Hopeless (14 page)

He leaned on the counter, moving in closer
as he treated her to a sexy smile. “Maybe you’re not lookin’ in the right
places.” He threw his head back and laughed when she blushed.

She was used to engaging in playful banter
with guys like Kurt, but she had to admit, doing it under Jay’s watchful eye
made her uneasy. “You’re terrible.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s not what the
ladies tell me, sugar.”

Keeping a straight face with a guy like him
was impossible, so she gave in to the smile. “You gonna tell me what’re you
doing here, or do I have to guess?”

He winked. “I came here to see you.”

“Liar.”

He laughed again, drawing Jay’s attention.
Jay scowled at the back of his head.

“Now try the truth.”

He crooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Your
deadbeat boss owes me a check for the work my guys did on this place. I thought
I’d teach him a lesson about not paying his bills on time.” He cracked his
knuckles and smiled. “But I gotta warn you, it ain’t gonna be pretty.”

“Is that so?”

He tried, unsuccessfully, to hide his
smile. “You ever seen a grown man cry?”

With her tongue firmly planted in her
cheek, she said, “Can’t say I have. Are you gonna make Jay cry?”

He frowned, as though confused by the
question. “I was talkin’ about me. I’m gonna cry.”

She laughed. “Why?”

He shrugged his massive shoulders.
“Usually, if a guy doesn’t pay his bills, I go in and intimidate him, maybe
rough him up a little…”

“But you don’t think that would work with
him?”

He shook his head, looking serious. “Nuh-uh,
his flyin’ ninja shit scares the hell out of me.”

Victoria burst out laughing as she slapped
her palm against the counter. “You’re too much.”

Jay walked his associate to the door before
making his way over to them. He glared at his friend. “What the hell are you
doin’ here?”

“You owe me money. I came to collect.”

“You haven’t even given me an invoice yet,
so quit bustin’ my chops.”

“All right, you got me. I thought I’d see
if you wanted to go to Jimmy’s for a beer.”

“Brad just texted me to ask the same
thing.” Jay looked at Victoria. “What are your plans for tonight?”

She was almost afraid to tell him. “Mike
and I are gonna meet up and Jimmy’s, then we’re going to the movies. He wants
to see—”

Kurt held his hand up. “Hold up a minute.
You and Mike… as in his brother Mike?”

Victoria gripped her pen tighter when she
saw the muscle jumping in Jay’s jaw. She could tell he was furious and being
baited by his friend wouldn’t help. “Yes.”

“You dumbass,” he said to Jay. “Why the
hell didn’t you move in before he could stake his claim?”

“Who the hell asked you?” Jay’s fingers
flew over the keypad on his phone. “Let’s get out of here.” He set a key ring
on the counter. “These are yours. Lock up for me.”

“Sure.” She hated to let him walk out when
he was angry. “Have a good night.”

He shoved the glass door open. “Yeah, you
too.”

“I don’t get it,” Kurt said, glancing over
his shoulder.

Mike and Victoria were having drinks in a
booth at the back of Jimmy’s while Jay tried to rein in his frustration at
seeing them together. He didn’t understand it either. He thought they were
making progress, yet here she was, cozying up to his brother as though this
afternoon had never even happened.

“Me neither,” Jay muttered, taking a pull
from his longneck. “What the hell does she see in him?”

Brad laughed as he nudged Jay in the arm.
“Come on, he’s not so bad.”

“Depends who you ask. His last girlfriend
would probably disagree.” Mike was a total commitment-phobe. Of course, Jay had
been too before Victoria walked into his life. Now the idea of having a
girlfriend was looking better and better, especially if it meant he could keep
the woman he wanted away from his brother.

“I thought you don’t date women who work
for you?” Brad said, smirking.

Jay knew his friends enjoyed shoving his
own words back down his throat. He supposed he deserved it. He’d lived by that
cardinal rule for a long time, and he swore, time and again, there wasn’t a
woman alive who’d change his mind. How wrong he’d been. “Huh, I thought you
liked havin’ a job. I guess we were both wrong.”

Kurt laughed and pointed at Brad. “He’s got
you there.”

“Shut up,” Jay said scowling. “What the
hell were you talkin’ to her about at the studio earlier? Don’t tell me you
were makin’ a play for her, too?” The old song was right; it was hard to be in
love with a beautiful woman. Or in lust. Or whatever this was that was making
him lose sleep. Hell, he was even relegating his business to the back burner when
it should have been his first priority. No, lust wouldn’t cause him to lose
focus, which meant there was only one explanation...

“If you’re gonna hook up with her, you’d
better get used to it. Men are gonna be on her like bees to honey,” Kurt said,
grinning. “Good thing you got that fancy ninja shit to keep ‘em in line.”

Normally, Jay would laugh it off, but when
he saw his brother leading Victoria to the dance floor, he wasn’t amused. “I’m
gonna kill him,” he muttered.

Brad smiled. “Man, you don’t know the way
Vic used to turn the guys on the football team inside out in high school. They
wanted her—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Jay said,
watching Victoria laugh at something his brother said to her.

“Did any of ‘em get her in the sack?” Kurt
asked.

Jay glared at him. “Don’t you speak
English? I said I don’t want to talk about this shit anymore.”

“Quit whinin’ to us about your brother
stealin’ your woman,” Kurt said. “If you want her, you need to man up before
Mike seals the deal.”

His friend was right. It was time to set
his brother straight. Jay made his way to the dance floor and tapped his
brother on the shoulder. “Get lost.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Not again.”

“I’m not askin’. I’m tellin’.”

“I don’t take orders from you.” He looked down
at Victoria. “You wanna dance with this guy, or what?”

She smiled. “Well, since he is my boss and
all…”

“Fine.” Mike stepped back and checked his
watch. “But we have to leave in ten minutes if we’re gonna make the movie.”

“Go by yourself,” Jay muttered as he pulled
Victoria into his arms.

“Who the hell asked you?” Mike asked.

“You’re crowdin’ the dance floor. Go sit
down, or better yet, go home.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“You have no idea.”

Victoria cleared her throat. “Excuse me…
are you gonna dance or you gonna have a pissing contest with your brother?”

Jay chuckled at her candor. He loved
everything about this woman. “No need, I already won.” He grinned at Mike.
“Later, loser.”

Mike shook his head. “I really should kick
your ass.”

“Don’t forget to radio for back up,” Jay
shouted as Mike walked back to their booth.

Victoria slapped his shoulder. “Behave
yourself. Quit baiting your brother.”

“Why? He was baitin’ me.” His grip on her
waist tightened. “What the hell’s goin’ on with you two? And don’t tell me
you’re into him, ‘cause I know you’re not.”

She looked at the graphic design on the
front of his T-shirt. “I do like him, a lot.”

He dipped his head to whisper in her ear.
“Does he make you feel the way I do when he kisses you?” He didn’t even want to
think about Mike touching her, but he needed answers and he knew the direct
approach was the only way he was going to get them.

“Stop,” she whispered. “Not here.”

He brushed his lips across her ear and felt
her tremble in his arms. “Where then? You wanna go back to my place and uh…
talk
about this?”

She shook her head. “I can’t. I came with
Mike.”

“So what? Doesn’t mean you can’t leave with
me.” He and his brother had never competed for a woman before. As soon as one
learned the other was interested, they’d back off, but Jay wasn’t backing down
this time. If Mike wanted Victoria, he was going to have one hell of a fight on
his hands.

“Of course it does.” She pressed her palms
against his chest. “This isn’t the time or place for this.” The song ended and
she stepped out of his arms.

“I’m getting tired of you puttin’ me off.
You can’t keep denyin’ there’s something between us, Victoria.”

“Do yourself a favor,” she said quietly.
“Just walk away.”

Victoria was surprised when Jay took her
advice. Not only did he walk away from her, but he kept walking, out of the
bar, with barely a wave to his friends.

“He looked pissed,” Mike said when she
finally reclaimed her seat across from him.

“I hope not.”

“All right, let’s hear it. What’s goin’ on
with you two?”

Victoria really liked Mike, but talking to
him about her feelings for his brother seemed too personal. “He’s my boss.”

Mike laughed. “You really expect me to
believe that’s all there is to it? I’ve known Jay his whole life and I’ve never
seen him this bent out of shape over a woman.”

She tried to ignore the little flutter of
excitement in her stomach. “What about Lily? It seemed like she was really into
him.”

“She may be into him, but the feeling
definitely isn’t mutual. He doesn’t care about her. Now you… That’s a different
story.”

“I told you, I can’t get involved with your
brother.”

“Yeah, I know what you told me, but I wanna
know why.” 

How was she going to get herself out of
this mess? She couldn’t tell Mike the truth, and he’d be able to see right
through her if she tried to lie to him. “No.”

He grinned. “What if I told you I don’t
wanna play unless you tell me the rules?”

She leaned back in her seat and tried to
play it cool. “I wouldn’t believe you. You said it yourself; you want to sell
this relationship to your family as much as I want to sell it to Jay.”

After what happened this afternoon, she was
more certain than ever that keeping Jay at arm’s length was best for him. In a
short time, he’d already become too invested. He wanted to be there for her
today, to help her, comfort her, support her, and he had, but she couldn’t let
him get too close and risk breaking his heart if something happened to her.

He was a stand-up guy; he’d never walk away
from someone he loved, no matter how much it cost him to stay. She had no doubt
he’d want to hold her hand through every treatment, sit by her side during
every test and doctor’s appointment. It would be horrible for both of them and
she knew those memories would continue to haunt him long after she was gone.

“You’ve got me there. My mother, God love
her, is drivin’ me nuts about findin’ a nice girl and settlin’ down.”

Victoria stirred the straw around in her
ice water. “Your mama wants grandbabies, huh?”

“You have no idea.”

If Jay ended up with her and Mike remained
single, their mother may never get her wish. She wouldn’t just be crushing Jay’s
plans for the future if she let their relationship evolve; she’d be costing his
mother the grandchildren she so desperately wanted too.

She looked up at Mike and smiled. “You
think you’ll ever find a girl that makes it worth the risk?”  

“I already have, but she’s in love with my
brother.” He laughed when she sprayed him with the water from her straw.
“Seriously? Yeah, I think it’ll happen someday, but I’m in no hurry. I like my
life the way it is. If I find the girl I can’t live without, will I put a ring
on her finger? Sure. I’m not afraid of it, but I’m not lookin’ for it, either.”

Victoria wished she could approach life
with Mike’s nonchalance. It was difficult for her to try and compartmentalize
her feelings and protect those around her from getting too close so they
wouldn’t feel the loss when she wasn’t a part of their lives anymore. The only
person who’d ever crossed that barrier was Lindsay, and she hadn’t just crossed
it, she’d charged through it, refusing to allow Victoria to keep her distance,
no matter how much she may have wanted to in the beginning.

“I’m sure she’s out there just waitin’ for
you to find her, Mike.”

He leaned back and propped his arm up on
the bench seat. “Lemme guess, some jerk broke your heart. That’s why you’re so
gun-shy, right?”

She knew he would never guess why she was
so determined to keep his brother at a safe distance. To look at her, no one
would suspect what she’d been through. She’d spent years creating an
impenetrable façade to fool the world. Not even a seasoned cop like Mike would
be able to uncover the truth behind her fake smile.