Page 113 of Sergeant O'
“Guess that depends on how badly you want to fix it.”
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Jade
I’d just finished changing into my pjs when three sharp knocks came from my front door.
Penny Lane darted toward the door like she planned to help me handle whoever it was.
I didn’t need to look through the peephole to know. Something about the rhythm—steady and certain—told me it was him.
I swallowed hard, uncertain whether to open the door or not.
He knocked again and called, “Jade?” loud enough that the neighbors probably heard it. I didn’t want to give them a reason to come outside and record him on my porch, so I cracked the door just a few inches, keeping the chain in place. “What do you want, Brian?”
He shifted his weight on his good leg, Lainey’s ridiculous rhinestone keychain dangling from his fingers. “To explain.”
“I saw the video.” My voice came out flatter than I meant it to. It wasn’t her hand on his arm that gutted me; it was him standing there, letting her talk like I didn’t exist.
“It’s not what it looked like.”
“That seems to be the theme of the week.”
He exhaled, jaw tightening. “She put me on the spot. A reporter asked if we were back together, and she played it up. I didn’t say anything because I thought it might take the heat off you.”
I stared at him. “So you just stood there and let her say it?”
“I thought keeping quiet was better than feeding the story.”
My hands shook, but I held his gaze. “You told me we should date other people, remember? And then you let the world think you already had. So congratulations, mission accomplished.”
He stepped closer, just enough that I caught the faint scent of his soap. “I don’t want her, Jade. I—”
“Stop.” My throat went tight. “You don’t get to say that now.”
For a second, he looked like he might argue, but I closed the door before he could find the words.
The soft click of the latch sounded final.
Penny Lane rubbed against my leg, meowing like she disagreed.
“Yeah, well,” I whispered, leaning my forehead against the wood, “he didn’t get to walk away one night and show up the next like nothing happened.”
My throat burned, but I swallowed it down. I was done crying over men. Especially him.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Brian
Guilt and frustration bubbled over when I walked in my front door and tossed Lainey’s keys into the bowl on the entryway table. I’d return them later—her car was already back next door.
The drive home hadn’t helped; I’d replayed every word the whole way.
Jade wouldn’t listen, and I couldn’t blame her. I’d done this to myself.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge, twisted the cap off, and eased into the recliner, careful not to jar my leg. It throbbed hard enough to make me grit my teeth, but I didn’t bother with the ice pack. Physical pain was easier to manage than what was running through my head.
I turned the TV on to a Cubs’ game. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were their Single-A affiliate, so I always rooted for them. Tonight, it didn’t even register who they were playing or what the score was.
