lawyer on it, right?"

He nods. "The best money can buy. Just worry about her in the meantime, you know? I know Nicole raised her for those first nine years, and she was fine but?—"

"But she's safer with you," I say.

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