As soon as she finished speaking she knew she had been bad. Indeed, she had been way bitchy. Pressing two fingers to the bridge of her nose, she sighed heavily and then looked at him.
Tone much softer now, she said, “I’m sorry. It’s a bad morning. I appreciate the thought, but—“
He cut her off with a roar of a laugh. A knowing, brotherly tease of a smile appeared on his face. “You have company, don’t you, little sis?”
Oh, no. All hopes of negotiation or a smooth coverup were gone. Begging was her natural response when her brother turned to a hard-ass tease. “Matt, please go home.”
“Do I smell coffee?”
It was Jason. Both Matt and Heather froze, eyes locked. The smile slipped off Matt’s face as he slowly turned. “Jason?”
Heather watched Jason turn pale in the count of two. “Matt.” He said his name was delivered in a flat tone. Somehow, he managed a friendly nod of his head, though Heather knew Jason’s mind was racing. To his testament, after the initial shock, it didn’t show.
Fixing Heather in a steady gaze, he asked, “Mind if I grab a cup,” he motioned towards the coffee pot, “before I head out?”
Okay. What was happening here? She waved him forward. “No, of course not.”
Matt leaned against the counter, watchful, and no longer showing any signs of a good mood. “What brings you here so early, Jason?”
Heart pounding at a million miles an hour, Heather opened her mouth and then quickly shut it again. Jason was reaching for the coffee pot, directing his attention towards Matt. “You do, actually, Matt.”
“Me?” Matt asked with surprise in his tone. “What are you talking about?”
“Heather got spooked last night, and asked if I would come check all of her locks this morning.” Jason laughed. “I guess all those ghost stories of yours got to her.”
Heather had to pick her jaw up off the floor. “Jason?”
Try as she might, she couldn’t keep the edge from her tone. He had pissed her off, and it was not only in her voice, but written all over her face.
Matt laughed. “Oh, no, Jason.” He sat his cup down as if he thought he might spill it. “You weren’t supposed to tell me she was scared.”
“Jason.”
Again she said his name, hoping he would come to his senses and claim their relationship. This might not be the way they would have planned telling…wait. They had never talked. Maybe she had just assumed there would be more to their relationship.
“I thought those stories didn’t scare you,” Matt teased, but Heather ignored him. Right now, all that mattered was Jason’s intentions.
Matt however, seemed determined to put a nail in their relationship coffin. “Guess you called your other brother here to save face with me, huh?”
Heather all but physically flinched. Matt couldn’t have said something worse. Still, if Jason was committed to turning the corner with their relationship and making it honest, he’d fess up now.
Or he would at least put the ball in her proverbial court. Heather fixed Jason in a steady gaze, regarding him hopefully. He looked at her with an impassionate stare and said nothing. Absolutely nothing. A sharp pain pierced her heart as if a dagger had been jabbed inside it. Averting her gaze, she crossed her arms protectively in front of her body, unable to fight her urge to withdraw.
“I have to go to work,” she said under her breath, turning towards the door. In the back of her mind, she was certain Jason would come to his senses and follow her or even call her name.
He did neither.
Fighting emotion upheaval, Heather grabbed her purse from the hall table where she had sat it earlier. She wanted out of this house, and away from Jason.
In all her adult years, she had never felt quite so used. Jason was the last person she would have ever expected to make her feel such horrid things.
He was also the only one she had ever given herself to so completely that pain of this sort could exist. Jason, her friend, now her one-time lover, had pushed all the right hurt buttons.
She opened her car door, and slid into the seat, pulling the door shut with finality.
Never again.
At least she had closure. She was done with her Jason fantasies.
Chapter Eight
Sitting in his truck outside of Martin’s department store, Jason tried to decide the best way to reason with Heather. If the morning episode had taught him anything, it was how poorly he could handle a situation when unprepared.
Years of going into covert, fast-paced, problematic situations had not prepared him for the circumstances he had now managed to establish.
Falling for his best friend’s little sister was like a death sentence.
He couldn’t have her without losing his best friend who happened to be more like a brother. On the other hand, Heather was the only woman he had ever loved. Walking away from her was a hard, heart-wrenching chore.
He was damned if he did, and damned if he didn’t.
Letting out a long breath, he pondered the impact all of this might have on Heather. As the possibilities materialized in his mind, his thoughts turned grim. Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he battled an internal war.
What if he and Heather caused her and Matt to become at odds?
What had he been thinking, falling into bed with Heather? He made a disgusted sound. In retrospect, he could see he hadn’t been thinking.
At least not with the right head.
He reached for the door handle. All his life he had wished for a sibling, feeling envious of the relationship Heather and Matt shared. To have been a part of that had meant the world to him.
The way he had potentially damaged their relationship was nothing shy of selfish. In fact, he found the word mild in describing his actions. Heather would never forgive herself or him once she was deprived of that relationship.
Slamming the door with more force than was necessary he steeled himself for the inevitable pain he was about to feel. Walking away from Heather was going to kill him.
* * *
Heather’s window view was spectacular. A truly amazing picture image of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sitting behind her desk, she was thankful her morning meeting had been cancelled.
Some time to get her head on straight was a much-needed reprieve from trying to make a good impression in her meeting.
Her eyes lingered out the window, taking in the view. She tried to remember all the excitement she had felt just days before when she had first looked out this very window.
Reaching deep, she simply couldn’t muster the same feeling.
Never coming close to having Jason would have been better than being than having tasted what he offered. The choice of words, even though silently spoken, made her heat with awareness.
Thinking of their bodies entwined, naked, sweaty, passion-driven…
The buzz of the intercom pulled her from her reverie. “Jennifer Evans is on line two.”
Heather eyed the phone. Genuinely, she liked Jennifer, but she knew what she wanted. To plot against Jason. Truthfully, she just wasn’t up to the whole jealously game. After what Jason had done that morning, it seemed a worthless cause. He wasn’t going to choose her over Matt.
Her face showed her guilt as her forehead crinkled. She loved Matt, and was glad he and Jason were friends. Still, why did their relationship have to impede the growth of her and Jason’s feelings for one another?
“Heather? You want the call?”
She shook her head slightly. “Yes, sorry, put her through.”
A click on the line later, “Jennifer?”
“Hi, Heather. How’s your new job going?”
The crazy was, she loved her job, but it had lost some of its excitement. It would be so much nicer with Jason by her side. “It’s good,” she replied forcing bubbly to her voice.
A moment of quiet. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?” Heather asked, trying to sound baffled. Actually, she was. How had Jennifer guessed so
easily something was bothering her?
“You seem strained. Is it something to do with Jason?”
Heather let out a breath, and slumped over in her chair resting an elbow on the desk. Suddenly, she was relieved Jennifer was so perceptive. She really needed to talk. “Yeah,” she admitted. “It’s Jason.”
Heather spent the next ten minutes telling Jennifer about the night before. When she was done she had spoken twenty minutes worth of words. She took a deep breath. “So there you have it.”
“Wow. What a story. I can’t believe he is letting the Matt thing control him. Maybe he’s just scared.”
Scared? Jason? “Huh?”
“Yeah, honey, scared. Maybe he’s afraid he won’t live up to your expectations, and then he will lose you and Matt. You guys are like family to him. You need to give the boy an eye-opening experience. Make sure he knows he’s about to lose you. He needs a jolt to make him see the light. I promise you, if he sees someone else pining for you, he will want to claim you. I’ve seen how he looks at you.”
“No,” Heather said rejecting everything she had said. “I don’t like how he has handled this. Clearly, he doesn’t think I’m worth risking his relationship with Matt. The crazy thing is, Matt would never hold me against him. He’s not like that.” She let out a heavy breath. “The bottom line is,” she hesitated because saying the words hurt, “we’re over.”
Jennifer made a frustrated sound. “Are you going to give up so easily? Look at all the years you’ve invested in him. You love him, don’t you?”
The question took her off guard. Was she so transparent that this woman could read her inside out? “I...”
“Love him. Just like I loved Bobby for too many years to count. His absence did nothing to hinder my feelings. Jason has valid reason for his concerns. Think of it this way, he doesn’t want to lose you completely.”
Jennifer was perceptive but still…”He shouldn’t have sl—“ She cut off the word appalled at what she was about to say.
Jennifer seemed to understand. She ignored the incomplete sentence. “The children’s hospital charity event I told you about is perfect to get Jason’s head on straight. He already promised me he’d come, since I am coordinating the whole thing. If you’re one of the bachlorettes being auctioned off, I bet he won’t want to see someone else win your bid. He needs to know if he doesn’t act, someone else will.”
“I don’t know. I am—“
“Oh, the doorbell is ringing,” Jennifer inserted urgently. Heather almost thought it was a ploy to stop her arguments. “Listen, one of the woman in the show backed out. I really need you. Think about it. I’ll call you back after while.”
“I guess—” Jennifer spurted out a quick goodbye and the line went dead.
She drifted into thought again, thinking about Jennifer’s advice. Maybe she couldn’t even make Jason jealous. If she did as Jennifer said, and failed, it would be a painful endeavor.
A knock on her door made her jump. Hand on her chest, breathing elevated, she forced herself to let out a calming breath before calling to her closed door. “Come in.”
Shelly, Heather’s assistant, poked her head through the door. “You sure are quiet in here this morning.”
Heather smiled, albeit stiffly. Shelly was cute as a button and sweet as people were made. The, twenty-something woman wore a short bob of blond hair, and had a liking for flared skirts, and ruffled shirts. The combo fit her bubbly personality to perfection.
Shelly was quickly becoming a friend, and for that Heather was grateful. “Thinking through the advertisement for the fashion show next month.” She picked up a pen and nervously tapped it on the desk. “I’m new. I want it to go well.”
She stepped through the entrance and shut the door, leaning her back against the wood. “I’m not buying that, missy. No,” she said, with a hint of a knowing smile on her lips. “I’m betting it has something to do with the very handsome, highly intense looking,” she held up a finger, “and if I do say so myself—sexy—man in the lobby.” She lifted her brows, and tilted her chin to fix Heather in a stare. “The one asking for you.”
Heather’s brows dipped together. “My brother Matt?”
“Nope. This is not your brother.”
How would she know?
As if she heard the silent question, Shelly pushed off the door, and walked to a picture on the wall. Pointing, to a particular photo, she said, “That’s Matt. “She looked over her shoulder at Heather. “The guy in the lobby is not Matt.”
The pitter-patter of anticipation began in her chest. It couldn’t be, could it? “Is it one of the models for the Valentine's show?”
Shelly turned towards her, arms crossed in front of her chest, eyes filled with heavy regard. “This is a full blown man, not some teen model.”
Her mouth was dry. A nervous laugh escaped her lips. “Send in Mr. Sexy. Maybe it will brighten my day.”
Shelly held her in a steady gaze for a long moment. “I think he might just do that.” With that said, she turned on her heels, and headed towards the door.
Heather watched her exit. The minute she was gone, she stood, not knowing what else to do with the sudden surge of nervous energy that was dancing through her body like some sort of malfunction. Her inch of her body pulsed with anxiety.
A knock sounded on the door.
In, out. Breath. You’re mad at Jason. If this is Jason, why are you so nervous? You’re pissed, plain and simple. Right. “Come in.”
The minute he walked into the doorway, her heart sank to her stomach. A mixture of too many emotions to count took over. It was impossible to pin down just one. Before she even began the process, he consumed her with his mere presence.
Something about Jason always rocked the female part of her all the way to her core. Tightening her fingers around the edge of her desk, she fixed him in a steady stare.
Though she didn’t mean to, she went on the attack. “You can’t just drop in when I’m at work.”
He shut the door with a definitive thud that said he had no intention of leaving. “We never had that talk I wanted to have.”
Now that got her riled. “No, we didn’t.” she flattened her palms on the desk in front of her, and leaned forward, anger darting at him from her eyes. “You seemed to have your hands too full to talk.”
His eyes flashed with surprise at her brazen remark, but she didn’t care. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
She shrugged, mocking him with her eyes and words. “But a guy can’t turn down what’s offered, right?”
Jason was moving towards her now, his steps rapid, his stance angry. When he got to the opposite side of the desk, she pointed at him. “Stay right there.”
His hands clenched the edge of the desk much like hers had moments before. “Are you going to keep throwing out nasty remarks or can we talk reasonably?”
Biting back more angry words, she sucked in a breath. When she let it out, she was no calmer. “You were never willing to…” She stopped herself from finishing.
“Willing to what?”
She waved off his words. He was never willing to tell her brother they were a couple because the reality was, they weren’t. Never had been. Never would be.
She had jumped to conclusion like some silly schoolgirl. Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of her sails. She hurt deep inside, and didn’t want to show her pain. Looking towards the ground, she forced her burning eyes to stay dry. “Please leave.”
“Heather.”
She almost jumped out of her skin when she realized he was standing behind her. “Don’t do that.” Her hand was on her chest as if her heart needed the comfort. And maybe it did. Jason was causing her way too much trauma in a variety of ways.
In a low, even tone, he said, “We need to talk.”
Turning, she faced him, her back to the desk. Dismayed she found him standing way too close for comfort. No wonder his spicy male scent was penetrating her senses.
“I want you to l
eave.”
“Not until we talk.”
An awkward silence fell between them as their eyes locked and held. Tension, sexual and emotional, danced between them. One heated, and one chilled. It was the opposing impacts that seemed to make them both remain silent.
Heather didn’t want to talk. She just wanted him to go away. Finally, Jason spoke. “I know I haven’t handled this very well, Heather.”
She made a disgusted sound. “At least we agree on something.” Then, a need to lash out, made her add, “No, make that two things. We both know sleeping together was a mistake.” And though she meant it as a jab, it was also the honest to God truth.
Something flashed in those dark eyes of his, but he quickly slid back behind that damnable mask of his. “I care about you, Heather. That’s why we can’t be more than friends.”
She laughed, but it was humorless, even mocking. “Whatever, Jason,” she spat nastily. “Thanks for caring. So glad you aren’t an enemy.” She let out another laugh, and this time it sounded almost bitter. “No telling what you might do to me.”
He touched her shoulder then, and she recoiled, backing into the desk. The last thing she needed was to fall into a stupor of lust over his touch. “Come on, Baby. You know me better than that. I would never hurt you.”
“Baby?” she exclaimed suddenly pissed yet again. She had gone from lustful, pained, pissed, and back through the range too many times to count. She was like the Energizer bunny. She apparently just kept going. Now it was time for him to get going. “Baby?” His eyes went wide at her outrage. “What right do you have to call me that?”
“Heather—“
“No!” She pointed at him. “Stop.” She delivered the word as an order, biting, and delivered through clenched teeth. “Sleeping with me one time does not give you the right to call me Baby.” And now she needed out of the tiny little space she was in. Pushing past him, she had every intention of getting to the opposite side of the room.