Slap! Slap! Slap!
Leigh couldn’t stop swinging. “How dare you! You self-righteous asshole!”
Jeremy sustained the first couple of blows, but then he finally had to try and ward them off. “Stop it. Stop it.” He made a grab for her free hand, but missed.
However, Leigh spotted other objects in the freezer that would help her win her fight. In the next second, she hurled vegetables, chicken, fish and any damn thing she could get her hands on.
“Men can cheat. Men can do whatever they want—hurt anyone that they want. Well, I’m sick of it. You hear me? Sick! Sick! Sick!”
“Will you stop it? Are you crazy?” Jeremy barked.
“Oh! So now I’m a crazy ho. Is that it?” Her arms and hands became a windmill as she pelted him everywhere. “For your information, I didn’t go to that party looking for a one-night stand. It was just a stupid, impulsive thing that I’ll regret for the rest of my life!”
“Ha!” Jeremy’s head popped back up. “I’m supposed to believe that? I remember that night. You were a woman on the prowl and you were no rookie,” he charged.
“I don’t give a damn what you believe!” Tears rimmed her eyes, but she fought like hell to keep them in check. “I just know that I wasn’t supposed to see you again. But so far you’ve been like something stuck on the bottom of my shoe that I can’t get rid of.”
“And you’re never going to get rid of me,” he swore, knocking the bunch of produce from her hand and moving in close. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you marry my best friend—even if it costs me my friendship. Now, you look me in the eyes and tell me if you think I’m bullshitting.”
Leigh angled her chin upward in a last bid of defiance, but she believed that Jeremy absolutely meant what he said.
Jeremy nodded. “Good. We understand each other. You have forty-eight hours.” With that he turned and stomped out of the walk-in freezer.
Leigh watched him exit and had the urge to swing a good rump roast at the back of his head. But in the end all that was left were tears and a fresh wave of nausea. Heads turned when Jeremy marched out of the kitchen freezer. He ignored most of the stunned and shocked faces even when he stopped to pass the chef his business card and told him, “Send me the bill for the mess.” After that, he straightened his back, brushed a few leafy vegetables off his shoulders and then headed back into the party. Even then everyone who saw his stormy face scrambled out of the way.
“Jeremy,” Roy called out, and then rushed to catch up with him. “Is there a problem, man? You look ready to kill someone.”
“No, man. I just—had something come up and I really need to get to it,” Jeremy said, avoiding eye contact but, more importantly, not breaking his stride toward the door.
“So you’re heading out of here?” Roy asked, surprised.
“I’m afraid so, man.” Jeremy swung an arm out and briefly whacked his buddy on the back. “Sorry. I have to cut out. It’s a nice party, but I’m going to have to catch you later.”
“Oh, okay, then,” Ray responded, clearly unable to hide his disappointment. “Well, at least you finally got the chance to meet my old lady,” he boasted.
“Yeah, finally.” Jeremy strolled out the front door of the restaurant, but Roy remained by his side as he stopped at the valet. “Sorry. I didn’t get a ticket, but I’m driving the—”
“I remember who you are, sir,” the young kid bragged, and then reached for his keys. “Be right back, sir.”
“Thank you.” While Jeremy waited, for the first time in his life he dreaded having to make small talk with his best friend.
“Well?” Roy prodded.
Jeremy frowned. “Well what?”
Roy laughed. “Well, what the hell do you think? She’s something else, ain’t she?” His friend’s grin exploded, doubling in size. “I’m a lucky son of a bitch, ain’t I?”
Jeremy’s darting gaze finally settled on Roy’s smiling, hopeful face. What was he supposed to say to that? He was kind of hoping to keep his quota to one lie tonight. “Yeah, man. You’re real lucky.”
Roy shoved his hands in his suit pants’ pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Look, because we’re boys, I don’t mind telling you that I’m a bit nervous about all this.”
That piqued Jeremy’s interest. Maybe if his boy was experiencing some doubts then there was some room to maneuver in this drama.
“Nervous about what?”
Jeremy’s Porsche pulled up to the curb.
“Well,” Roy hedged and shrugged his shoulders. We don’t have to talk about it now. I don’t want to keep you from handling your business. Another time.” He turned and started to head back to the party.
Jeremy caught his arm. “No. I can—”
“Here you go, sir.” The valet stepped in front of them.
Jeremy quickly gave the kid a folded bill from his pocket and turned his attention back to his best friend. “Now, what were you saying about doubts?”
Roy blinked. “Well, I didn’t say doubts—” He stopped to think about it. “I guess there are some doubts. But that’s just to be expected, right?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Oh…right.” Roy bobbed his head. “Mr. Bachelor-for-Life. How could I forget?”
Jeremy’s patience was wearing thin. “So—what are you nervous about?”
“I guess the whole thing,” he said, lowering his voice to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. “Don’t get me wrong or anything. I love Leigh and everything. I mean, look at her. She’s hot to def, right? It’s just… I got to thinking about what you said the other day.”
What had he said?
Jeremy’s brows dipped. Roy reminded him, “You know, the whole conversation about my still creeping and keeping my dirt on the low?”
“You’re paraphrasing, but yeah, I remember the conversation.”
“See, it’s not that I want to cheat on Leigh or anything. But out there on the road, you don’t know, man. It’s like being a kid in a candy shop and my ass is addicted to sugar.”
“Are you kidding me? Did you forget where I work?”
“Yeah, and how many women fall into your bed?”
Good point.
“The truth of the matter is, if I get caught again, I’m pretty sure Leigh isn’t sticking around. Hell, I had to wage a whole campaign to get her family and friends to help me get back in her good graces. And to tell you the truth—” he glanced around again “—when I popped open the ring box, Leigh actually said no.”
“What?”
Roy nodded as his nervous confession continued to pour out of him. “Yeah, man. We had actually broken up and old girl got a little taste of freedom. I’m thinking she realized that she didn’t have to put up with my bullshit. You know what I mean? For the first time I was really scared of losing her. It took me damn near two weeks to wear her down—and I still haven’t been able to get her back into the bedroom.”
“So you two are not…”
Roy shook his head. “Clearly I’m on restriction until after the ‘I do’s!”
“You are not having sex until the wedding night?”
A mischievous smile curled Roy’s lips. “We aren’t having sex. Trust and believe I’m handling mine out here.”
“But—”
“That’s what I’m saying.” Roy stepped closer. “It’s just not in me to be a one-woman man. But at the same time, a brother doesn’t come across a woman like Leigh every day. Not only is she fine, she’s smart and she not impressed with the money and the fame.”
Jeremy felt a sickening twist in his gut as his recent tirade in the kitchen freezer scrolled through his head. Hadn’t he just pretty much called her a gold-digging ho? No. Scratch that. A crazy gold-digging ho.
Cars pulled up and around the valet. Everyone was clearly trying to work around Jeremy’s car blocking the curb.
“Damn, listen to me,” Roy said, shaking his head. “I’m just spilling my guts when you go
t to get going. You go handle your business, man. We can talk another time.”
“No. It’s okay.”
“Nah. We’ll hook up soon,” Roy said, backpedaling. “I really appreciate you coming out tonight. I’ll holler at you later.”
Before Jeremy could mutter another word, Roy spun on his heels and went back inside the restaurant to the party.
Jeremy’s shoulders deflated. Now he felt like an ass. It wasn’t too hard to put the pieces of this puzzle together. Leigh and Roy were broken up at the time he met her in Malibu. The rendezvous that had him so shook up was likely an impulsive revenge hook-up on her part and… “She had said no.” He didn’t know why that small detail filled him with so much hope, but it did. Upon further reflection, he wondered what he was so hopeful about. He didn’t have a shot in hell with her now or ever.
While his thoughts and feelings tumbled over one another, he strolled to the driver’s side of his Porsche and eased behind the wheel. However, a second before he could pull off, the passenger door jerked open and Quentin hopped in.
Jeremy blinked as if the sight of his cousin jarred him. Then another layer of guilt attacked him.
“Well?” Q said, folding his arms. “I’m waiting.”
Jeremy nodded at the olive branch. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s it?” Quentin asked, hiking up brow. “I’m very sorry. I shouldn’t have attacked you. You were just trying to help.”
Q’s head swayed as he weighed whether to accept the apology. “All right. Apology accepted.” He twisted up his nose. “Why do you smell like fish?”
Jeremy laughed and managed to let slip his first genuine smile in the past hour. “It’s a long story.” Still, he just had to get in the last word. “But I still think you should call Sterling.”
You Give Love a Bad Name
Chapter 16
“What did he mean by that?” Dr. Turner interrupted, braiding her fingers together.
Quentin tried to play dumb. “What did who mean by what?”
“Come on, Q. Let’s not play games. A few minutes ago you said Jeremy alluded to something that happened between you and your brother Sterling. Care to elaborate?”
Quentin shifted around on the chaise.
Alyssa pulled her gaze away from the window and finally turned her attention to them. “Tell her,” she urged.
But Q’s tongue suddenly felt like lead in his mouth and the room’s temperature surged to sweltering heat.
“Q?” Julianne Turner leaned forward in her chair sensing that she had hit a nerve. “Why did your cousin say that you needed to talk to your older brother?”
Did she think he hadn’t understood the question the first time? “It’s…” Quentin shook his head.
“Take your time,” she encouraged softly.
“I was hurt,” he started. “And so damn angry.”
“Of course you were. Your brother married the woman you thought you were in love with.”
“I was in love with her,” Q corrected.
“You weren’t in love with me,” Alyssa accused, and then rolled her eyes in frustration.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Quentin snapped, jumping to his feet and yelling at someone who wasn’t there.
“Excuse me?” Dr. Turner asked, alarmed.
“I know plenty!” Alyssa charged. “After all, I am your subconscious. You weren’t in love with Alyssa!”
“I was!”
“No!”
“Yes,” he thundered, and then realized the absurdity of the situation. “Look at me. I’m arguing with myself.”
“You’re pissed because you lost! You can’t stand that Sterling supposedly took something that you thought belonged to you. And in your own sick way, you thought my adoration belonged solely to you. Why not? You had it for years. But the truth of the matter is if you had loved me you never would have married her,” his subconscious Alyssa said.
“Who?” he thundered. “She has nothing to do with this!”
“Who are you talking about?” Julianne Turner asked, fascinated by Quentin’s breakthrough—or meltdown—the jury was still out on which one it was.
“She has everything to do with this!” Alyssa shouted. “When you love something—or someone—you fight for that love. That’s what Sterling did—he fought for what he wanted. He didn’t let you or anyone else take away what he wanted. He wanted me. Let’s face facts. When you had your chance, you chose your precious inheritance—damn whoever got in your way.”
“That’s not true!”
“No? Have you even told her why you got married? Does she even have a clue? Or did you just forget all about her or what she might have been going through once you got your money and your annulment?”
Quentin’s shoulders slumped in defeat as he finally admitted the truth.
“Face it. You were a selfish bastard then and you’re a selfish bastard now. You can’t even allow yourself to be happy for your brother—or for me.”
“Quentin?” Dr. Turner spoke softly. “Are you okay?”
He shook his head. “Not really.”
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Quentin glanced around the room. Alyssa was gone—and something in his gut told him that he wouldn’t see her image ever again.
“Q?” Julianne Turner tried again to get through to him.
“Uh, yeah. I guess I just realized something.”
“And what’s that?” she asked cautiously.
“That I am a real asshole.”
Silence followed his announcement as his head flopped back on the chaise.
“Can I get you something?” Dr. Turner asked, standing. “Would you like some water or something?”
“Water would be nice,” he said, suddenly exhausted.
Julianne Turner walked over to a small refrigerator by her desk and retrieved the bottled water. As she twisted open the top and grabbed a small glass, she looked over her shoulder at him.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m not cracking up. At least I don’t think I am.”
She smiled as she walked back and handed him the glass. “Why don’t you leave the diagnosis to the professional?”
Quentin flashed his dimples. “All right, Doc. Am I cracking up?”
Dr. Turner’s lips stretched wide into a smile as she returned to her chair.
“I guess that means that the jury is still out,” he joked.
“Tell me about your breakthrough.”
“Only that love is more foreign to me now than it has ever been. But maybe now I think I understand Jeremy’s situation a little better.”
Chapter 17
“Girl, are you all right?” Ariel asked, rushing to her side when she finally emerged from the kitchen. Leigh was far from being all right, but she put on a brave face anyway. “Yeah. I’m okay.” She glanced around the room and was both relieved and disappointed that Jeremy King was gone.
“He left,” Ariel filled in.
“What?”
“Your baby’s daddy,” her girl said flippantly. “That is who you’re looking for, right? He blazed out of here a few minutes ago. So what’s up? Did you drop the news on him or what? And why are you shaking like a leaf?”
“Because Jeremy hauled me into that huge freezer in the kitchen.”
“What? He tried to kill you or something? We can probably sue him for that.”
“No. But I can’t swear that the thought didn’t cross his mind.”
“Girl, the drama at this damn party is off the hook. So what are you going to do?”
“Right now? Go home.” Leigh glanced around the room again. “Where’s DeShawn?”
“Uh.” Ariel grimaced.
“What now?”
“He rushed outside—with Jeremy.”
Leigh felt too exhausted to panic anymore. At this point she would quietly march in front of a firing squad if it meant that this nightmare would be over.
Ariel, however, remained rapt with anticipation.
“So what do you think they were out there talking about?”
“I assure you I have no idea.”
“You don’t think that your baby—”
“Please, stop calling him that. I don’t know what they are talking about, nor do I care. I just want to go home.”
“But your party—”
“I don’t care about this party, either,” she hissed, while tears burned the backs of her eyelids like acid. “Take me home.”
“But—”
“Ariel, if you’re my friend, you’ll jump off my last nerve and get me home before I completely lose it.”
Ariel blinked.
“Please,” she added as those same tears now threatened to roll down her face.
“All right. All right. Sure. Let’s just get our jackets.”
Leigh bobbed her head and proceeded to follow her girl to the coat check of the restaurant. As they stood in line to hand over their tickets, Leigh’s gaze drifted toward the glass front door. There she saw Jeremy King and DeShawn standing by the parking valet talking. She couldn’t help or stop herself from comparing the two.
Both men had no trouble turning women’s heads, but Jeremy King’s effortless style and suave good looks were truly second to none. Looking at him, it was clear he was a manly man. And having had the experience of what it was like to rake her hands down his massive chest and to have him buried deep inside of her, she knew, for her, who was the better man.
Judging by the body language and the fact that DeShawn was doing all the talking, Leigh thought it was safe to conclude that no bombshells were being dropped. But if she wasn’t mistaken, Jeremy did look surprised about something. She wondered what it was that DeShawn was telling him.
“Here you go, girl,” Ariel said, handing over her jacket.
Leigh accepted it without pulling her gaze away from the two men—well, from Jeremy. Why couldn’t I have met him first? There was such a longing in her question that her chest hurt. And there were other parts of her body aching for his touch.
“Are you ready?” Ariel asked.
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