by Sandy James
Feet now frozen to the grass, Russ clenched his fists at his sides. The feelings roiling through him made his stomach churn and his face flush hot. All he could do was stare as Marc danced with Josie, the two of them laughing and clearly enjoying themselves.
Anger? No, that wasn’t what was eating at him. That was too light an emotion to describe his desire to march right up to them, jerk Josie out of Marc’s arms, and drive his fist into the guy’s nose.
A hand touched his shoulder, and Russ snorted out a breath, resisting the urge to forcefully shove away whoever was bothering him.
“If I didn’t know better,” Ethan said, “I’d guess you were thinking about punching someone’s lights out.”
“I’d have to agree,” Brad added as he came to stand at Russ’s side. “A little jealous there, partner?”
Jealous?
Oh, yes. Brad nailed exactly what was eating away at any self-control Russ had. “He’s got his fucking hands all over her. I should break his arm.”
“Yeah, about that…” Ethan drawled. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to assault the man we just hired to handle our marketing.”
“Gotta agree with that,” Brad added. “Plus I’d really hate to have to call the guys in blue to break the two of you up. Marc looks strong enough to give you a run for your money.”
Ethan gave Russ a friendly cuff on the shoulder, which was greeted with the hottest glare Russ could fire at him. “Look, can I give you a little advice?”
Russ shrugged, although he felt as far from nonchalant as he could get.
His temper had been a problem his whole life. One of the reasons sports had been so important to him was that they’d given him a way to channel that negative part of his personality. After knocking a few heads on the field, he was able to get a tight rein on the rest of his life.
“If Chelsea taught me anything about women,” Ethan said, “it’s that they don’t mind a little bit of jealousy. But if you head up there and pull Joslynn and Marc apart as though they’re a couple of high school kids misbehaving at the prom, you’re going to piss her off something royal.”
“Again, I gotta agree,” Brad said. “Savannah doesn’t mind if I get a bit territorial. She says it shows I care. But I start doing the ‘me, Tarzan; you, Jane’ thing, she digs her heels in.”
“A woman likes to know that you want her for yourself,” Ethan added. “Just don’t start acting like she’s your property or something.”
“How can my telling Marc to keep his hands to himself be seen as me saying that she’s my property?” Russ asked. While he wasn’t thrilled to be lectured by his friends, he had to admit that they were in successful relationships. He didn’t have nearly as much experience with women as they did.
“Think about it from her point of view,” Brad explained. “You’re telling her who she can and can’t dance with. From what I’ve seen of Jos, she’s an independent person. I doubt she’d take kindly to being ordered around.”
“Food for thought, my friend,” Ethan said. “Food for thought.”
Every bit of ground his friends had made in calming him down vanished when Russ saw Marc drop his head to whisper something in Josie’s ear and then press a kiss to her cheek.
It was time to let Marc Guinan know the score.
* * *
Joslynn laughed as Marc spun her in another circle. “Enough. You’re making me dizzy.”
All he did was smile in response. A new song began, a slow number, and he wrapped his right arm around her waist and grasped her hand with his left, swaying their bodies in rhythm.
Drawing closer as though he had some secret to share, Marc whispered in her ear, “I’m really glad I came here tonight. I didn’t expect to meet such a pretty lady.” His lips brushed her cheek before he eased back.
She stopped dancing and was about to let Marc know that his flirting was wasted on her when she was startled by Russ, who was now standing right beside her. A quick glance in his direction revealed a face so red that he appeared to have a wicked sunburn. “Hey, Russ.”
Instead of any kind of greeting, he glared at Marc. “Quit dancing with my girlfriend. Now.”
Marc seemed entirely unfazed by the threat in Russ’s tone. Instead, he lowered a confused expression at Joslynn. “Girlfriend? You’re his girlfriend?”
She nodded, a bit surprised by Marc’s critical tone.
Marc took a rapid step back, his gaze shifting to Russ. He held up his palms in surrender. “I didn’t know she belonged to you, man. Sorry about that.”
Russ replied with a curt nod, and his rigid stance relaxed.
Eyes narrowing, Marc glared at her. “You introduced yourself as Savannah’s friend. I wouldn’t have…You never said you were here with anyone.”
Feeling as though she were being accused of something untoward, Joslynn’s anger rose. Marc’s words still echoed in her ears.
“I didn’t know she belonged to you.”
Joslynn Wright didn’t belong to anyone but herself. “What’s your point, Marc?”
“I don’t trespass. But you danced with me, so…”
She folded her arms under her breasts and began drumming her fingers on her arm. “So what?”
Everyone had gathered around the three of them, and she started feeling as though she were a sideshow attraction.
Rather than answer her, Marc extended his hand to Russ. “I really am sorry.”
With another gruff nod, Russ shook Marc’s hand.
“What exactly are you sorry about?” Joslynn demanded. “We danced. Is that illegal or something now?”
“You’re my girlfriend,” Russ announced, as though that statement were sufficient to explain the ridiculous exchange between the men.
“And what exactly does that mean?” she demanded.
“That means that you’re mine.”
“Are you saying that you own me, Russ? That because I happen to be your girlfriend I can’t dance with someone else?” Temper in full flight, she was ready to stomp out of there simply to prove that no one told her what she could and couldn’t do.
It was Savannah who broke the heightening tension by stepping up to offer Russ a plate full of raw steaks. “Why don’t you help Brad and Ethan get the steaks on the grill?”
Although his face was still flushed, Russ nodded and accepted the plate. He fell in step with his partners as they headed to the far side of the patio, where the stainless-steel grill waited.
“Leslie?” Savannah glanced to the chef. “Could you and Marc please bring out the sides? I figured it’s so nice tonight that we’d eat out here.”
“Sure thing,” Leslie replied. With a flip of her hand, she got her brother to follow her into the house.
Then Savannah turned to Joslynn. “How about you come have a quick talk with Chelsea and me?”
Why did Jos feel as if she were a naughty student being sent to the principal’s office?
Chapter Twelve
Joslynn followed Savannah and Chelsea into the house and then down the stairs into Brad’s basement recording studio. Her thoughts were in turmoil as she tried to make sense of the feelings her exchange with Russ had inspired.
Part of her wanted to walk away from him—run away from him—and his antiquated and far-too-macho jealousy. How dare he embarrass her in front of everyone? So she’d danced with Marc. So what? It was only a dance. She hadn’t even given the guy more than a moment of notice, and she’d been just about to tell him that she was Russ’s girlfriend. But Russ had barged right in, pounding his chest like some enraged gorilla claiming his mate.
Yet if she looked deep inside herself, she had to admit that she’d never meant enough to any man to inspire that kind of possessiveness. Men were something she played with, not inspired. She used them for what she desired, exactly as they did with her, and then she discarded them without any concern for their feelings. Not once had she let herself care.
Savannah sat in the brown leather chair at Brad’s master console
, turning the chair around to face the couch that Chelsea had plopped down on.
Not feeling at all like sitting still, Joslynn did exactly what she always did when anxious. She paced. “You might as well get it over with. Go ahead and scold me for whatever you think I did wrong.”
“I don’t think you did anything wrong,” Savannah said, leaning back in her chair.
Jos whirled to face her. “Then why did you drag me down here?”
“I thought you and Russ could use a breather before things got ugly.”
“That was a good call,” Chelsea added. “He needed to cool down.” Her gaze shifted to Jos. “So did you, although he was worse.”
With a nod, Savannah said, “Lately, Russ always needs to cool down. At least he did before you two started going out.”
Chelsea nodded as well. “Ethan told me Russ had changed some since you’ve been dating.”
“But not today,” Savannah said. “His temper was in full flight again. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man that jealous.”
Jealousy. Another outdated practice Joslynn could really do without. If Russ was jealous, that meant he didn’t trust her.
She trusted him. She did. If she’d seen him dancing with some cute girl, she wouldn’t have flipped out. No, she would have simply walked up to them and…
Yanked the bitch’s hair.
Which meant she was jealous, too. Which meant she thought Russ might betray her. Which meant she cared.
Oh, who am I trying to kid? I care. I care a lot.
“But I don’t belong to anyone,” she insisted.
After long, silent moments passed, Chelsea cocked her head. “Can I ask you something?”
Jos replied with a terse nod.
“Would it really be so bad to belong to Russ? I mean…you like the guy. He obviously likes you. You’re dating. Doesn’t that mean you belong to each other?”
The very question Joslynn was asking herself. Why was she protesting so vehemently when it might be exactly what she wanted—what she needed?
“It’s just semantics, you know,” Savannah said. “Nothing but semantics. You two are in a monogamous relationship. That’s all that’s happening. It’s not like he owns you.”
“Or you own him,” Chelsea added. “You two just want to be together and not go out with other people. That’s what a relationship is.”
Could it be that simple?
“I suppose…” Joslynn let out a weighty sigh. “Russ just threw me for a loop up there.”
“I imagine he did,” Savannah said. “But you were dancing with Marc. From Russ’s point of view, he probably saw flirting.”
“I wasn’t flirting with him!” Jos insisted.
Or was I?
She hadn’t set Marc straight right away, even though she was aware of his interest. While she might’ve been thinking about Russ, she hadn’t considered how he might feel should he see her with Marc.
“This relationship stuff is harder than I thought it would be,” she finally admitted.
Both of her friends laughed in response, which finally brought a hesitant smile to Joslynn’s lips.
“So what do I do now?”
Standing, Savannah placed a gentle hand on Jos’s arm. “First, you let him apologize.”
“Do you think he will?”
Chelsea chuckled and came to stand by them. “If they guys talk some sense into him, that’s exactly what he’ll do.”
“What do I do after he apologizes?”
“You do the same,” Savannah said. “And then you let him know that you only have eyes for him.”
* * *
Russ shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to ignore the glares Brad and Ethan were shooting at him. He was aware that he’d stepped in a big pile of shit where Josie was concerned. He really didn’t need a lecture, but it appeared they were both ready to give him one anyway.
“Exactly how many times did you get your bell rung when you played football?” Ethan asked him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Brad let out a snort. “He’s saying you must have brain damage, ’cause we both warned you not five minutes ago not to act like a fucking caveman.”
“I didn’t act like a fucking caveman!” Russ insisted, not realizing how stupid he sounded parroting back the words until they were already out of his mouth. Not only that, but it simply wasn’t the truth. He’d marched right up to Marc and staked a claim on Josie as though she were a plot of land. What in the hell was wrong with him?
There might be women in the world who would appreciate an old-fashioned male, one who was full of raging jealousy at the mere sight of her anywhere near another man, but his girlfriend sure as hell wasn’t one of them. He had to wonder what Chelsea and Savannah were saying to her at that moment and if they might calm her down enough that she would talk to him once he could get his head on straight.
If he could get his head on straight…
His life was a mess. Everyone had been warning him that he was out of control, but he’d ignored them. All it took was a customer saying the wrong thing and he blew his stack. Something went awry—a missed appointment, an inconsiderate driver—he went ballistic. It was amazing he hadn’t found himself in a heap of trouble.
What had caused him to become so hostile?
Dad’s diagnosis?
Or the fear he would follow in his father’s footsteps?
Things had been better since he’d started hanging around Joslynn. She’d promised to help him with his stress level, and she was making progress. But he still had a long, long way to go. His reaction to seeing her with Marc proved it.
What if his little dog and pony show over her innocent dance with Marc made her pull back? Trust was a tough thing for her to give. Every time she’d offered someone her trust, that person had betrayed her. By acting like a jerk, he’d all but accused Josie of being unfaithful. Right now she had to view Russ’s actions as another betrayal and probably thought he didn’t trust her.
How was he supposed to convince her that he was sorry for his behavior? And how was he going to get her to believe he wanted to change?
Because he did want to change. He had to change. Not only to keep his relationship with her growing stronger, but he knew that his parents needed him. He wasn’t about to let them go through this ordeal on their own.
But who would help him when it became his turn?
You can’t think like that.
He gave his head a shake to banish his worry and focused on the problem at hand.
“I need help,” Russ admitted, more to himself than to his friends. “I don’t want to lose her.”
A firm hand settled on his shoulder, and he glanced over to find Ethan grinning at him. “Good thing you’ve got friends like Brad and me.”
“Yeah,” Brad added as he closed the cover of the grill. “Friends who will help you stop looking like an asshole in front of the woman you love.”
The word slammed into Russ, as though he’d run headfirst into a wall.
Love.
I love Josie.
Brad let out a chuckle. “I can see you’ve had an epiphany, my friend. I take it you didn’t realize—”
“That I love her.” All of a sudden it was so easy for Russ to say.
With a chuckle, Ethan slapped Russ on the back. “Now you just have to find the courage to tell Joslynn.”
* * *
Joslynn watched Russ as he ate, wondering if she should say something to break the ice.
He hadn’t said much to her since she’d come back from her visit to the basement with Savannah and Chelsea, which made her wonder if he was still angry.
Brad grabbed his beer and stood up. “I have an announcement.”
“That sounds ominous,” Russ said. He turned to smile at Jos. “Maybe he’s firing me.”
Glad his mood seemed to have eased, she smiled back at him.
He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.
“It would cost t
oo much to fire you,” Brad said. “And I’d have to train someone else. So, no. You’re staying, Russ.”
“Damn,” Russ said with a faux grumble.
A lopsided grin filled Brad’s face. “Savannah isn’t going to be able to headline for us after August.”
Ethan’s brows gathered. “Did her recording company finally twist her arm to get her on a national tour?”
“Nope,” Brad replied. “She’s got…other plans. Let’s just say that she’ll be too busy to sing for a while.”
From across the table, Savannah winked at Joslynn.
That playful gesture told Joslynn exactly what Brad was about to tell everyone. Her feet started a happy little dance under the table.
“We’re gonna have a baby,” he said, raising his longneck.
Chelsea got to her feet as quickly at Jos, and both hurried to hug Savannah.
“When are you due?” Joslynn asked.
“The beginning of October,” Savannah replied before taking Jos’s hand in hers. “And I expect you to be there with me the whole time. In fact, Brad and I were hoping you’d deliver the baby.”
“Of course.” Joslynn grasped her friend’s hand tightly. “So long as the doctor agrees and there aren’t any complications. One little thing goes wrong, though, and the OB takes over.”
“Sounds like a plan.” After giving Jos’s hand a squeeze, Savannah let her hand fall away. “Does Caroline know?”
“We told her this morning,” Savannah replied. “That’s why she’s with my mom. They’re going shopping for things for the baby. I told her we should wait to see if it was a boy or a girl, but she’s already convinced she’s going to have a sister.”
Chelsea chuckled. “You can always exchange girl things for boy things later if you have to.”
Moving back around the table to sit at Russ’s side, Joslynn leaned in to kiss his cheek. He turned his head so she caught his lips instead. When he eased away, she followed for another quick kiss to show him how happy she was.