by Tess Summers
He glanced at her as he started to drive. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
She let out a dramatic sigh, flopping back against the seat.
“Me too. You used to be one of my favorite people.”
Placating her, Ron replied, “Well, you’re still one of my favorite people.”
“No, I’m not. You think I’m a horrible person,” she lamented in a way that only a drunk girl can.
Baiting her now, he stated, “Why would I think you’re a horrible person?”
She didn’t answer the question when she responded, “You hate me now.”
“I don’t hate you, darlin’.”
“Yes, you do! I lied to you. You saved my daughter’s life, you were always there for me, and I should have trusted you and told you the truth.”
She let out a deep breath that made her lips flap as she did.
“Kyle’s a great guy, but there’s no way I could ever have been with him. I loved you too much. You should have known that.”
What does she mean, I should have known that? Known what, exactly?
He was enjoying this and wanted to keep her talking.
“You said loved, past tense. Don’t you love me anymore?”
She shook her head furiously and made pouty lips. “Nope. I can’t.”
“You can’t? How come?”
“Because you broke my heart into a million little pieces.”
“I did?”
“Yep. Maybe even a billion,” she slurred.
“How did I do that?”
Belligerent Brenna was back, and she glared at him. “You know how.”
“No, I don’t. Why don’t you tell me?”
“You weren’t really my Superman after all.”
He suppressed a smile. “You thought I was Superman? Like with the cape, and everything?”
She made a face and mimicked him. “No, not with a cape and everything, jerk.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she continued, “Just like… Just like someone who would never let me down or hurt me.”
He didn’t like where this was going, but after how he’d behaved tonight, he deserved it.
“How did I let you down, darlin’?
“You turned out to be just like Danny.”
That wasn’t the answer he was expecting; he was expecting her to be mad about him fucking her tonight, and the way he’d left afterwards. He was having a hard time keeping up with her train of thought, and he did not like the Danny comparison at all.
Ron gripped the steering wheel of his truck a little harder but tried to keep his tone light. “Danny, huh?”
She let out another big sigh. “The only thing I could count on him for was to sleep around.”
“But you know I didn’t. I told you that was all a big misunderstanding.”
“Yeah, well, I told you I only lied because I thought you were a big fat cheater and knew you’d leave me alone if I said I was with Kyle. But noooo… I can’t be forgiven for that.”
He took his eyes off the road and looked at her.
“You didn’t tell me you were never with Kyle.”
She frowned and seemed to be getting more exasperated with him.
“Yes, I did. At the hospital.”
He shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”
She appeared to ignore that little detail before getting louder. “Oh, that’s right! You walked out and wouldn’t let me explain. You thought I cheated on Kyle with you and–”
He interrupted. “So you were never with Kyle?”
She was exasperated with him.
“Are you listening? No, I was never with Kyle. You’d know that already if you would have taken my calls.”
“I didn’t see the point.”
Fuck, she was never with Kyle.
“Well, the point would have been so you could talk to me, and I could tell you. That would have been the point.”
Her facial expression read, duh! When you’re intoxicated, the answers are so obvious.
“So why was he mad at you at the hospital?”
“Because I wanted him to pretend we had dated. I thought you’d be mad at me for lying about that.”
He groaned internally. Yeah, he would have been upset, but not heartbroken like he had been since leaving the hospital.
She narrowed her eyes. “Then you fucked me tonight like I didn’t mean anything to you and went off to be with your new girlfriend, Boobs Magee.”
Yeah, he’d done that, and he felt shitty about it. He knew he couldn’t justify to his very inebriated passenger what made him behave that way. He regretted it, and then watched her get smashed because of him.
He’d thought about ignoring Cassie when she approached him at the bar, thinking she was going to continue where Brenna left off in letting him have it, but all she did was hint there might be more to her sister’s story, and he would probably be interested in what she had to say. Then off-the-cuff, suggested driving her home.
“Would it help if I said I was sorry? That I was just sitting with her to make you mad?”
“That wasn’t very nice,” she pouted. “Does she know you were just using her?”
Ouch. That’s the thing about drunks–they didn’t mince words.
“Well, I don’t think it took her long to figure out that I love you and wasn’t interested in her.”
He felt comfortable throwing around the ‘L’ word since she probably wasn’t going to remember a thing tomorrow.
“Pfffft.” Brenna flapped her lips again.
“You don’t believe me?”
“Nope.” She was closing her eyes now.
“Which part don’t you believe? That I love you or that I’m not interested in her?”
She didn’t even bother to open her eyes. “I saw the way you were looking at her.”
He chuckled. “How was I looking at her?”
“Like you used to look at me. Like you wanted to fuck her, and you’d just got done fucking me!”
“Brenna, I could have taken her home tonight if I’d wanted to. I had no interest. You’re the only woman I love and want to take home.”
“You don’t love me. I’m not trustworthy.”
She was throwing the word he’d said about her at the hospital back at him.
He opened his mouth to reply, but she kept going.
“I can’t even be trusted enough to know your goddamn birthday,” she grumbled.
“You know my birthday, darlin’,” he teased. “It’s March 1st.”
She sat up and opened her eyes, scowling at him. “Well, it wasn’t because you told me. That’s just one of the bazillion things you refused to tell me.”
Closing her eyes again and slumping against the door, she muttered, “You only love your stupid job.”
That made him laugh out loud.
“Aw, Bren, I love you way more than my job. I love you more than anything.”
He really did.
“Pffst,” was the only sound she made before she quickly fell asleep.
Well this has been an enlightening drive. He appreciated Cassie for suggesting it.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Ron
Ron carried a passed out Brenna up the stairs to her bed. Looking down at her sprawled out on the mattress with her hair wild against the pillow, he contemplated putting her teddy on her, but when his cock twitched at the idea, he decided against it. He left her in her dress and pulled the covers up around her, kissing her cheek and whispering, “Goodnight darlin’,” before heading back downstairs.
Sitting at the kitchen island, he scrubbed his hand against his stubbly chin. He had a dilemma; did he stay here tonight or go home? It seemed like they had a lot of unfinished business they needed to discuss, and it wouldn’t be difficult to come up with an excuse why he stayed–in the guest room.
He heard the front door open, and Zona gave a welcoming whine to whoever just walked in. Cassie appeared in the kitchen doorway.
Why was she here?
&n
bsp; His face must have given away his thoughts, because she answered the unspoken question. “I didn’t know if she was going to need me after you left.”
He winced, thinking about the hurt he’d put Brenna through, and wondered exactly how much Cassie knew.
“How’s our girl?” she asked.
“Passed out.”
There was an awkward silence, then Ron asked her, “When did you know she lied to me about being with Kyle?”
Brenna’s Mini Me looked sheepish. “The night she did.”
He tried not to let his face show he was pissed at her about that, but he was certain he wasn’t doing a very good job.
Cassie defended herself. “You have to understand that after everything Danny put her through, she just didn’t have it in her to do it all over. And frankly, I couldn’t watch her do it again.”
“I’m nothing like Danny,” he replied in an irritated tone.
She didn’t acknowledge him, her attention on what she was doing on her phone. After a few minutes, she handed him the device to view an old video clip from the Internet. It seemed to be filmed in a hotel lobby, and was of a reporter interviewing the Padres’ manager about their win that afternoon. In the background was Danny Roberts, and the girl he was all over was not Brenna.
“That was just one of many over the course of their marriage.”
Ron stared blankly at Cassie who had turned the TV on while he was looking at her phone.
“He was a cheating asshole. What the fuck does that have to do with me?”
She didn’t say anything, just hit play. It took him a second to recognize the footage he was watching was taken at Miramar on the day he had returned home with his Marines. He finally saw himself in the background being hugged by his parents, and his jaw clenched at what he knew was coming next. Watching Sarah wrap her legs around his waist and kiss him all over made his stomach turn.
“I was never with her. I didn’t even know she was coming. If the camera would have stayed on me for five more seconds, you would have seen me push her away.”
“But it wasn’t on you for five more seconds.”
“She should have known there was more to it,” he said in a low voice.
“She should have? Why? Because you’ve been so upfront with her? After all the shit Danny did to her, but could always explain away, you can’t blame her.”
No, he couldn’t. Not seeing it from this perspective.
“She shouldn’t have lied to me.”
Cassie shrugged.
“Maybe not. But she did try to explain, and you wouldn’t let her. Using your logic, you should have known there was more to it.”
Fuck. She was right. He should have.
Zona streaked out of the room like she’d heard something. The door leading to the garage opened and moments later, Danielle appeared in the kitchen with the dog at her side. She had healed up nicely.
The girl looked at Ron wide eyed before breaking out into the biggest smile he’d ever seen. She walked over to him and gave him a bear hug.
“I knew you’d be back,” she whispered before releasing him.
Ron didn’t have the heart to correct her. Probably because he wanted it to be true. But after everything he’d said and done to her mother, he wasn’t sure that was a possibility anymore.
He smiled as he touched her chin. “You look great, kiddo.”
“Hope to see you at breakfast in the morning.” She grinned and then said goodnight. Zona followed her to her room.
Cassie disappeared momentarily at the same time as Danielle, but returned holding a leather-bound file a few inches thick.
“Here,” she said, handing it to him. “Maybe this will give you some insight.”
“What is it?”
“It’s her screenplay.”
He furrowed his brow. “Why would this give me insight?”
“Because it’s about you.”
Oh fuck.
Why hadn’t Brenna said anything?
In retrospect, he realized there hadn’t been much of an opportunity for her to.
“Is it bad? Is that why she gave her advance to the WWP?”
“She did that?” Cassie asked with raised eyebrows.
“Yeah. A pretty sizable one, too. I hope she at least makes some money from it.”
The younger Sullivan sister seemed smug when she gestured to their surroundings.
“You didn’t think this was from baseball money, did you? Danny was too old when owners started giving out hundreds of millions of dollars to players. Brenna made more than he did, even after she stopped writing. The studios know what her screenplays are capable of. Trust me, there’s plenty more where that came from.”
“Is it bad?” he repeated, motioning to the document in his hand.
“Read it yourself and find out.” Cassie continued with stage whisper, “Spoiler alert, it definitely does not end well for the bond trader.”
They both laughed out loud.
“Good,” he said, thinking back to what that fucker did to Brenna, and the slap on the wrist he received for it.
Ron leaned down and kissed Cassie on the cheek.
“Thanks for talking to me tonight. I appreciate your honesty.”
He started toward the front door and paused.
“Make sure she has a glass of water and two Ibuprofens on her nightstand for when she wakes up. I have a feeling she’s going to be hurting tomorrow.”
Cassie scrunched up her nose. “I have a feeling you’re right.”
He hadn’t made it out the door when he heard her call his name. He turned around and saw she had followed him.
“Don’t be a stranger.”
He winked and waved the screenplay at her. “Depends on if she kills me off.”
One side of her mouth raised. “Then we’ll see you soon.”
Well, that was a relief.
He needed to get home and start reading.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Brenna
Brenna’s pounding headache woke her up, and the light shining in her windows was not helping. She sat up slowly and noticed the water and pain pills on her dresser. Someone was thinking about her.
But who?
A sense of dread filled her as she remembered getting drunk last night and being flirty with the men at her table. Did she bring someone home? That didn’t sound like her, but the way she had been behaving last night, anything was possible.
She noticed she was still wearing her dress; that was promising.
How the hell did she get home?
God, I hope Danielle didn’t see me like that.
The events of the night came back to her in bits and pieces and most seemed to revolve around Ron. She remembered him being surrounded by a table full of women, and outbidding one of them for a date with him. Then the memory of how he’d fucked her and left without saying anything more came flooding back. She sighed when recalling telling him off while he was cozied up with the slutty brunette … things got fuzzy after that.
She seemed to remember being in his truck with him. Is that how she got home? How the fuck did that happen? Did they have sex again?
All these thoughts were not helping her head stop hurting.
She pulled the covers over her head, groaning. Maybe if she slept a little while longer, she’d feel better.
Brenna lay there and knew she wasn’t going to fall back asleep, her mind was racing too much, so she got up and threw on some shorts and a tee shirt before heading downstairs to get something to eat. Maybe that would do the trick.
Cassie was sitting at the kitchen island, a cup of coffee in one hand while she scrolled through her phone with the other.
“Good morning,” her little sister said way too cheerfully for how Brenna was feeling.
Ignoring the friendly greeting as she headed directly to the coffeepot, Brenna grumbled, “Did you bring me home last night?”
Cassie broke out into a smile. “No, Ron did.”
“What? Ho
w? Why?”
Brenna slid onto the barstool next to Cassie.
The younger girl shrugged with a sly smile. “You were drunk, he offered.”
“So why are you here? Did you ride with us?”
“No, but I wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed pretty upset after he took you to the cashier.” She put her fingers up as if making quotation marks when she said the last part.
Brenna looked at Cassie suspiciously. “What do you know about that?”
“Sweetie, everyone knows. You kind of announced it on the sidewalk when you were yelling at him.”
Brenna laid her head on the countertop and groaned. “Oh, God, shoot me now.”
Cassie got up to pour herself more coffee.
“Pretty much everyone else but Ron was drunk, so I doubt they’ll remember.”
She lifted her head a few inches and asked, “What else did I say?”
“Not much while you were with all of us, but you must have said something while Ron drove you home because he asked me when I knew you lied about dating Kyle.”
That caused her to jerk her head up, then wince from the pain. “So he knows about Kyle?”
“Apparently.”
Bits and pieces of the night were coming back to her. Cassie interrupted her train of thought.
“I think he really loves you, Bren.”
Brenna shook her head with a grimace. “I think he did. I’m not so certain he still does.”
“He does,” her sister said authoritatively.
“What makes you think that?”
“He cared enough to make sure nobody else took you home last night when you were drunk.”
Brenna was unconvinced. “Just because he doesn’t want anyone else to have me, doesn’t mean he wants me.”
“He made sure you had water and painkillers on your nightstand for when you woke up.”
A small smile broke out on Brenna’s lips. “That was him?”
“Well, technically, it was me, but he asked me to do it.”
Brenna sat thinking in silence. Her sister might be right. Something in Brenna’s subconscious was telling her he still loved her.
Still? How do I know he ever did? He never actually said it.
No, she conceded, but neither did she. Yet, they both knew. Deep down, they knew.
“Do you think he’ll talk to me now?”