“Nothing,” I replied and could have kicked myself for such a lame, defensive answer.
“It doesn’t look like nothing. You need to stay away from her. What happened to the code of brothers? ‘Thou shall not steal my brother’s girl’.”
My temper had started to kick in. “She isn’t your girl though, is she?”
He looked startled. “She told you? When?”
Sitting in the chair opposite him, I exhaled, feeling frustrated as hell. “When doesn’t matter, but she told me, and I know why you want her to pretend. I won’t be saying anything to the folks; that I can guarantee.”
“You can’t keep spending time with her, because you’ll only hurt her in the end. She’s getting attached to you. Wherever we go, she’s always looking for you and tries to hide her disappointment when I tell her you’re elsewhere. You should see her face when I tell her you’re out with Mia.”
I let out a sigh and ran my hands through my hair. “She wouldn’t be the only one to get hurt.” Liam met my eyes and I continued, my voice gruff with emotion, “I look for her too. I shouldn’t, but I do. Meeting Thalia has made me want things that I gave up ever hoping to have, twelve months ago; I’m so screwed.”
“You aren’t messing with her, are you? I’ve never known you to be like this over a girl. You need to end things with Mia and tell the folks to take it or leave it.”
Until I could figure out what the heck Mia was thinking, there was no way I was admitting to my brother that I’d already tried to call the whole thing off, only to be ignored as though I hadn’t said anything. Not to mention the fact it was damn embarrassing.
“Hell! Come on. I need to eat.” I stood and led the way out of my room.
“I’ll see you down there,” Liam said, walking off towards his bedroom.
I turned and walked downstairs, shoving my way into the kitchen, which I discovered I had to myself. Just about to pop a bagel into the toaster oven, my cell started to ring.
My cell was in my back pocket so juggling the bagel, I reached back to retrieve it, and noticed Lewis was the caller, Mia’s father. What the hell did he want?
“Morning Lewis,” I said and tried to inflict anything, but pissed off into my voice.
While I listened to him going on and on about some charity event Saturday night, I finally managed to slice the bagel and popped it into the toaster.
Shit, he was waiting for an answer. “Ah, sorry could you just repeat the last bit? My cell slipped.” Okay, one small lie.
After he’d repeated his question, I wished he hadn’t. “Sorry Lewis, I have another commitment Saturday night, so Mia will have to go with someone else.” I cringed inside as soon as the words left my mouth.
Lewis pointed out that Mia was my fiancée and it would look strange if someone else accompanied her. It sure as hell wasn’t going to be me.
“I’m sorry Lewis, but you and my father are always telling me how important it is to have a good reputation, which I guess means not letting anyone down. So, I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend. I’m sorry, but I need to go.” I removed my cell from my ear and slipped it back into my pocket, removed the bagel from the toaster oven and started to slather butter all over it.
“Jack.”
Fuck, my father. That was quick!
I turned to face him. No doubt Lewis had been in touch with him as soon as I ended his call to complain about my refusal to fall into his plans for Saturday night.
“What is so important that you can’t take your fiancée to the charity event?” His voice had risen by the time he’d finished.
“I have something else planned.” I refused to meet his eyes. I knew what I would see anyway – disappointment.
“What?”
“I’m twenty-five; I don’t have to give you my schedule.”
He slammed his fist onto the countertop. “As long as you live in this house, you do!” he shouted.
Fuck, I’d only come home last night as well. The morning had started amazingly with the hottest girl I’d ever seen and turned into a fuckin’ nightmare. “Tell me to move out and I will. Hell, most of my things are already at Donovan’s anyway.” I faced my father.
He was momentarily startled, because it was rare for me to answer back. Normally I would do anything to keep the peace, but not anymore.
“You’d move out, throw the chance to be married to the loveliest young girl in town, not to mention your dream of becoming a lawyer, all because you don’t want me to know what you have planned for Saturday night?” Thalia was the loveliest – inside and out.
“Yeah, I’d move out before I had to give anyone my schedule.” I carried on eating my bagel even though the pieces kept getting stuck on the way down, but I refused to let my father know how he affected me.
“Are you fucking another woman?” He spat it out, distaste clear on his face.
Frozen with the bagel half way to my mouth, I told him, quietly, “There hasn’t been anyone, including Mia, since I got dumped with her.”