by Desiree Holt
She couldn’t help herself. She jumped off the bed, shoved her hair back from her face, and yanked the door open. The rage she’d been keeping a lid on bubbled up to the surface. No more tears for asshole Joe Reilly. She was done.
“The right time? The right time? Wouldn’t that have been when we first—When we got—When you said—” God, she sounded like an idiot.
He looked at her, pain evident in his eyes. “When I told you I loved you?”
“Yeah, then.”
“You’re right. But you were finally getting to believe in me and I didn’t want to screw things up. I never expected it to blow up in my face like this.”
She glared at him, hands on hips. “You mean the fact you already had a girlfriend you got drunk with tonight? Or is she just part of the harem you say you don’t have anymore? You certainly ran out of here like your ass was on fire when she called.”
“Shay, listen.” He reached for her.
She took a step back. “I told you. I’m done listening. Pack your stuff and get out of here. And don’t knock on my door again.”
She slammed the door shut and dropped onto her bed. Maybe if she wished very hard it would all disappear, as if the whole thing with Joe had never happened.
* * * *
Joe stood in his hotel room, looking out the window at the early morning light and wondering how the fuck he was going to fix this incredible mess. He’d taken time before leaving the house to clean up his face and change his clothes so he could make it past the registration desk. But that was the only thing he’d been able to fix. When his cell rang, for a brief hopeful moment he thought it might be Shay, but when he looked, Scott’s face popped up.
“You here?” Scott asked. “The front desk is pissy about giving me your room number.”
“Eleven twenty-seven. Come on up.”
When the knock sounded on the door, he took a last slug of his coffee, set the mug down, and went to let his agent in.
“Man, you look like shit,” were the first words out of Scott’s mouth.
“Not surprised because I feel like shit, too.”
Scott bulled his way into the room and put his valet bag and his briefcase on the bed. “I think you’ve finally outdone yourself. Hit the low point. Driven the final stake in your career.” He looked at Joe, hands on his hips. “What the hell possessed you, anyway? Things have been going incredibly well for you. Or were the past five years just a scam on your part?”
“Absolutely not.” Joe shoved his hands in his pockets and paced back and forth from the window to the bed.
Scott sat in one of the big chairs. “Okay. We need to do some heavy damage control here. For one thing, Marge Faraday is breathing fire waiting for me to contact her.”
The fresh coffee he’d ordered arrived at that moment. Joe poured a new cup for himself and one for Scott.
“All right, big shot. Tell me again, everything, and in complete detail.”
Drinking and pacing, he laid the whole story out again for his agent. The man listened attentively until Joe had spilled every miserable detail. Hearing himself talk about it, Joe realized he’d lived in some kind of fantasy world. Scott was right. Gina had made herself an albatross around his neck because she knew she could. Good guy that he was, he’d let her. What he’d told Lisa last night? He should have done it years ago. Where had his brain been?
Sucker. That’s what he was. A sucker for a sob story.
He refilled his cup and waited for Scott to speak.
“For once I’m actually stunned.” Scott shook his head. “To begin with, I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep this quiet for so long. Especially when you were on the Top Ten gossip list. Didn’t you ever think it was time to stop playing Santa Claus to this woman?”
Joe let out a huge sigh. “Yeah, a bunch of times. First it was just once she needed help. I found out almost by accident when a friend of hers got in touch with me.”
“In touch with you? Listen to me. You have to stop giving out your cell number to everyone. That’s an order.”
“It really wasn’t that bad.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Until recently.”
“Yeah, recently.” Scott snorted. “She’s been riding the gravy train for a long time now, buddy boy.”
“She had a tough life, and she was always special to me.”
“Because she took your virginity?” Scott shook his head. “Please. If every guy felt that way, a lot of us would be paying through the nose.”
Joe wanted to argue but for the first time he saw the situation for what it was. Had Gina taken advantage of him? Had he just let her? Yes, he should have cut it off a long time ago but he was too softhearted. Or softheaded.
“It just never seemed the right time to end it. This time I thought she finally had her shit together. I was getting ready to cut her off. I told her and I told her friend. I wanted to come clean on this with Shay, but I had to end it first. I mean, I couldn’t move forward with Shay unless she knew. No secrets between us. I promised. Then this happened.”
“Your timing sucks.” Scott refilled his own cup.
“Tell me about it.” Joe dropped onto the bed. “So now what? Is it possible to clean up this mess?”
“Maybe with a garbage truck.”
“Thanks for the support.”
“Support?” Scott swallowed some coffee. “Jesus, Joe. Be realistic here, okay? I have to see what I can do to save the fundraiser, for one thing. I guess it’s good you didn’t let them use your name in the publicity, but we still want you involved. Then I have to contact the coaches you were meeting with next week and see what we can do there. And last but not least, make sure Fox Sports doesn’t follow through on their threat to cancel your contact. None of this will be a lot of fun, sport.”
“I know, I know. Sorry I snapped at you, I just—”
“Yeah. Okay. But first I want the name and phone number for that broad you’ve been so protective of.”
“You want to talk to Gina?”
Scott nodded. “Or at least her roommate. If they don’t know already they need to understand the mess they dragged you into.”
“I was planning to make arrangements to get her into rehab today,” Joe told him.
Scott jabbed a finger at him. “You stay away from her. From both of them. Tell me what you want done and I’ll take care of it, but you have no further contact or communication with either of them ever again. You hear me?”
Joe rubbed his forehead. The headache had bloomed to full power. “I do.”
“Fine. Give me the numbers. You stay in the room until I get back here. Whenever that is. Order from room service. And don’t talk to anyone but me.”
“What if Shay calls?”
Scott barked a laugh. “You think that’s gonna happen? If you do, then you’re deluding yourself. No talking on the phone to anyone but me.” He drained the last of his coffee. “Okay, I’m off with my big roll of duct tape.”
“Scott.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks. I mean it.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We’ve got a long way to go.”
The door closed behind him and Joe lay back on the bed. How could what he thought was giving help to a friend turn his entire life to shit? By tomorrow every bit of it could be gone—his reputation, the fundraising, the Coaches Conference. His fucking job, for God’s sake.
And Shay.
You’ve really done it this time, buddy boy.
He closed his eyes and wished himself any place but here.
* * * *
After tossing and turning most of the night, Shay finally dragged herself out of bed at seven in the morning. Her eyes burned and her throat ached from all the crying she’d done. She hadn’t thought it possible to have such a flood of tears. But what hurt the most was her heart. She’d finally given it willingly to Joe, and he’d stomped all over it. What a fool she was. An idiot. Stupid. There weren’t enough adjectives to describe her.
But her self-
pity had been replaced by anger. She was madder than she ever remembered being, enraged that she’d allowed Joe Reilly to treat her so badly. She didn’t deserve it. She was worth a lot more than that and people—Joe—were going to realize that. She would not give him the satisfaction of any more weeping and wailing. She’d mend her broken heart and take better care of it in the future.
The hell with Joe Reilly. She was through pining for him. Reality had smacked her in the face, and it was time to get over him, once and for all.
Deciding her first order of business was a shower, she headed toward the bathroom, the one she’d shared with Joe. Damn. Could she even walk in there now, looking for his personal items and not seeing them? Sniffing the fresh scent of his aftershave only to find nothing but air?
When she heard the front door open and close she stopped in her tracks. Oh, no. Surely he didn’t have the nerve to come back here. Not after what he’d done. She yanked open the door to her room.
“Don’t you dare set foot in this house,” she called, stomping toward the foyer.
“But I live here,” an unexpected voice answered. “Where else would I go?”
She stopped short at the wonderfully familiar sight of her brother standing there with his suitcase, looking like he’d walked from Wyoming instead of flying.
“Hank?” She whispered his name.
“Who else would I be?”
He held out his arms and she ran into them, pressing herself into his warmth, feeling those arms close around her. Shockingly, fresh tears welled and in a moment she was sobbing all over his shirt.
“Let it out, kiddo. Let it out, every bit of it.”
They stood there like that for endless minutes until Shay finally managed to pull herself together. She scrubbed her wet cheeks with her palms and looked up at her brother.
“I’m done crying. This time for sure. He isn’t worth it.” She looked up at him. “How did you get here? When did you get here? And why are you here?”
“Plane, a little more than an hour ago, and because you need me.”
“I thought you were still tied up on the big project out there.”
He hugged her more tightly. “Never too tied up when you’re in the middle of a shitstorm.” He looked down at her, sympathy evident in his eyes. “I stayed away longer than I needed to because I’d hoped—Never mind. It was a stupid idea.”
“Hoped what?” she prodded.
“Never mind. Later. Nothing could have kept me there after I found out about this, okay?”
“Okay.” She sniffed. His words almost made the tears start all over again but she took a deep breath and swallowed. Anger, not self-pity. She needed to hold onto that. She was better than that. “How did you find out, anyway?”
“To give him a tiny amount of credit, Reilly called me himself. Said he thought you might want me at home.”
“I appreciate it and I always want my big brother.” She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “But I’m okay. Really. By now I’m more pissed off than anything, more at myself than him. And regardless of what you say, I know this is all a big hassle for you. But… Thank you, Hank. I feel better with you here.”
“That’s what big brothers do.”
“And you are just the best big brother ever.”
“If you think so, maybe you could scare me up some coffee. I haven’t had a whole lot of sleep.”
“Coffee. Yes.” She dug up a smile of sorts and headed toward the kitchen. “I could use some, too.”
When they were both holding full mugs and sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, Hank studied her ravaged face.
“Okay, let’s have it. The whole story. And don’t leave anything out.”
“Did you see the video?”
He nodded. “Yeah, Joe sent me the link. I have to tell you, Shay. There’s something not quite right about it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know Joe Reilly probably better than any other human being, including his family. Even in his hottest playboy days this just was not his style, especially getting drunk. He just was never into booze and beer the way some others were.”
“Like you?” She tried on a weak grin.
“Never. You know me better than that. It wasn’t my style and it never was Joe’s. And he certainly never hit a woman. Ever. That’s not who he is and I don’t care what that damn video shows. I’m telling you the truth here. Hand to God, I swear.”
“Maybe he was just so hot for this babe he broke his own rules.” She inhaled the steam from the coffee, hoping it would soothe her nerves. “Did you think about that?”
“Not even for a second. I know Joe better than I know myself. Has he screwed up? Damn straight. But before we go roasting his balls permanently, I think we need to find out the details.”
“Let me ask you something first.” She sipped at the hot liquid in her mug. “You knew I’d be here in the house alone. Why did you tell Joe he could stay here? Were you playing some kind of game?”
Hank’s mouth curved in a rueful smile. “Busted.”
“What do you mean?”
“I knew how you felt about Joe. You can’t hide things like that from your big brother.” He rubbed his jaw. “And I knew how he felt about you, even if he didn’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded again.
“I don’t know exactly when it started, but I do know ever since he saw you in New York, Joe has shown a lot more than passing interest in you. As a woman. I think he was afraid to say something in case I kicked his ass for it. But I love Joe and I respect him. Even more, I trust him—”
“Stupid of you,” Shay interrupted.
Hank went right on as if she hadn’t said a word. “And I thought the two of you could use a little nudge.”
“That sure worked out well.” She snorted.
“I’m sorry about this, kiddo. This is the very last thing I expected from him.”
She shook her head. “This is all on me. I was a fool to believe anything he said. I don’t know if I’m madder at him or at me.”
“Don’t bury him just yet. The first thing I’m going to do is get hold of him and find out the skinny on this. I’ve seen too many videos on YouTube turn out to be not what they seemed. I want to check into this one before I rush to judgment. Then we’ll see where we go. If he did this? If he led you on and then did this to you? There won’t be a place for him to hide. But I want to hear it from him.”
“One thing.” She put her hand on his arm. “If there’s any ass kicking, I’m going to do it. You can back me up, but I can fight my own battles, big brother.”
“Fair enough.” He pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed Joe’s number. He listened for a moment, then frowned.
“What?” Shay asked.
“It went to voice mail. Let me try again.” He punched the numbers once more. “Damn.”
“What?” she repeated.
“Now I get the message his voice mail is full. What the hell?” His mouth set in a determined line, he punched something into his cell. “I’m texting him, and he damn well better answer me.”
As if on cue, his cell rang.
“What’s this with not answering your phone, you jerk. What? Uh-huh. Uh-huh.” He was silent for a long moment, listening. “Tough fucking shit. I don’t care what Scott Manchin said, this is my sister we’re talking about, so I want some answers.”
“Hank,” Shay protested, reaching out to take the phone away from him. She didn’t need him to fight her battles for her, no matter what he thought.
He pulled back from her, still listening. “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, here’s something for you to pay attention to. Tell me exactly where you are because I’m going to head there now. Manchin can do his thing, but I’m doing mine. And don’t give me any crap about it.” He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. “Can you fill a travel mug with coffee for me? I think I’ll need the caffeine.”
“Hank, don’t do this
. Please. I’m a big girl. Besides, I’ll bet you got hardly any sleep last night what with traveling and all. You can wait to see Joe.”
He shook his head. “Uh-uh. Not gonna happen. This needs to be taken care of now. And say what you will, I was the one who created this mess to begin with, so it’s up to me to see if it’s all ruined.” He stood up and put his mug on the counter. “Have that coffee ready in five minutes, okay?”
When Shay rose from her chair, Hank pulled her into a hug again. “I’ll leave enough of his ass for you to kick, squirt. Rest assured.”
“Stop calling me that,” she snapped, but it was just a knee-jerk reaction. The old nickname gave her a certain measure of comfort and security right now.
“This is a fucked-up mess for sure,” he told her, “but don’t write Joe off until I get to the bottom of it. Okay?”
“We’ll see, Hank. If it wasn’t his fault he’s got a lot of bowing and scraping to do. And a lot of begging for forgiveness.”
“I’ll be sure to pass along the message. It’s what big brothers do.”
* * * *
Joe watched his friend pace back and forth in the hotel room.
“I can’t understand why you let this go on for as long as you did,” Hank repeated yet again. “Once or twice I can understand, but you’ve been helping her now and then for fifteen years. What kind of idiot does that for a woman he’s not even in love with?”
Joe rubbed his jaw, now sporting a thick scruff. “At first it was just the one time. I didn’t mind doing it and she seemed so sincere.”
“Sincere.” Hank snorted. “I’ll bet.”
“I’m not kidding. I didn’t hear from her again for a couple of years. Then it happened again. When I refused to take her next call, she had Lisa contact me. Told me Gina just needed a little help again and pleaded with me. It just kind of dribbled on from there.”
Hank stopped his pacing, placed his hands on his hips, and looked at him. “If you weren’t such a nice guy, I’d have to tell you what a jerk you’ve been. Jesus, man.”
Joe threw himself back on the bed and closed his eyes. The headache was now the tempo and density of a full marching band.