Page 42 of Ravaged
“Since he stared me down as I headed in here, I’m guessing he has an idea what I’m up to. But just in case, snitches don’t just get stitches but an incurable case of jock itch.” Oh thank you, God, for at least letting me give him Angela BassettGunpowder Milkshakevibes when inside I’m much closer to Scooby—ruh roh. “What are you doing in here? I thought you were perfecting the art of avoidance with me.”
Yes, kettle, I’m calling you black. Suck it up.
“That was the plan.”
Well ... damn. Jordan has never been one to beat around the bush, but I did expect him to hedge just a little.
“Great. Fine.” I toast him with a smile so fake the feds should be busting through Cyrus’s door any second to arrest me for counterfeiting. “Thanks for that clarification. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to continue robbing Cyrus in peace.”
“I said that was the plan.” He edges closer, leans a hip against the marble island, and crosses his arms over his chest. “I didn’t say it’s been working.”
“Seems like it’s been working swimmingly from where I’m standing.”
Drink, bitch. Shut up and drink.
For once, I listen to that small voice in my head. If my mouth is filled with wine, I can’t talk. Stupid, too-revealing words can’t tumble from my lips.
Silence blankets the room, the muted sounds of laughter and chatter from the formal dining room only emphasizing the strain that didn’t exist between us before.
How did this happen? How did we get here?
I hate it. Hate that I’m scared to ask him those very questions because the answers might wound me more than his admission of avoiding me.
“Your sister and Cyrus. Engaged. Did you have any idea?” he murmurs.
I let out a short harsh laugh that scratches my throat. “Is this the small-talk portion of the program? Okay, I’ll go with it. No, I didn’t know. And yes, I’m thrilled for them. They deserve all the happiness, and if Zora doesn’t ask me to be maid of honor, I’ll shave her eyebrows while she sleeps.”
Yikes. Maaaybe I’ve had a little too much celebratory wine.
I set my glass down on the counter.
He doesn’t move, and his facial expression doesn’t change. Yet a sharpness enters his eyes, and I stifle a telling flinch. Too many people underestimate his pretty face and laid-back manner. There’s nothing silly or unobservant about him. He possesses a dangerously sharp intellect, and a cop on stakeout and hopped up on coffee couldn’t beat his perception skills.
The man sees too much. Like right now.
Full of liquid courage, I hike up my chin and meet that ice-blue gaze.
“What’s wrong?”
The blunt demand—not question—seems to echo in the room, bouncing off the pristine kitchen walls. What’s wrong? Really?
Let’s start with, Why have you treated me like I have the clap for the last two weeks?
Why have you dropped me like a bad habit after bulldozing your way into my life with your easy smile and easier promises of friendship?
Who’s the gorgeous woman in the black minidress?
I don’t voice any of that. Instead, I mimic his pose, crossing my arms and cocking my hip against the counter.
“Is this what we’re going to do now?” I ask, deliberately infusing my voice with a calm that evacuated the building about three glasses ago. “Since when did we become the people who pretend with each other? Who don’t acknowledge the elephant in the room and wrestle that bitch to the ground? Just let me know so I can adjust my expectations of this relationship.” I wave a hand back and forth in the wide space between us. “But do me a favor. Don’t gaslight me. Don’t ignore me for days, then walk in here acting like nothing’s happened and we’re good. Because news flash, Jordan. We’re. Not. Good.”
My breath seesaws in my chest, my fingers fisting under my arms. Regret tries to barrel in, and for a second, the urge to cringe away from the flood of accusations, of emotions, overwhelms me. But I don’t backpedal from them; I don’t leave the kitchen.
No, I want an answer. Even if we leave this house tonight with our relationship redefined, at least I’ll know it.
I won’t be left in the dark, left wondering, made the fool ... again.
“I miss you.”
