“We can go two ways with this,” Lawson said. “You can tell me what’s bugging you, and I can try to fix it. Or you make me pester you until you tell me what’s bugging you, and I can try to fix it. Your choice.”
She gave him a flat look, to let him know that she didn’t appreciate the brotherly bullying. But actually she did. Lily Rose went to Lawson and hugged him. She hadn’t realized she was crying until she felt the tears burn her eyes.
Lawson must have heard her sniff because he cursed. “Am I going to have to kill Jake?”
“No.” She couldn’t say that fast enough. “He’s not the reason I’m crying.”
Her brother eased back from her, lifted his eyebrow. “You came sneaking out of Jake’s house, and I doubt you’re upset over losing a game of dominoes.”
At least he wasn’t browbeating her for having sex with a man he’d warned her about. However, that might be part two of this visit.
“Why are you here anyway?” she asked. Not exactly a diversion tactic but maybe it would work.
“Sophie sent me. She’s worried about you. Said she tried to call you a couple of times but you didn’t answer.”
No way could she have answered considering what was going on between Jake and her, but it was best not to mention that to Lawson.
“Anyway, Sophie was going to drive over here and check on you,” Lawson added, “but I told her I’d do it. That way, if Jake’s ass did need kicking, I could take care of it. That’s my version of multitasking.”
“No kicking required. I was just leaving.” And she would have headed toward her car if Lawson hadn’t stepped in front of her.
He sighed in frustration. “Don’t make me hound you into talking. Just tell me what’s wrong, and then we can both go home and do whatever else it is we want to be doing other than standing here in a barn.”
Lily Rose figured there was no way she would be able to ditch Lawson or this conversation so she just went with what would get her out of there the fastest. “Ian is being... Ian.” Aka turd-head. “He’s jealous of me spending time with Jake, and now he’s trying to woo me back.”
Lawson cursed. “Hell, the butt I need to be kicking is Ian’s.”
Lily Rose nearly said she wouldn’t stop him, but Lawson might take that to heart and go pulverize her former boss. Who might end up being her current boss. Or she might just kick his butt herself. Growing up with four brothers had her a few things about standing up for herself, but in this case, that would only end up hurting Jake.
“I hope you told Ian to go to hell,” Lawson growled.
“Not yet.” But if she thought she could get away with it, she would. “Anyway, I think it’s best if I cut my losses and leave. That’ll be better for anyone.”
Lawson gave her a look that only a big brother could manage. “Better for Ian, you mean.”
She shrugged, nodded. Paused. “There are some things you don’t know.”
He gave her a second of those looks, this one more intense than the other. “Are you pregnant?”
“No!”
“Dying?” he tacked on before she finished even that short response.
“No. It’s just I’ve had some, well, setbacks. I’d rather not get into it with you right now, but suffice it to say that I might be moving home.”
Since neither Lawson nor she had lived “home” in years, he was probably surprised. Maybe even shocked. Because home meant being back under Lucian’s thumb. Lawson’s big-brother looks were tame compared to Lucian’s. However, Lawson didn’t get a chance to express any of that shock because the sound of footsteps got their attention.
Lily Rose groaned softly. It was Jake, and she shouldn’t have hung around for him to find her. Especially find her when he seemed riled about something. His mouth was tight, his eyes narrowed.
“What the hell is going on?” Jake asked, and it didn’t take Lily Rose long to figure out that the question was meant for her. She didn’t think he was talking about Lawson being there, either.
“I have to leave,” she said, hoping Jake didn’t ask for details.
He didn’t.
Instead, Jake held up his phone. “I just finished a chat with Ian. According to him, you’re flat broke and that’s the reason you just had sex with me.”
CHAPTER SIX
JAKE HAD HOPED like the devil that everything Ian had just told him was a lie. But he could tell from the shell-shocked look on Lily Rose’s face that it wasn’t.
Crap.
“Start talking,” he demanded at the same moment Lawson said, “What?”
Clearly, her brother was in the dark on this, too, but Jake intended for there to be some light-shedding very, very soon. Lily Rose seemed to have less urgency, though, to speak because she stood there, staring at him all the while Lawson was glaring at her. Jake figured his own expression wasn’t exactly pleasant because hell in a handbasket, it hurt to think that Lily Rose was like half the other women in town and only after his money.
“I am broke,” she finally said. She had to add the rest over Lawson’s and his groans. “I made some bad investments. Well, one really bad one anyway, and I lost almost everything. But I didn’t sleep with you to get your money. That was purely about sex and your hotness.”
Lawson added another groan to go with his glare. “I don’t want to hear about my kid sister having sex. What I do want to hear about is how you lost your trust fund.”
It was obvious Lily Rose didn’t want to get into this, but it was equally obvious that Lawson wasn’t going to give up. Well, Jake wasn’t going to give up on being convinced that it had “purely” been sex between Lily Rose and him. After he’d been burned time and time again by some of the Wrangler’s Creek women, he wanted to be sure.
“You know I’ve always wanted my own cutting horse operation,” Lily Rose said to her brother. “Well, I found one I could buy, but it turned out to be a scam. The cops and FBI are investigating it, but they aren’t hopeful I can get back the money.”
Lawson cursed. “When the heck did all of this happen?”
“A year ago.”
Lawson cursed some more. “And you didn’t come to me?”
There were tears in Lily Rose’s eyes now. Tears that cut away at Jake, but he resisted the urge to go and comfort her. For one thing, he was still pissed off that she hadn’t volunteered any of this information, that he’d had to hear it from Ian. Plus, he doubted Lawson was going to want to see Lily Rose wrapped in his arms so soon after learning about them having sex. After all, Lawson had warned Jake to stay away from Lily Rose.
“I was embarrassed. Ashamed,” she corrected. She slashed her fingers over her cheeks to wipe away the tears. “And I didn’t want to hear ‘I told you so’ from Lucian or from you.”
Jake knew all her brothers and figured a couple of them would have indeed said it, too. That was the problem with being a little sister to four alpha brothers. In their eyes, she would never grow up, and she certainly shouldn’t be sleeping around with him.
“This is why you said you’d be moving back home,” Lawson grumbled. He didn’t wait for her to confirm that. “Don’t. I’ll talk to Sophie, Garrett and Roman about you staying indefinitely at the Granger Ranch.”
She was shaking her head before he finished. “I don’t want you to fix this.” Lily Rose tapped her thumb against her chest. “I got myself into this mess, and I’ll get myself out of it.” She snapped toward Jake again. “And no, that doesn’t involve getting money from you because we had sex.”
The tears returned, and she couldn’t wipe them away fast enough. “I can’t believe you’d think that about me.”
At the moment, n
either could he. But Ian’s call had hit him like a Mack truck. Not just the revelation of Lily Rose being broke, either, but the other thing Ian had told him.
“Are you really going back to work for Ian?” Jake snapped.
Judging from the way she dodged his gaze, the answer to that was yes. “He offered me a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity.”
“Oh, man.” Lawson groaned. “He’s offering you the opportunity to be at his beck and call.”
She certainly didn’t argue with that. “I have my reasons for considering his job offer.”
Lawson started cursing again. “There is no reason for you to work for that turd.”
Lily Rose stayed quiet several long moments. “You’re wrong. I have several good reasons. And I don’t intend to discuss them with you,” she quickly added. “Or you,” she said, turning to Jake.
She stopped again, shook her head and mumbled her own profanity.
She pointed to her brother. “I don’t want you to bail me out. I want to work for a living just the way you do.”
“Obviously, that didn’t work so well for you,” Lawson grumbled. “You let yourself be scammed, and then you didn’t bother telling us the truth. No wonder Jake thinks you’ve turned gold digger.”
It was the wrong thing to say, and it put some fire in her eyes because it had that whole “told you so” ring to it. It also didn’t help that Lawson was giving her that “Me, big brother; you, little sister” look.
Jake wasn’t sure how Lily Rose could see with her eyes narrowed like that, but she pointed her finger at him next. “As for you, I can’t believe you thought so little of me.”
Another swipe of the tears, and she hiked up her chin. Jake could see that she was trying to steel herself up. Or at least that was what he thought. But he was wrong. She dismissed them both with a wave of her hand.
“I’m in love with you,” Lily Rose snarled to Jake. “And now, you can just go to hell.”
Jake just stood there, unsure of what he should do. Lawson didn’t budge, either.
“Did she say she was in love with you?” Lawson asked, sounding none too happy about that.
Jake wasn’t happy about it, either. What the heck? “When did that happen?”
“Maybe about the time you took her to your bed. You know, like an hour or so ago.” Lawson cursed and shook his head. “I suspect this has been a long time coming. Lily Rose has always had feelings for you. I just didn’t know they ran this deep.”
Neither had he.
Well, hell.
This was a night for revelations. First, the fact that Lily Rose was broke and about to return to work for a jackass. Then, him accusing her of gold digging. Now, this. Except there was more to it than her saying she was in love with him. Apparently, Jake had done exactly what Lawson and Garrett had thought he would do.
He’d broken Lily Rose’s heart.
* * *
ON A SCALE of one to ten, Lily Rose figured her anger was a hundred and six. Maybe more. Worse, in addition to being pissed off, she felt as if someone were sitting on her chest, crushing her.
How the devil could she have let herself fall in love with Jake?
True, she’d always been crazy about him, but she’d contained that craziness with a hefty reminder that he would always think she was too young or not right for him. It had been that way years ago, and it was the same tonight. It didn’t matter that Jake and she had had sex. Didn’t matter that said sex had been mind-blowing and incredible. It only mattered that now things were a big mess.
“After his money,” she grumbled, punctuating it with plenty of cursing. “Right.” The only way she would have been interested in his money was if it’d been in his boxers and her interest would have only been to move it aside so she could put a condom on him.
But he didn’t believe that.
Even if he did, it didn’t matter. The damage had been done, and she could thank Ian for setting that particular ball rolling.
However, it wasn’t a thank-you she had in mind when she called his number as she went into the guesthouse at the Granger Ranch. While she waited for Ian to answer, she went straight to the fridge and poured herself a glass of wine. She didn’t put away the bottle because she might need every drop to get her through this conversation.
“Lily Rose,” Ian said when he finally came on the line. “I’m guessing Jake told you I’d phoned him?”
“Go to hell,” she snarled. She probably should have rehearsed that a bit so she could convey her anger while not ruining things for Jake. After all, Ian had said he would blackball the livestock purchases that Jake needed to make a go of his ranch.
Ian gave what sounded to be a heavy sigh. “You’re upset. I get that, but Jake needed to know about your financial problems.”
“Yes, but he didn’t need to hear it from you. Why would you tell him, Ian? Why would you even call him?”
“I thought you might need some encouragement to accept my job offer. I mean, it was obvious you were having doubts because you didn’t jump at the chance—”
“I didn’t jump because you threatened Jake.”
“It wasn’t a threat. It was just business.”
She was already riled to the boiling point and rather than do something that would cause this to blow up for Jake, Lily Rose took a gulp of wine. Then, another. She refilled her glass, grabbed the bottle and headed for the bathroom so she could soak in the tub. She might do some head-soaking as well while she was in there.
“Jake’s a big boy,” Ian went on. “He understands this isn’t personal.”
“But it is, isn’t it? Honestly, would you have offered me that dream job if I hadn’t been with Jake?”
Ian paused. “Maybe. I admit I realized the mistake I’d made by letting you go. Not just from my life but from my business, too. But that’s all water under the bridge now. You’ll come to work for me and all will be fine with Jake.”
Yes, the only thing she had to do was give up on the man she loved. Easy peasy. Well, except for that heart-crushing pain. And the tears. Once more they were threatening.
“I have to go,” she said to Ian. Best to end this conversation now than say something she might regret. “Please don’t call Jake again.” And with that, she hit the end-call button.
The tears came while she ran the bathwater and continued while she had that soak. It didn’t help, but then hot water wasn’t exactly a good cure for a heartbreak. But wine might be. Without drying off, Lily Rose pulled on a robe and headed back to the kitchen.
But the sound stopped her cold.
Someone was in her bedroom. She peeked around the edge of the bathroom door and spotted Jake.
Naked.
Well, almost. Like the time she’d been waiting for him in his house, he was wearing only a pair of boxers.
Just like that, the jolt came—the attraction mixed with the hurt. As bad as the hurt was, the attraction still won out, causing the ache in her heart to intensify.
“I wish I could find a cure for you,” she mumbled.
The corner of his mouth lifted, though in her mind there was absolutely nothing to smile about. He tipped his head to the wine bottle that she had clamped in her hand. “It appears you’ve been looking for cures, though.”
“I have,” Lily Rose readily admitted. “So far, no luck.” She dragged in a deep breath so she could continue. “Did you lose your clothes?”
Another smile. “I stripped down in the livi
ng room. Thought it might break the ice if we talked while I was just wearing this.”
Jake didn’t break ice. He melted it. Melted her, too, but Lily Rose figured it was best not to admit that especially so soon after her “cure” remark. Jake already knew he had her hormonal number so she should minimize the sexual references. Maybe if she didn’t talk about it, she could rein in her lust and have a meaningful conversation.
Of course, her body was urging her more in the “meaningful sex” direction.
“FYI, if I don’t go to work for Ian,” she confessed, “he’s going to try to screw you over six ways to Sunday.”
Jake nodded, shrugged as if that were old news and walked toward her. Well, it wasn’t old news to Lily Rose. It still felt fresh and raw...and judging from the look in Jake’s eyes, it was also the last thing on his mind.
“Are you wearing anything under that robe?” he asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer. He slid his hand inside over her right breast and flicked his thumb over her nipple.
Great day in the morning. It was hard to stay focused when multiple parts of her were quivering. One part in particular was a little past the quiver stage and might start whining at any moment. That was perhaps because she could see the outline of Jake’s erection contained in his boxers.
“Didn’t you hear me?” she managed to ask. “Ian will ruin you.”
“He’ll try.” Jake leaned in and brushed a kiss just below her ear.
And her lower body whined began.
It would be so easy to slip right into this. Or rather have him slip right into her. That became even more plausible when he moved closer, putting his body against hers and kissing her. Since she was still holding both the wine bottle and glass, Lily Rose couldn’t latch on to him. Which was probably a good thing.
“Ian will do more than try,” she assured Jake when he broke for air.
He scowled. “Obviously, I’m not kissing you the right way if you’re still talking about Ian. So, let’s clear the air. I know you’re not after my money, though it is possible you’re after my body.”
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