TOML SW 2015-04-09 (11 page)

~~~

Chapter 8

Amethysts of lavender, purple and blue

Like water poured out over rocks, tried and true

Here wishes fall down wells of gold and dark stone

Twinkling their faces like stars from this throne

Treasure has torn men apart through the years

Brought strife and ill wishes to those far and near

As happens when two want the very same thing

But only one person can ever be king

~~~

Tori stared past a group of stained glass sun catchers hung neatly on the windowpane, as she listened to Melanie chatting with a customer in the background.

All she could see was Jed grabbing Gabe’s bloody shirt.

I know you never got a piece of that one, brother. I’ve gotten farther with Tori in a week than you got all summer.

Those words were like a slap, an unexpected blow from an imagined ally, and they hurt more than she could describe. She gotten used to Jed, attached to him. Grown to like him despite his scratchy personality. She’d even begun to think of him as a real possibility in her life.

That had been a mistake.

“Penny for your thoughts?” asked Mel.

Tori shook her head and turned around. “I don’t know what I’m thinking.”

Melanie nodded. “I ran into Gabe at the gas station this morning. Looks like he was on the wrong end of a baseball bat.”

“Something like that.” Tori crossed her arms and sighed. “He and Jed were fighting.”

“About what?”

Tori turned back to the dazzling sun catcher, colored light streaming through the glass. “Me.”

“But that’s good.”

Tori shook her head. “Jed told him he’d gotten farther with me in a week, than Gabe did all summer.”

“Well, that’s not very gentlemanly at all, now is it?”

“Nope.”

Melanie made a considering noise deep in her throat, and Tori narrowed her eyes, turning to face her friend. “What?” asked Tori.

“It’s none of my business.”

“Just say it. You know you’re going to.”

Melanie shrugged her shoulder. “I kind of like it.”

“What?” Tori snapped.

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but Jed was telling Gabe you belong to him. It’s primal.” She chuckled. “It kind of gets my motor going, to tell you the truth.”

“Well, I think it’s obnoxious and barbaric.”

“For a man to fend off potential mates for his woman? Nah. That’s nature. You see it all the time on Animal Planet.”

Tori pinched the skin between her eyes.

“It’s true,” said Mel. “That’s all we humans are, anyway. Just animals. No different than dogs or cats or horses.”

“I am a lot different than a horse, thank you very much.”

“Not as much as you’d like to think.”

The bell over the door chimed and the women turned. There stood Jed, somehow managing to look good even with two black eyes and a nasty gash running down his cheek.

Tori put a hand on her hip. “Come to think of it, you’re right, Mel. There’s a real horse’s ass, right there.”

Melanie scooted between Tori and a bookcase. “I’m going to get back to work.”

Jed nodded his head, then spoke to Tori. “I deserved that.”

“You deserve a lot more than that.”

“I’ve got two bruised ribs and a broken nose. Do they count for something?”

“A good start.” Her eyes took in his battered face. Already she felt guilty for saying that, but not guilty enough to take it back. She shook her head against the eager apology on her tongue. “You hurt me, Jed.”

He stepped closer. “I know.”

“You embarrassed me.”

“Yes.”

“You had no right to tell him that. None.” Her face was on fire. He moved closer to her, and adrenaline shot through her veins. “I’m trying to see if there’s anything real between Gabe and me. You deliberately tried to sabotage my plans.”

“I know.”

She looked up into his eyes, their depths an endless sea of blue. Something was different about him today, and it drew her in, even as it frightened her. Jed wasn’t a monster. She knew that. But how could she trust someone who so easily shared her most personal secrets?

“Why did you do it?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Don’t ask me that, Tori.”

“Oh, I’m asking all right. You can’t just walk in here and expect everything to be okay. You’re accountable for your actions, Jed. You’re accountable to me. You owe me an explanation.”

He slowly closed the distance between them and reached up with his hand to stroke her cheek.

“Because I don’t care if you get a chance to explore your feelings for my brother. I want him to stay away from you. Far, far away.”

Her mouth opened in surprise at his words, and his thumb slipped down to stroke her lower lip, sending a bolt of energy straight to her core. The whole world revolved around the point where his finger touched her sensitive skin.

“Don’t you see?” he whispered. “I want you for myself. I know that I shouldn’t. I keep telling myself to stay away from you, to let you be, that I’m not interested. But every time you’re around, I just can’t help myself. All I feel is…want.”

He put her own feelings perfectly into words. Her legs were pinned to the floor and her breath mingled with his.

Confusion clouded her mind. Yes, she was attracted to Jed, she wanted him. But he’d scared her and offended her. Then there was Gabe, who was only trying to defend her. Gabe, who had held a sweet spot in her heart for more than half her adult life.

She shook her head, no.

Jed stared at her for what seemed a long time, his eyes changing from a molten gray to a cold, hard steel.

“I’m sorry, Jed.”

He turned on his heel and was gone.

~~~

The late summer sun beat down on Jed’s shoulders as he put the speedboat up to full throttle. The water was like glass, and it felt like he was flying on the line between heaven and earth.

His mind was full of a numbing resignation. Things were over with Tori. He would go to the wedding and pretend everything was fine, no matter what he truly felt inside.

The thought made him grimace. Standing up as Edward’s best man was a farce that could only be rivaled by setting Tori up with his own brother.

Two days.

All I have to do is make it through two days, and I can go home.

Which was oddly little consolation. He was going to miss this place, more majestic than any skyscraper. He’d grown accustomed to swimming in the cool, fresh water, so different than the pool at his health club in the city.

Maybe he’d buy a place on the lake. Come up on weekends in the summer.

And when you see Tori, knowing she’s been with your brother, how’s that going to feel?

A sour taste permeated his mouth.

He checked his watch. Time to turn around, or he’d miss his conference call with Kevin and his staff. He turned the boat in a wide arc, traveling back over his own wake.

“It’s better this way,” he said out loud. “No strings, no relationship. Just me.”

In the distance, he saw the curve of shoreline where his cabin was, and steered toward it. The house itself came into view, then the boat lift. He narrowed his eyes.

A woman was standing on the dock.

Tori.

He felt his face slide into a grateful smile. She had sought him out, even after everything she said, and that could only mean good news for him. He knew she wasn’t in love with Gabe. He could feel it in his bones, and this proved it. She’d come back for him even after everything that had happened.

The boat got closer and his smile wavered. There was something familiar about the way the woman moved, but it didn’t remind him of Tori.

It was Evelyn.

And she was alone.

~~~

There hadn’t been a reason to send her away.

Not anymore.

Jed twisted the corkscrew into a bottle of wine and watched Evelyn through the window. The sun was sitting low over the lake, and she looked beautiful outlined against the bright sky.

Their first words had been tense and strained, her head bowed as she admitted her mistakes, never once accusing him of driving her to sleep with his brother, as Gabe had suggested. She said she was sorry, and he knew she was sincere. She said she wanted to be friends, but he knew she wanted even more than that.

Real forgiveness was off the table, but he allowed the pretense, even inviting her to stay for dinner. They shared an impromptu meal of grilled vegetables and salmon that he’d bought after his recent overload on cheeseburgers. She understood when he needed to make some phone calls, even expounding on the importance of his work.

Now, some three hours later, he was pleasantly drunk and truly enjoying her company. Almost. Hell, he almost wished he could take Evelyn back. Forgive her. At least he’d have a flesh and blood woman in his bed, instead of dreams of the one he’d never have.

He poured himself another glass of wine. He wouldn’t think of Tori, wouldn’t torture himself that way. There was always tomorrow for regrets, maybe even months or years to come.

He cursed under his breath, then headed for the porch and to Evelyn. It seemed like a lifetime ago he’d been with her. There were memories, but it seemed like they happened to someone else, detached from reality. He slid open the door and she turned.

“I’m really enjoying myself tonight, Jed. Thank you for dinner.”

“Of course.” He put the bottle on the table. “I’ve enjoyed catching up.”

“Me, too.” She bit her lip. “But I’d be lying if I said that was the only reason I came here tonight. Have you thought of me?” She shrugged. “Because I’ve thought of you. Wondered where you are, what you’re doing.”

“Who I’m with?”

Her face colored as she met his eyes. “Yes.”

I didn’t have to wonder who you were with.

The thought sprung to his mind, but it didn’t upset him as it once had, it was merely a statement of fact. Evelyn was only as good a person as she was, and he was no longer interested in judging her for that.

He set his wine aside and leaned on the porch railing. “Evelyn, I’m not interested in getting back together.”

She frowned. “Because of what I did.”

“No. Because of who I am. Because of who you are.” His mouth settled into a hard line. “I don’t love you, Evelyn. I don’t think I ever did.”

“That’s okay.” Her eyes were hopeful and shining with unshed tears.

“It’s not okay. It’s the reason you slept with Gabe. You’d never be happy with me, and you deserve so much more than I could ever give you. Someone who treats you like gold.”

“You treated me like gold.”

“Not for the right reasons.” It amazed him now that he’d ever been willing to go through with it, happy to play this charade. Now that he knew what it felt like to be with Tori, the feelings he did have for Evelyn looked like a ridiculous foundation for marriage.

His mind wandered back to the moment he discovered Evelyn in his brother’s bed, sheet pulled up over her breasts, bare shoulders exposed. He never would have guessed he would be grateful for that day, but he certainly was now.

She put her drink down with a shaking hand. “I think I should go.” She picked up her purse and opened it. “I have something for you.” She held out her hand, her diamond engagement ring glittering in the last rays of the setting sun.

He didn’t want the ring back, but suspected she needed to give it to him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

This woman could have been my wife.

“Come inside,” he said. “I’ll call you a cab.”

~~~

“You might want to slow down just a little bit,” said the preacher. “You’re setting the pace for the bride, don’t forget.”

Tori glued a pleasant smile on her face and slowed her pace to a torturous crawl, while she felt Jed’s eyes upon her. She was cursing him out with a string of epithets in her mind and scrupulously avoiding his stare.

All she could see was Evelyn’s car parked outside his cabin last night, then again this morning. She hadn’t driven by deliberately, at least not the first time. But she had gone out of her way the second.

Oh, man, why did she need to check this morning?

Last night there could have been alternate explanations. She’d thought of dozens of them while she tried desperately to rid her mind of the man and the curvy blonde bombshell so she could get some sleep.

But this morning?

There was only one explanation for this morning.
You’re not supposed to care, remember? You told him you weren’t interested in him at all.

Frustration made Tori feel sick. Jed was supposed to be pining over her rejection, not bedding his cheating ex-fiancé in the space of five hours.