Page 16 of As Long As You Kiss Me

“Badly,” Sully spat. “You put a hole through our bedroom wall.”

He brushed off her concern. “You make that sound worse than it was.”

He was actually serious. Jackson had to hold back the biting words that were fighting to come out of his mouth.

“You’re not safe to be around. You can’t control your temper.” Sully shook her head. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you right now.”

“I went to therapy, and I fixed all my issues.”

Yeah right.

“I don’t care because you’re not in my life anymore, and you never will be. Read my lips, Mason. Get away from me and stay away from me.”

A surge of pride welled up inside of Jackson. She was being so strong in the face of her abuser.

Fury flashed in Mason’s eyes. “You’re going to regret this. If you don’t talk to me, and at least give me a chance, you’re going to regret it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jackson had to hold his hands together in his lap to keep from punching the guy. How dare he threaten Sully like that? This couldn’t go on any further. Jackson had to do something to give the guy a clear message.

“It’s none of your business what it means. This is between Sully and me, so back off. You may think you’re tough because you were in the military, but you don’t scare me.”

He’d sure looked scared the last time he’d chased him off. “It is my business.” Jackson spoke before he really thought it through.

“And how’s that?” Mason demanded.

“Because Sully is my girlfriend now.”

The entire table turned their eyes on him. Hopefully, they wouldn’t blow his cover. He pleaded with them with his eyes to just play along. He needed to have them believe it was true, or Mason would never buy it. He just hoped Sully would go along with the plan. If he could get her to pose as his girlfriend, he could stick around to watch over her more.

“I don’t care who you are,” Mason said. “Sully and I were married.”

“Yeah, and now we’re divorced. Do you know what that means, Mason? How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from me? Don’t text me, don’t call, don’t approach me in public, and definitely don’t come to my house. We’re over.”

“You’re going to regret this.” Mason turned and stalked off.

Sully visibly relaxed as soon as he was gone, but her hands still shaky. It was clear that although she’d stood up to him, she was still terrified. She turned to Jackson. “Can I talk to you in private for a minute?”

“Sure.” He glanced at Aubrey and Bryant. “We’ll be right back.”

He led her over to the side of the tavern near the restrooms and leaned against the wall.

“What was that all about?” Sully asked.

“I had an idea when Mason was hounding you. What if we posed as a couple to get him to finally accept that you’ve moved on and won’t be going back to him?”

“I know I started all of this, but I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for us to pretend to be together.”

“Why not?”

“Because it would be like lying to everyone around us.”

“It would be that way. For this to work, the general population of Maple Creek would need to hold it as common knowledge that we’re together.”

“And we’d have to convince Aubrey and Bryant that we really are a couple?”

“If we want this to work. You know Aubrey isn’t really the best at keeping secrets.”

“I don’t know.” Sully twisted a strand of hair around her finger.

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