"What?"
"Whatever it is that's eating away at you."
"I miss Zoe." She muttered defensively and had him turning her to face him.
"Must be a hell of a lot to have you using your daughter. You're forgetting that my old room faces the driveway."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"About what? The fact that you went somewhere with Tyrell and came back looking very disheveled?" He asked in amusement. "How was it?"
She sent him a murderous look before shifting and putting space between them.
"Why don't we talk about the very deliberate way you and Jillian tried to avoid each other? And the fact that you who never spend time away from that cozy apartment of yours, is spending the night here?" She asked sweetly. "The last time we spoke, Jillian was going to try and seduce you. What happened, Dre, or should I guess?"
This time, he was the one to put space between them.
A frown marred his brow as he stretched his legs out and leaned his head back.
"We had something and now it's over."
Abigail gave him a disgusted look and a poke in the arm hard enough to have him wincing. "You complete idiot. Why on earth can't you see you belong together? Are you going to allow that bitch Marcie to dictate the rest of your life?"
"I could ask you the same thing." He pointed out dryly.
"My circumstance is different." She muttered. "He cannot waltz back into my life after what he did and expect me to fall at his feet. That by saying he loves me--" She cried out sharply when he grabbed her arm. "What the hell!"
"Tyrell told you he loves you?"
"So?" She angled her head, expression mutinous.
"And what did you say to that?"
"I told him to go to hell, that I was not the naïve girl back then. I grew up."
Amusement coated his face. "I admire your spunk. But what do you really feel about him?"
"Contempt and nothing more." His raised brows caused her to shift restlessly. "Okay, there might be an attraction."
"Just an attraction?"
"I don't care if there's anything more. I will not be making the same mistake again."
Letting go of her arm, he linked his hands between his thighs and stared at a Jackson Colby painting above the fireplace. The bold splash of color was the man's signature style and had him wondering what the hell the painting was supposed to represent.
"I don't know what to do about Jillian." His quiet admission had her staring at him.
"You're an educated man."
Turning his head, he sent her a dry look. "I'm afraid that what we shared will end badly. She means too much to me for me to want that to happen."
She touched his arm briefly. "You're overthinking things. She's loved you for years."
He felt a jolt at that. "I messed up royally. Told her we had to take a step back." He slid her a glance. "Mentioned that you're going through a lot and I had to be there for you."
"Oh, Andre."
He hunched his shoulders defensively. "It was getting too intense and I was damned scared." Lifting a hand, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Now she refuses to talk to me. I had no idea she would have come."
