Page 6 of Worth the Fight

I hiss. “Ouch. That sucks. What happened?”

“You don’t hold back, do you?”

“What’s the point? It’s going to come out sooner or later.” I shove another forkful of her pancakes in my mouth. “So?”

I get a glimpse of a smile as she shakes her head.

“It wasn’t working.”

“For him, right? It wasn’t working for him, but it was for you?”

“Something like that. Working together can make things tough at times.”

“Wait. Oh . . . do I know who he is?” Damon said she was big time, but he didn’t say who she worked with.

She shrugs. “Jett Kroger.”

Her eyes hold mine, waiting for recognition to fire, but hell, there’s no need to wait. Everyone knows who Jett fucking Kroger is. The bad boy of rock with an incredible voice, a killer instinct for trends, and who’s produced an endless stream of hits over the past few years. That and a reputation for being a hothead who causes trouble.

“You look too damn innocent to be with him.” The words are out there as I realize she’s the one behind the number one hits. She’s the lyrics to his beat.

She stutters a laugh. “I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment.”

“I just⁠—”

“I’ve heard it all, so just say it. At this point, I’ve learned to have tough skin. Nothing will offend me.” She laughs and finally gives me a genuine smile, but her eyes show the truth. She’s been hurt. “She’s trying too hard to fit into his crowd. She isn’t his type. Jett could do better, so much better. Don’t sleep with the hired help. And the list goes on⁠—”

“Actually, that’s not what I was thinking.” I lean back in the booth and stare at her, immediately feeling the need to protect her from the snarky comments. No doubt the assholes were just jealous. “I was going to say his music is killer, but he comes off like a dick, and you deserve better than that.”

“Yeah, well . . . it didn’t stop me from loving him.”

“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble.”

Her body pauses for the briefest of seconds, an internal struggle waging a silent war across her expression. “Sometimes both are stupid,” she murmurs, shifting her gaze from mine so she can stab a piece of pancake with her fork and eat it.

“So, is this the whole distance makes the heart grow fonder thing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Obviously, you still like the guy or else you wouldn’t appear so miserable⁠—”

“I am not miserable.”

“Just like you’re not hungry.” She stops mid-chew and rolls her eyes at me.

“What’s your point, Grady?”

“Is this one of those situations where you leave so he sees what he’s missing? Then in a few months, you go back with a new haircut, a careless attitude, and your cleavage and curves on display so he falls madly in love with you all over again.” I get the death glare from her. Guess that means I’m closer to the truth than she wants to admit. Either that or she’s pissed I’m even suggesting such a thing.

And she takes another bite.

Hell, if I piss her off enough, she might forget she isn’t hungry and eat the rest of the food.

“I highly doubt that will happen.”

“You didn’t say no.”

“Let’s just say the woman riding him in my bed told me that even if I showed up buck naked with a portable stripper pole, he wouldn’t give a second glance my way.”