I decided my pride would have to take a hit, and turned to run get help.
I didn’t get far. Bryce took hold of my face, and I wish I could have called it a caress, but it wasn’t.
“You’re hurting me, Bryce,” I forced out as his fingers squeezed my cheeks, drawing my mouth near his.
“Me. I kept an eye out,” he gritted out, and then kissed me.
His kiss was bruising in a bad way. Rough, forced, not one bit tender, and tasted like tobacco and booze.
I said, “Stop,” into his mouth, but he didn’t. Finally, I stomped on his foot as hard as I could and wrested myself away.
“Shit,” I muttered. My clog had done a number on his foot—Bryce was bent over in well-deserved pain—but my ankle had turned when I brought my foot down. Now I couldn’t put weight on it.
“Claire, I’m sorry. It’s just—”
“No just. I quit.” I turned and limped to the back room and fell onto the bench.
Shit,shit, shit. My right foot was swelling out of my shoe. With my head in my hands, I felt the tears come. Bryce and the Southern had been my rock. Now that was destroyed.
Why hadn’t I seen through Bryce’s real feelings for me?
Because I had always been too clouded with memories of Drew. That’s why.
Drew had no right, making demands of my boss, but neither did Bryce. I knew Drew’s BS came from a good place, but still he shouldn’t have done that ... and now I couldn’t drive. Hell, I could barely stand.
Who the hell was I supposed to call? Drew?
No way. I was too pissed. And he would go ballistic.
So I decided to text Molly.
On my way out, Bryce tried to stop me. “Wait, Claire,” he hollered.
“It’s Jules,” I yelled back, limping to the back door.
“Wait! Please.”
“No, and if you’re smart, you won’t drag Drew into this. That’ll be a beat down and a lawsuit for you. Just send me my paycheck and stay out of my life. Go home and sober up, Bryce.”
With that, I went outside. The fall night air only slightly cooled my temper. I leaned against the brick wall until the sight of Molly’s headlights only lifted my spirits briefly.
Drew
Best Saturday night ever.
I might as well have been a teenage girl riding an emotional high after her senior prom. That’s how my chest continued to rise and fall—with pride, completion, devotion.
God, I was a sap.
No surprise, I’d let Darla stay up until ten.When Mom’s away, the kids will play.
Now as I sank into my couch, I chuckled over my Scotch.
We’d spent an hour going through the house, discovering a few secret hiding places and deciding the guest room in the back would be hers. It was the larger of the two, and had a small balcony facing the ocean. I hoped Jules wouldn’t argue it wasn’t safe; I planned to have safety locks installed on the balcony doors.
Right now, the room only had a small couch and a TV in there, but I promised Darla we would go the very next day and get everything she needed.
She wanted to paint it silver with hot-pink stripes.
