“Because you like sex,” Mom says without flinching.
I cringe. “That’s it. I’m leaving!” My parents have always been overly affectionate and that hasn’t changed. Mom is in Dad’s arms right now. “I don’t want to hear about my parents having sex!” I step over to them, and Mom separates from Dad so I can give him a hug. “Thank you for what you said about Lucas,” I tell him.
“I never say what I don’t mean. I love you, princess. I only want the best for you. As for you and Lucas, I’m fine, but good luck with Jack.”
Dad winks at me and I let out anARGHsound, throwing my hands up in the air. “Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! I love you both!” I say, rinsing out my own coffee mug before picking up my bag and walking out the kitchen door my mom entered through.
I pause, my hand on the doorknob. “Do you happen to know if Jack is back, and if so, where is he?”
“He called when he landed. And if I had to guess, he went straight to see Lucas.”
I groan and rush out of their house and over to my car. Next stop? Lucas’s apartment.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Lucas
I’m standing inmy bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist when my phone buzzes. I glance down at the text from the front desk.
Jack Dare is here to see me.
“Fuck.” I message back to let him in. Then, I run a towel over my hair, change into a pair of track pants, and walk out to meet him.
I can’t say I’m surprised by the visit. Ever since Hudson caught Rainey and me kissing in the storage room, I’ve been expecting a text, a call, or for him to drop by after he arrived back in Miami. Apparently, he had an early flight.
A loud knock sounds on my door, and I open it to let him in.
Jack looks me over from my bare feet, up past my pants, to my exposed chest, and scowls. “Where is she?” Jack storms past me into my apartment.
“She’s not here.” No way will I play dumb with my best friend. “Sit down and we’ll talk.”
Next thing I know, he swings, his fist connecting with my jaw. “That’s for breaking bro code,” he mutters.
“And that’s the only free one you get.” I rub my throbbing jaw. “Now sit the fuck down and let’s discuss things like civilized people.”
Jack’s frown deepens. “My sister? Really? And you’re making out with her in a storage closet like she’s not worth—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” I warn him. Without another word, I turn my back to him and head into the great room off thekitchen. I take a seat in a club chair and wait for him to do the same. Hopefully across the room from me.
From my teenage years running with a rough crowed, I know how to take a hit… and give one as well, but that’s not what I want with my friend and Rainey’s brother.
Jack sits down in the matching chair, so there’s a large cocktail table between us. He rubs his hand over the back of his neck as he shakes his head. “She’s my sister and she deserves respect.”
I narrow my gaze. “What makes you think she won’t get that from me?” Does he really think I’m dumb enough to fuck up our friendship and our business by treating Rainey like shit?
Jack catches my gaze and stares. “Really? Mr. I Don’t Date and They All Know the Score? Or do you give them more than a night or two, then dump them when they get too close? Is that what you’re doing with Rainey?”
“That insinuation is offensive, but I can see why you made the assumption.” I draw a deep breath and let it out. Lucas is well aware of my past. What he doesn’t know is how it’s affected me. I’m not one to bare my soul. Rainey’s gotten more of me than anyone before her; looks like I’m going to have to give Jacksomething.
I lean forward, elbows on my thighs, my hands dangling between my legs. “I admit to how I’ve treated women in the past. No, I didn’t let anyone get close. Did you ever wonder why?” Before Jack can answer, I go on. “When your own parents don’t give a shit if you come home for dinner, eat, or even show up at night to go to sleep, you get used to being treated like an afterthought.” I swallow over the lump now in my throat. “I dumped those women before they could do the same to me. And let’s not forget, they all knew my lack of intentions going into things.”
He winces, the friend in him feeling bad for me, something I neither want nor need. “I never knew any of that.”
My lips lift in a wry grin. “We’re men. Do we ever talk to each other about feelings?”
He lets out a laugh that gives me hope we’ll work our way past this.
“And my sister?” he asks. “Does she know the score, too?” Jack rubs a hand over his face and groans. “Because I’ve got to tell you, the idea of you treating her like all those others doesn’t sit well with me. Even if I understand your reasons.”
