“Is there a reason why we shouldn’t?”
What in the world has gotten into him?
No matter how hard I rack my brain, I can’t think of a thing that’s happened between that kiss and right now that would cause this sudden change in him.
“Not really, I reckon,” he says and stops there. Which makes me want to scream.
“So?” I prompt, unable to keep the frustration from my voice.
“So last night, Cash told me ’bout you busting in on him and Scarlet on New Year’s Eve.”
I wait for him to go on. When he doesn’t, I try to figure out what that has to do with anything. When I can’t, I show how articulate I can be by saying, “Yeah. So?”
A muscle works in one side of his jaw. “So Iaskedyou straight out if you came to me ’cause you wanted to be with me or ’cause you were aiming to get back at Cash. And you said it was 99 percent about me and only 1 percent about Cash.”
“Yeah. So?” I figure if it’s nice, say it twice.
“So youlied.” Now the muscles on either side of his jaw are going hog-wild. “And it was bad enough you telling me you changed your mind ’bout seeing where things might lead with us ’cause you found that letter Cash got from the doctor at Johns Hopkins, which made you realize how bad things are for him, which, in turn, made you claim you didn’t want to do anything to rock his boat. But now I hear the real reason you came to me was ’cause you walked in on him screwing another woman.”
The longer he talks, the louder his voice gets. By the time he’s finished, the folks at the tables around us are blatantly eavesdropping.
Heat floods my cheeks. That doesn’t stop me from giving them the stink eye, and scolding, “Y’all mind your own biscuits.”
They turn away, chagrined.
Aunt Bea would be mortified. But no one can accuse me of not having pluck.
The waitress arrives with our refills, which gives me blessed time to organize my thoughts. After she’s gone, I start enumerating points on my fingers.
“Number one, I didn’t lie to you. When I came out to the swamp, itwasabout wanting to be with you. Number two, if you remember correctly, I told you I wanted you while we were at the party,beforeI walked in on Cash and Scarlet, so that blows your timeline of events right out of the water. And number three…” I trail off. I’ve gotten myself so worked up I’ve forgotten number three. I end with, “So there!”
The look in his eyes is hot enough to fry an egg. “See, I might believe you, except when I asked if you would choose me or Cash if he was healthy and whole, you didn’t answer. You hesitated.”
“That’s not exactly the question you posed,” I remind him, wondering how he’d feel if he’d been a fly on the wall of Cash’s house last night. If he’d heard what I said.
“Close enough,” he argues.
“What do you want from me, Luc? You want me to say that because you and I have shared two kisses I no longer give a flying fig about Cash? If that’s what you’re after, I can’t give it to you. I’ll always care about him. He wasn’t simply my first love, he was my friend. He’sstillmy friend and—”
“Ofcoursethat’s not what I want.” He crosses his arms. It makes his biceps bulge.
I notice two women at the table across the way are making doe eyes at him. I scowl at them until they turn away, properly put in their places.
“Then whatdoyou want?” I ask again. “Because danged if I can figure it out.”
“I want you tochoose,Maggie May.”
My eyes go so wide they start burning. “Are you saying it’s him or you? That I can’t be friends withbothof y’all anymore?”
“Hell no.” He acts offended that I would even suggest such an idea. “We’ll always be friends. No matter what. What I’m saying is you gotta choose whether friendship is all you want from me. Or whether you want something more. Then you gotta let meknow. Until you do, you and I are gonna be crossways, ’cause as things stand right now, I’m feeling more than a bit jerked ’round. And I’m not too proud to admit I don’t care for it.”
Jerked around?Jerked around?
“How can you say that?” I demand. “I’mtryingto do what’s right, dang it!”
“Right for who?” His eyes flash, and he doesn’t look like a poet now. He looks all bullheaded and…and…delicious.Down, girl.“’Cause you sure as shit aren’t aiming to do what’s right forme.”
Hot blood stings my cheeks. “I can’t believe you’re being so selfish. This isn’t about you. It’s not even about me. It’s about our friend who’s suffering and—”
