“Oh, yeah, that’s no problem.” Sayer tilted his headtoward his Jeep. “Should we go?”
“Sounds good.”Jesse waitinga beat and asked, “Do you want me to drive?”
“No that’s all right. I can drive. It will help me geta feel for the area.”
“Okay, let me grab the paperwork out of my car then.”
“Sounds good.”
Jesse turned to me with a soft smile. I was prettysure I looked like a cartoon character after that exchange, complete with mymouth hanging open and my eyeballs bugging out of my head. “Can I call youlater, Caroline?” I nodded because I couldn’t seem to make words form. Hissmile stretched and he held up his hand to wave goodbye. “All right, then, talkto you later.”
“Bye, Jesse.”
Sayer walked over to the counter, giving Jesse hisback.
Some of my sanity returned and I tilted my head to stareat him. “What the hell?”
His eyes cut to mine. “Excuse me?”
“What the hell are you doing with Jesse? What is goingon?”
His expression hardened, the corner of his jaw tickingwith fury. “It’s none of your business,Caroline.”
“Stop it,” I hissed. “Stop saying my name like that,like it’s some sort of crime against humanity or great offense to you. Carolineis my name. It’s what people are supposed to call me!”
He made a sound that said he didn’t entirely agreewith me.
“And what are you going to do with Jesse? Seriously, Ihave a right to know. You better not hurt him. Or worse! Sayer, are you goingto kill him? You just got out of prison and I don’t think that would be a good—”
“Are you kidding me? Have I ever killed anyone before?God, Caroline, what kind of monster do you think I am?”
I took a steadying breath. I hadn’t really thought hewas going to kill Jesse. But it doesn’t hurt to ask questions. There was nosuch thing as a bad question, you know. “I just don’t understand why you twoare going anywhere together. You guys have nothing in common.”
He leaned forward on the counter, resting his forearmsin front of mine. He’d scooted intentionally close, trying to get into my head.But I wasn’t going to let him. I was stronger than those glasses and that smelland the heat of his body. So much stronger.
“We have you in common,” he taunted. “Maybe we’regoing to compare Caro to Caroline. Maybe we should swap details.” His headdipped, bringing his mouth close to my temple. His voice was rough, deep and smoothand hard all at once. “Do you make that sound when he nibbles on your ear? Areyou still greedy with your mouth? Does he know where you like his fingers—”
“Stop.” I was breathless, and furious and blind withrage. “Enough.”
He pulled back, that cruel smirk I was getting used totwisting his mouth. “Don’t tell me you’re shy now, Six? After all we’ve beenthrough?”
“It’s not like that with him.” There was enough gritin my voice that his eyebrows jumped. “We’re friends, asshole. Just friends.We’ve never so much as kissed goodbye, so whatever you’re planning for him todayneeds to end. He’s innocent. He hasn’t done a goddamn thing to you.”
“You’re so full of shit,” he snarled. “You showed up atmy gallery in a sexy as sin dress hanging all over him. Yeah, I’m so sure hehasn’t hit this.”
My eyes were going to start shooting fireballs anysecond. I could feel them burning behind my eyelids, ready to raze this bastardof a man. “Enough, Sayer. I get that I hurt you. I get that you’re pissed off.But Jesse and I aren’t anything but an awkward first date interrupted by my ex-boyfriendshowing up to ruin the night. Not that it’s any of your business. I’m onlytelling you this so you’ll leave Jesse the hell alone. He’s not some vendettafor you to settle. He’s innocent.”
Sayer tapped the counter. “You did so much more thanhurt me, Caro. You showed me who you really are.”
“You’re such a prick.” Emotion roared through me,drowning out reason and logic and sanity. “You don’t even know what you’retalking about. You want to blame me for leaving you! But you won’t even own upto your part! What you did!”
“What did I do, Six? What did I do to you?”
You chose the brothers over your pregnant girlfriend,over your child. I sucked in my bottom lip, unwilling to let him keep gettingto me. “Doesn’t matter now.”
He nodded, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “You’refucking right about that.” He stepped back from the counter, tucking his handsinto his pockets. “But for what it’s worth, I’m not taking Jesse out into thewoods to murder him. He’s selling a piece of property. I might be interested inbuying it. I know this is hard for you to wrap your judgmental mind around, butI’m not here to ruin your life. I’m here to start my own.”
I had nothing to say to him. He could tout that lieall he wanted, but I would never believe him. There was something else going onwith him. Sayer Wesley didn’t just accidentally stumble into my life and decideto be a law-abiding, upstanding citizen.
