Page 81 of Loathe at First Sight

“It matters,” I snap.

“Hey, why are you getting mad?” She asks. “You’re the one who is basically lying about your identity? I mean, is your name really Jack or Jackson?”

“I’m Jack,” I say. “Jackson happened a long time ago.”

“What happened to make you move all the way across the country?”

Man, she is full of questions.

“Same reason you did. Life fell apart, so I left.” I feel myself raising my voice, although I’m not meaning to.

“No, Jack, it’s not the same thing. My life wasn’t salvageable. I’m sure you still had some money you made from fighting, and you probably could have gotten a job as an announcer or something. Everybody loves a good comeback story.”

I stop her because hearing her mention money is enough to push me over the edge. “Liz, you don’t know anything about me or my situation.”

“And whose fault is that? You didn’t tell me.”

“Because before two nights ago, we did nothing but argue. Then, we fucked. When during that time was I supposed to squeeze it into conversation?”

She looks shocked at my tone. “Why are you so mad?”

“Because you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then, enlighten me!”

“This was a mistake,” I mutter under my breath. I pull her keys out of my pocket and set them on the desk. “Your car is done. You can pick it up whenever.”

Without giving her a chance to say another word, I walk out the front door.

My feet carry me around town with no real destination. I didn’t mean to freak out on her like I did, but I feel stupid for letting myself start to fall for her. She’s just like all the other women I’ve dated. She only cares about my name and status…and money.

But I’ve got news for her. I’m not loaded. Not by any means.

I turn the corner and apparently need to watch where I’m going because I run right into someone. I turn to see who it is, and I see that it’s Veronica Lawson.

Great. Another Lawson. Just what I need right now.

“Oh, hi, Jack,” she greets with a smile.

“Hi, Veronica.”

“Please call me Ronnie. You’re fucking my sister. I think we can skip the formalities.”

Everyone was right. This woman doesn’t have much of a filter.

She says, “Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be over there right now? I told her my flight was earlier than it was so that you two could have some time together.”

“Uh, yeah. I just left.”

She looks me up and down. “She said you were the best she ever had. Didn’t figure you to be this quick.”

No filter at all.

“We didn’t. It’s…complicated.”

“Did she ask you about the whole UFC thing?”

Does everyone know?

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