“We’ve been over this before. Jake is a player. He’s not the right guy for you.”
“For fuck’s sake, we’ve been over this repeatedly. You’re both like broken records. Mom, I’m not interested in Jake, so that’s the end of that conversation. I don’t want to hear it again. And Kaleb, I don’t care if he’s a player or not. It’s irrelevant.”
“Well, glad to know the reason no one was answering my knock was because you all were so busy talking about me behind my back,” Jake says from the kitchen doorway.
Fuck. I close my eyes and shake my head. Fuck my life.
“Jake, we weren’t talking about you,” my brother says. “Emily was.”
“Seriously?” I snap my eyes open. “You’re going to pretend like this is my fault?” I glare at my brother, who’s facing Jake. I’m afraid to turn and look at him after he heard my mother proclaim to the world that I’m crushing on him.
Which I’m not. Okay, I am. Fuck.
“I apologize for our rudeness.” My mom’s face no longer holds warmth when she studies Jake. Until her gaze drops lower, and then her face brightens. “Why don’t you come in? I want to see those beautiful flowers. Are those from Blossom & Bloom?”
She’s a traitor. Five seconds. Five seconds was all she could last being angry with him for my sake. I inhale and turn to face him. He’s wearing the same clothes he had on at Callahan’s, but in his hands are two vases of flowers. They’re beautiful.
Plum roses. How did he find such a vibrant color? They’re stunning.
“Yes, they’re from Rosemarie’s shop. I think I’ll pass on coming in, though.” His jaw is tight as he drops the flowers on the coffee table. “I need to go. I hope these flowers brighten your day.”
Their beauty is marred by the sour expression on his face and the haunted look in his eyes. Is Tabitha waiting for him at his place? Or is she in his pickup with him? The thought has my stomach in a knot.
“They’re gorgeous.” My mom straightens to a seated position, grimacing at the movement. “Thank you so much for picking these out.”
“I didn’t.” He lifts his shoulder. “They’re leftovers from a celebration at work. They were going to be tossed out, so I snatched them up. I figured you could use something pretty to look at since you’re stuck inside.”
“That’s so sweet of you.”
He could say he dresses up in a dog costume and plays at the dog park on his days off, and my mom would still gush over him. Although… It was nice. It’s been rough for my mom to not go outside and water her plants and flowers.
“Well….” My brother checks his watch and strides to the doorway. “Since you’re here, I’m headed out.” He slaps Jake on the bicep. “You want to head back to the city? I’ll drive.”
“I’m good.” His gaze travels to me with that hard look on his face as the central air kicks on. “Besides, I don’t like how people decide who you are before they bother learning the truth, so I’ll pass on hanging out with more people tonight.”
Clearly, my internal temperature is blasting through the room because I don’t remember when I last heard the air kick on.
“Your loss.” Kaleb breezes into the kitchen, snatches his keys off the table, and whistles on his way out the door.
The second the door snaps shut, Jake says. “Emily, can I speak to you in private?”
“Sure. Go right ahead.” My mom climbs to her feet. “I’ll leave so you two are alone.”
“Mom, you don’t have to–”
“Emily….” The stern expression on her face causes me to snap my mouth shut. She doesn’t get mad often, but I know better than to disobey her too much.
“Yes, Mom?”
“The man asked to speak to you in private, so you’ll speak to him in private.” She gives me a curt nod and shuts the bedroom door behind her.
“What did you want to talk about?”
He stands with his feet braced apart and his hands fisted at his sides. “Why do you always think the worst of me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. And you’ve been wrong about me and making assumptions for a long time. I’m tired of it. Just because I was talking to Tabitha doesn’t mean I was planning to hook up with her.”
