by K. A. Linde
After Landon had stormed out of my house, I’d called Morgan, and she came over. She hadn’t known that Landon was coming in early either. So, she hadn’t been able to warn me. Though she thought the whole thing was poetic justice.
I thought she was full of shit. I had been planning to tell Landon. That wasn’t bullshit, as Morgan kept insinuating. But a part of me had known he would freak out. I’d told myself that I never would have gone after her if I’d known who she was. I’d told myself I never would have touched her if I’d thought she was staying in town. I’d told myself I’d stay away from her when I knew she was here for good.
With Emery, I couldn’t seem to keep my promises to myself. And I didn’t want to.
I didn’t believe in coincidences. If I kept running into her, it was for a reason. Not on accident. And I wasn’t about to walk away from someone just because of what might be.
But I hadn’t wanted to face Landon. That much was for sure. And it had gone much worse than I had anticipated.
I didn’t know what he was doing. I didn’t know what Emery was doing. And I just wanted to make this all right.
Landon was wrong about me hiding my problems. I’d fixed one problem this weekend when I bought Tarman Corporation out from under Marc’s nose. I could fix this one with Landon a lot quicker if I could talk to my girlfriend.
Except she wasn’t answering her phone.
Morgan gave me a worried look. “Maybe you should let it go.”
I wanted to throw my phone across the room. “I can’t just let it go. Landon is out there, pissed off at me. Emery isn’t answering my calls. What the fuck am I supposed to do, Morgan?”
“I don’t know. You made this mess.”
“Well aware of that. Thanks.”
“Look, I’m not patronizing you. But you knew this was going to happen. You knew that you would have to tell Landon.”
“And I planned to,” I told her for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Then, you should have just done it.”
“You’re right,” I said with a sigh. “Do you have Heidi’s number?”
Morgan frowned. “I might.”
“I need it.”
“No.”
“Why not?” I asked tersely.
“Emery is not answering your calls for a reason, Jensen. Give her some time. I’m sure that she is freaking out about all of this. No one likes to be ambushed.”
“So, I should let her walk?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying, give her space. If you were the one freaking out, would you want her to bombard you?”
I closed my eyes and sighed. That was how I had reacted with every other woman post-Vanessa. I hadn’t liked to be bothered. I’d wanted my space. I hadn’t slept. I’d just worked. That had been my life. I didn’t know what it was like anymore.
“Normally, no, but right now, I’m considering going to her house to see if she’s there.”
Morgan rolled her eyes. “You men, so dramatic.”
“What if this were Patrick?” I countered.
“This also has nothing to do with me or Patrick. Stop projecting. I cannot believe I’m even having this conversation with you. With Austin, sure. He’s the one who fucks everything up. He even fucked up whatever was going on with that girl in HR.”
“Julia?” I asked. “They were together?”
Morgan shrugged. “They’re not anymore. But I thought you were always the one who had your shit together. Austin always has trouble with women. Landon has Miranda.” She scoffed. “Enough said. But your life is put together, even with everything going on with Vanessa. Why are you acting crazy over one girl?”
“I care about her. And I care about Landon. I don’t want to see either of them hurt. Not knowing is making me feel insane. I have to go out there and do something.”
I reached for my jacket and pocketed the keys to my car.
“What exactly are you going to go do?” Morgan demanded, following me into the garage.
“I don’t know. I’ll make it up as I go along.”
I hurried past the empty space where my black Mercedes always rested and hopped into my truck. Morgan stood, watching, as if she wanted to jump into the passenger seat or talk some sense into me. I noticed the exact moment when she decided it wouldn’t matter. She sighed and looked resigned.
“Will you let me know how it goes?” Morgan asked.
I nodded briskly and then pulled out of the garage. Before I had a second thought, I was already barreling across town. The logical explanation was that Emery was at home. She’d wanted to check on Kimber to make sure everything was all right. They were probably up late, talking, or maybe they had gone to sleep.
Except I didn’t believe that.
I didn’t know why.
But I just had this feeling. A gut instinct.
I wanted to shake it, but I wouldn’t until I saw for myself that she was there. I careened down Milwaukee Avenue, out toward her sister’s house. Pent-up tension and energy coursed through me. I felt on edge about her lack of response to my messages.
I parked my truck across the street and killed the engine. Shoving my hands in my pockets against the cold, I dashed across the street and up to the front door. I went to ring the doorbell and then shook my head. I couldn’t ring the doorbell because Lilyanne could be asleep. That would be a real dick move. I didn’t want to wake her up. They probably had a crazy routine to even get her to sleep in the first place. Instead, I knocked on the door and hoped someone was up to hear it.
After about a minute, the door cracked open, and Kimber’s face appeared. “Jensen?” she asked in surprise.
“Hey, Kimber. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“Oh, you didn’t. It’s almost time, and it makes it kind of hard to sleep.” She placed her hand on her belly and gave me a genuine smile. “Can I help you?”
“I was hoping to talk to Emery.”
Kimber frowned. “She went out hours ago to meet Heidi. She hasn’t come home yet.”
“Oh,” I said slowly. “I see.”
“Have you tried her cell?”
“A couple of times.”
“Heidi is a bit of a bad influence. Love the girl to death and back, but they’re trouble together. I can’t even tell you what they went through in high school.”
“I believe it.”
“Do you want me to give her a call and see where she is? I didn’t even check before she left.”
“Uh, no. That’s all right.”
“Just come on inside. It will only be a minute,” Kimber said with a kind smile.
I ducked inside without another protest.
She shuffled over to her phone and then smiled. “I have a text here. Looks like Emery is on her way home. She should be here soon, I guess.”
I clenched my jaw and then released it. Emery was responding to Kimber’s messages but not mine? What the fuck?
Something was wrong here. I could feel it. I could sense it. But I didn’t know what was happening.
“You can stay and wait if you want?” Kimber offered.
“Oh no,” I said immediately, backing away. “Uh, no. I’ll check in with her tomorrow. If she’s safe, then that’s fine by me.”
Kimber tilted her head in worry. “Are you sure?”
“Completely,” I said.
Then, I exited the house and hurried back to my truck. The reasonable and rational thing to do would be to wait until Emery got home. I wanted to talk to her about Landon—the things that had been said and the things that I suspected about Landon. I needed to clear the air. I needed to figure out why they had broken up and what Landon had meant about me not knowing her.
But maybe tonight really wasn’t the best night for it. Maybe we should have that conversation when I was in a better headspace.
I shook my head at my own frustrations and then put the truck into gear. I touched the accelerator and hurried down the road. I was almost out of the neighborhood when my ey
es cut to the car that was passing me—a black Mercedes.
There was nothing special about it. Nothing to draw my eye at all. It was a plain, standard black Mercedes. It should have been completely unidentifiable. Any number of people could have the same car in this neighborhood where wealth was on display.
But my instincts told me it didn’t belong to just anyone.
My instincts told me that it belonged to me.
I waited until the car passed me before making my decision. I did a U-turn in the middle of the street and slowly drove back to Emery’s house. When I turned onto her street, I cut my lights and parked two houses down the street. My stomach cramped, and tension bottled in my shoulders. My hands were white on the steering wheel. Of all the scenarios I had concocted in my head, this had never been one of them.
The Mercedes was parked at Emery’s house. The Mercedes that Landon had driven off in earlier that day. He always had access to my cars when he was in town. I’d never cared what he drove or when. Getting a rental when I had a garage full of cars seemed ridiculous. Now, I couldn’t believe that he was using my car to come here.
The passenger door opened. My gaze darted to it in surprise. Then, Emery stepped out, and my hands shook in disbelief.
Emery had been with Landon all night?
Kimber had said she was with Heidi. But it was right in front of my face. Landon was stepping out of the driver’s side. He sprinted around to Emery’s side and wrapped an arm around her waist. She turned her body into his and held on to his shoulder.
I felt like I was going to be sick. I didn’t think I could watch any more of this. If I had thought half-hearted that Landon still had feelings for Emery before, it was now confirmed. He’d run out on me to go see my girlfriend. And here they were, together.
They walked arm in arm up to the front door.
As much as I wanted to look away, I couldn’t seem to. Landon definitely still had feelings for Emery. And the way Emery was acting—leaning against him, holding on to him, practically gluing herself to his body—showed that not everything was gone from her either.
Emery rested back against the brick wall next to the door that I had walked out of only minutes before. She was staring up at Landon’s face, and I didn’t even need to hear what they were saying. The picture was clear enough to me.
I put the truck into drive and zoomed away from the sight before me. I couldn’t watch any more.
I’d thought that there was nothing that would keep me from Emery.
But I would not compete with Landon.
Not in this lifetime.
Not in any lifetime.
Twenty-Five
Emery
My back was against the brick wall to Kimber’s place, and my head felt like I’d blown up a balloon inside it. Landon was hovering. Little hoverer. But I should be thankful because I wouldn’t have made it to the front door without his help.
Somehow, I’d gone from a three-drink max to, like, ten drinks. I didn’t even know how it had happened. At one point, I had been standing, and the next, I had proclaimed to the bar that I was definitely not drunk before suddenly wanting to make out with Heidi. Sure signs that I was a drunky-drunk face.
“Are you going to be okay? You look like you might throw up,” Landon said.
“Just go check on Heidi. If she vomits in that Mercedes, Jensen is going to be sooooo pissed.”
Landon grinned and shook his head. “Man, you’re so fucked up.”
“This is all. Your. Fault,” I said, punctuating each word with a smack to his chest. It might have been some stupid girlie hit, but I felt fierce while doing it.
“Where is your key? Do you still not carry a purse?”
“As if the key would magically appear in a purse,” I said, patting down my pockets in a half-assed effort. “It’d be full of other junk I didn’t need. I’d never find it.”
“You can’t find it now, and it’s in your pocket.”
“Judgy McJudgerson doesn’t find pockets acceptable. You only have pockets,” I slurred, poking at his pocket and giggling.
“Do not make me look through your pockets for you,” Landon said with a sigh. “God, if my wife saw me right now.”
“Her head would explode,” I crooned. Then, I made the boom sound for an explosion.
“Something like that,” he conceded. “So, hurry up, so I can get home and incur her wrath.”
I giggled again and then finally dug out the missing key.
Landon plucked it out of my hand and unlocked the door for me. He shoved the door open. “Here you go. Inside with you,” he said, helping me blunder inside.
A light flickered on, and Kimber appeared around the corner. She stopped short, her mouth hanging open and her eyes darting between the two of us.
“Hey, Kimmy,” I said happily.
“Landon?” Kimber asked softly.
“Hey, Kimber,” he said with a short wave.
“That is not the Wright brother I was expecting,” she confessed.
Landon’s cheeks turned pink, and I giggled at his embarrassment. Man, I am loaded.
“Just wanted to make sure she got home safe. Caught her at Flips with Heidi, and they needed a ride home,” he told her.
“I see.” She crossed her arms over the top of her pregnant belly. “Don’t you have a wife to get home to?”
She was using her mom voice, and I wanted to tell her to stop. But Landon seemed to take a cue from her and backed off. I stumbled onto the couch and watched the ceiling spin.
“Good seeing you again, Kimber. Good night,” Landon said.
“Good night,” she said, closing the door behind him. She turned back to face me with a sigh. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
“Clouds.”
“Clouds?”
“They’re twirling on the ceiling.”
“Oh God, you’re so drunk. Why didn’t you answer Jensen’s calls?”
“He didn’t call,” I said, trying to sit up. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tried three times to light up the screen before realizing it was dead. I sheepishly glanced up at her. “Um…it’s dead.”
Kimber sighed heavily again. “Well, charge it, and give him a call. He was here earlier, looking for you.”
“He was?” I asked, sobering up a bit at that revelation. “Why?”
“He wouldn’t say, but he seemed concerned. And, since I just saw you with his brother and your ex-boyfriend, I could see his concern.”
“Whoa! Wait a second, Kimmy. Reel that mom voice back in. There’s so nothing going on with me and Landon. He just apologized to me for blowing up on me when he found out about Jensen. He played pool with Heidi. We had a few drinks. He drove us both home. No big.”
“All right. What do I know? Just happily married with no drama in my life.”
I giggled. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now, go. Charge. Now.”
I nodded at her and gave her a quick salute. Then, I meandered the way to the stairs like I was walking through a hedge maze, and I more or less crawled up the stairs. I found my charger resting on the nightstand and plugged it in, waiting for the signature beep, beep to let me know it was ready to use again.
Then, it beeped and beeped and beeped.
Kimber had not been joking. Jensen had definitely texted me. And called. And texted some more.
Holy text messages!
They were very blurry though and kind of all melded together. I didn’t know what he was so desperate to tell me, knowing that he’d shown up here after I didn’t answer, but I might as well call him. Probably not the best idea I’d ever had, considering the amount of alcohol I’d consumed.
Imbibed. Drank. Drunk.
I flopped back onto my bed and stared at the spinny ceiling, contemplating which word was the best. Probably drowned in. Because I felt like I was on a boat adrift in the water, bouncing up and down and up and down on the waves.
Oh God, I was going to be sick.
&nb
sp; I sat up in a hurry and tried not to think about vomiting. That was better. Now, I could call Jensen.
I dialed his number and let it ring about a million times before it got to his voice mail.
Then, I tried again. No luck.
I stared down at it in confusion. Why would he call and message me so many times and then not answer my phone calls?
I tried one more time and then gave up. I was too drunk for this.
Maybe he’d call me back tomorrow morning. He was probably already asleep or something. And I clearly needed to do the same.
Stripping out of my clothes, I crawled into bed naked and promptly blacked out into oblivion.
After puking my guts out all night, I remembered that I had to open the Buddy Holly Center today. I’d switched my schedule around so that I could get away to Austin for the weekend and had given myself the morning shift. I felt like shit and looked even worse. My face was pasty, and my hair was limp. I brushed my teeth three times to get the taste of throw up out of my mouth.
And then I checked my phone.
Again.
Still nothing from Jensen.
I’d called him in between bouts of vomiting and texted him before I hopped into the shower. I double-checked that I’d contacted him as I put on clothes for the day.
I was royally confused. Beyond confused. And sick as a dog.
Why call and text and show up, only to ignore me when I tried to get in touch with him again? Is he trying to punish me or something for not answering?
That didn’t sound like Jensen. That sounded petty.
With a heavy sigh, I grabbed my keys and cell, which was fully charged, and left the house.
The Buddy Holly Center was empty. The construction crew from Wright Construction wouldn’t show up for another ten minutes, which meant I had a few extra minutes to try to recuperate and not to throw up again. I didn’t have anything left in my stomach. I’d packed a few snacks that would be easy on the stomach, but the thought of doing anything but sipping on water made me feel nauseated.
A knock on the door broke me away from staring aimlessly at my phone, hoping for a text message. I couldn’t think that Jensen was sleeping. He didn’t sleep unless we were together. The insomniac would rear its ugly head when we were apart. I couldn’t imagine that he was ignoring me.