Back for You (3 page)

Cain’s gut twisted in knots, and he fought back the instant flare of
jealousy. He’d tried not to think about the fact that Thea might be seeing
someone. “Maybe I should rethink giving her space.”

“Yeah, maybe. I think what you really need to do is figure out how to
prove to her you’re serious about her, and about staying here in town.”

Cain knew he was right. Had known it before he’d come back. “Don’t worry,
I’ve already set things in motion. Soon enough, she’ll know I’m dead serious
about being back to stay.”

“Cain’s
back
?”

In Thea’s apartment above the bar, her best friend Asia sat back against
the well-worn couch. Her incredulous expression would have made Thea laugh out
loud if she hadn’t been in such a foul mood.

As it was, she couldn’t keep the snark out of her voice. “That’s what he
says.”

Asia placed her half-full margarita glass on the end table with a loud
snick. “I thought he was gallivanting around the world living the glamorous
life of a freelance reporter.”

“Yeah, me too. And I can’t tell you how much I wish he was.”

Asia shook her head, amazement evident in her pretty features. “Did he
say why he’s here?”

“He
claims
he’s come back for me. Not that I believe him.”

Asia’s eyes went wide. “You’re kidding. How do you feel about that?”

Now there’s a really good question.
Thea sat back in the chair
across from her and tried to corral her emotions. “I don’t know. Confused, angry,
annoyed, panicked, worried. Pick one.”

“Worried? Why?”

Thea hesitated, concerned that giving voice to her thoughts would somehow
make them more real.

The front door flew open and her other good friend, Lexi, bustled in to join
them. She’d only moved into town about six months ago, but the three of them were
kindred spirits and had become as close as sisters almost immediately.

“Sorry I’m late, guys.” Her shoulder-length glossy brown hair caught the
light as she plunked herself next to Asia on the far end of the couch. “What
did I miss?” She dropped her purse on the floor and turned her full attention on
them.

When Thea didn’t comment, Asia tucked a stray blonde curl behind her ear
and answered. “The love of Thea’s life has come back to town with his sights
set on winning her back.”

“Wow. I miss all the good stuff.” Lexi looked from one to the other of
them in confusion. No doubt because Asia looked worried and Thea probably
looked like she wanted to chew someone’s face off. Also, she didn’t know
anything about Cain. “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Bad.
Very
bad.” Thea filled Lexi’s glass from the pitcher of margaritas
on the coffee table.

When Thea didn’t elaborate, Asia explained. “Ten years ago Cain left town
without a word to Thea. Just left her a note saying he was sorry but he had to
see the world and pursue his dreams.”

Lexi scowled. “What a jerk.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Thea turned thoughtful. “You know, I could have come to terms with Cain
wanting to see the world. And I always knew he wanted to be a reporter. What I
can’t get past is that he didn’t tell me to my face. He left me a damned note.
I thought I meant more to him than that.”

“At least he did that much, I guess. He could’ve left you wondering what
happened.”

Thea shrugged at Lexi’s comment. “Color me not impressed. It didn’t help.
All I could think was that he couldn’t wait to get away from me.” Just like
every other important person in her life. Her parents’ deaths had proven that beyond
a shadow of a doubt.

Lexi’s intelligent face scrunched up in disgust. “Guys can be such pigs.”

Asia piped in. “Not all of them.”

“Easy for you to say, now that you’ve snagged the best guy in town.”

Asia’s secret smile wasn’t lost on Thea. “It’s true. Marcus is awesome.
Sorry, ladies.”

“Yeah, right. Sure you are.”

Concern etched Asia’s face. “Well, what do you want me to say? I am sorry
neither of you have met a great guy like Marcus.”

Thea took pity and stopped teasing. “We know. And we’re happy for you.
But sometimes it’s hard to see how incredibly happy you are.”

“Don’t worry, I get it. It wasn’t too long ago that I was in the same
boat. So, what are you going to do about Cain?”

“Aside from avoiding him like the plague, I have no idea.” Thea grinned with
satisfaction. “I wasn’t very subtle about telling him to get lost.”

Lexi hooted. “Atta girl.”

Asia’s laughter joined in. “I’m sure you weren’t. But are you sure that’s
the right thing to do?”

“What do you mean? Of course, it is.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“Why not?” Thea and Lexi asked in sync, they grinned at each other and
raised their glasses in a silent salute.

“Because this might be the perfect time for you to put your past with
Cain behind you.”

“I already did. A
long
time ago.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“What does that mean?”

“You haven’t gotten serious with anyone in all these years. I’ve always
suspected it was because you weren’t over Cain.”

“That’s crazy talk. Of course I’m over him. I’m
way
over him. I’m
so over him I barely felt a thing when he kissed me.” Thea ignored the pang of
guilt over the out-and-out lie.

Lexi jumped in. “He
kissed
you? Man, I really do miss all the good
stuff.”

“You didn’t miss a thing. I’ve had mosquito bites that affected me more
than that kiss did.”

Lexi wagged her finger in Thea’s direction. “Methinks she doth protest
too much.”

Asia grinned. “Methinks you’re right. Just like I’m right about this.”

“You two are nuts. I could never trust him enough to be around him for
any reason.”

“Not even to work him out of your system?”

Thea frowned. “Especially not for that. Besides, there’s nothing to work
out.”

Asia nodded as if Thea had confirmed something for her. “You’re afraid.”

“I am not.”

“Of course you are. You already admitted you were worried just before
Lexi arrived. That’s pretty much the same thing as being afraid.” She waved it
away with her hand. “It’s okay. It’s totally understandable.”

Thea bit back a growl. “Okay, so I may be a
teensy
bit
apprehensive—” Thea indicated a miniscule amount between her thumb and
forefinger, “—which is not at all the same as being afraid.
But
I have a
legitimate reason for feeling that way.”

Asia nodded. “Of course you do. But here’s the thing, your past with Cain
is holding you back from moving on with your life.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yeah, it is. You haven’t given any of the other guys you’ve dated a real
chance. Oh sure, you go out with them for fun and laughs—”

Lexi threw in. “And sex.”

They all laughed at the truth of that statement before Asia continued.
“And sex. But that’s it. Nothing more and certainly nothing serious. You break
things off before anything serious can develop.”

“No, I don’t. I break things off when the guy starts to bore me.”

Asia tossed her an incredulous look. “Really. In ten years you haven’t
met
one
guy you like enough to get more serious about?”

Thea didn’t like the direction this conversation was going. “No, I
haven’t.”

“Liar. Without even trying, I can think of at least two who were great
guys. Things could have moved to the next level with either of them, but did
they? No. Because you broke things off claiming they bored you to tears.”

“Well, they did.”

“What was so boring about them?”

Thea shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, but in truth this topic was
hitting way too close to home. “I don’t know. There was something missing. A
spark I guess. They just didn’t measure up.”

Asia pounced. “Didn’t measure up to what? Or should I say, to
who
?”

“You’re imagining things.” Thea couldn’t keep the defensive tone out of
her voice.

“I don’t think so.” Asia caught Thea’s eye, her expression sympathetic.
“I’m not saying any of this to hurt you. I want to help you. Just like you
helped me get past my fears. Without you and Gram, I never would have taken a
chance on Marcus.”

There was nothing but concern in Asia’s eyes. Her friend loved her and
wanted her to be happy. Just like Thea had when she’d prodded Asia to get a
life.

Touched, Thea nodded. “I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think this
is the same at all.”

“But it
is
. It’s exactly the same. Okay, so unlike me you’re at
least willing to date, but even though you do, you still don’t let any of those
guys get close to you. You cut things off long before anything serious can
happen. The end result is the same. You may as well not be dating at all.”

Thea snickered. “Strictly speaking, that’s not true. At least I get me a
little somethin’ somethin’ every now and then.”

“Yeah, but that’s just sex. It’s not the same, and you know it.”

“That all depends on the guy and his skills between the sheets. There’ve been
a few who definitely made it worth my while. ’Course, there were some duds in
there too.”

Lexi snorted. “Ever notice the duds
far
outnumber the studs?”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

They all laughed in wholehearted agreement.

Refusing to let the subject drop, Asia continued. “All I’m saying is
you’ve never really gotten over Cain. It’s up to you how far you take it, but maybe
you need to spend a bit of time with him. If you do, maybe you’ll come to see
he isn’t everything your memories have built him up to be. Maybe he’ll bore you
too. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll set you free from the past and let you move
on and find someone else.”

“I don’t know…”

“Why not?”

“Because.” The stubborn look on Asia’s face told her she’d better elaborate.
“I think I’d be letting myself in for a world of trouble.”

“So you’re too afraid to take a chance and see what’ll happen.”

Thea’s dander slammed to attention. “I’m not afraid. Just cautious.”

“Afraid.”

“Am not.”

“Yep, you are.”

Thea flounced back against her seat. “This is ridiculous. I’m
not
afraid of spending time with Cain.”

“Then prove it.”

“Prove it how?”

Asia grinned. “Go out with him. Prove to yourself you’re over him.”

Thea was flabbergasted. “You think
that’s
a good idea? You must be
out of your mind.”

“I don’t think I am.” At Thea’s continued incredulity, she said, “Hey, it
worked for me.”

As if weighing the pros and cons of the idea, Lexi tipped her head back
and forth. “I may have to side with Thea on this one. I don’t know if it’s such
a good idea.”

With a hand-flourish in Lexi’s direction, Thea jumped all over that one.
“You
see
? Lexi agrees with me.”

“Oh no. Don’t get me wrong. I think there’s merit to the idea of working
him out of your system. What I’m not sure of is if you could handle it. I’ve
never seen you so touchy about anything. Or anyone. You’ve always been little
Miss Gung-ho, not letting anything or anyone stop you. Maybe this is too much
for you to handle.”

Thea felt like throwing something lest her head explode. “Cain is
not
too much for me to handle. There’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Well then, you know what to do.”

“Good lord, you guys almost sound like you want me to fuck him or
something.”

Asia and Lexi both nodded and said, “Sure, why not?”

Thea’s eyes must have goggled out of her head. “You two have had way too
much to drink. Either that or you’re insane.”

Lexi shrugged. “Why? Guys do it all the time. Just separate the emotional
from the physical and have fun.”

Asia licked some salt off the rim of her margarita glass. “I’m not
suggesting you should trust him again. I’m suggesting you see him, work him out
of your system. The thing is, I think he’s become bigger than life in your
memory. That’s why no one else measures up. I’d bet my last dollar that once
you spend a bit of time with him, you’ll see he’s not all that after all and
you’ll finally be able to move on and find someone new.”

Thea knew there was a grain of common sense in what Asia was saying. A
teeny tiny miniscule grain, mind you, but still, it was there.

The problem was, the exploding sparks thing between them was pretty big.
A huge deterrent to spending time with Cain. She’d always found him
irresistible. Had never been able to say no to anything he desired, especially
when it came to sex. Not from the first moment she’d met him at that Halloween
costume party. They’d barely said hello, and before she could say ‘where are my
panties’ she’d spread her legs and welcomed him into her body like they’d known
each other forever. Right there in that dark closet.

The whole thing had been completely out of character for her, but he
brought out her wild, wanton side big time. He’d always been the spark to her accelerant,
the controller of her heart and soul.

Her one big frickin’ weakness.

But that was a long time ago. And there was one huge difference between
then and now. She was all grown up. After what Cain had done to her, she’d
learned to keep her heart out of the equation when it came to men. There was no
reason she couldn’t keep Cain out too.

One thing resonated with her though. The fact she
didn’t
want to
deal with Cain was the most motivating thing ever as far as she was concerned.
Being afraid of anything stuck in her craw like shards of glass in chewing gum.
It was intolerable and had to be dealt with.

She
hated
being a chicken. Had fought against it her whole life
and she wasn’t about to start taking the coward’s way out now. In her
experience, the only way to deal with any kind of fear was to attack it full on
and show it who was really in control.