Page 46 of Forever and Other Lies

“It’s time to move on. Time to move past the Brennan brothers.” Leighton cleared her throat. “So, why did you and Derek never date? You’re so much alike.”

Jayna shot Leighton a skeptical look.

“What? It’s not like he’s hard to look at.”

“No,” Jayna said, shaking her head. “He’s just hard to take! He’s a total ass.” She shifted in her chair and stared directly at Leighton. “Are you saying that I’m an ass, too?”

“No, of course not,” Leighton said quickly, holding up her right hand. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that you’re both rebels.”

“That we are,” Jayna agreed. “But we also hate each other.”

“It’s a fine line between love and hate,” Leighton murmured, picking at the fruit on her plate.

“Well, I do love to hate him,” Jayna admitted.

Leighton shifted uncomfortably before meeting Jayna’s gaze. “And you hated me too.”

Jayna raised an eyebrow and was filled with even more shame. “Not hated. I was jealous.”

Leighton set her fork down and blinked. “Jealous of me? Why?”

Jayna leaned back in her chair, thinking back to that time. “I didn’t always hate Derek. In high school, I had it bad for him. When he asked me out, I just couldn’t believe it. My crush noticed me. Then he crushed me.”

“Oh, Jayna, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, I should have known better. Why would he treat me any differently than the other girls he dated? I wasn’t stupid. I saw the way he used and discarded them. But I thought he would be different with me. Until I was just like all the others.”

“So, why would you be jealous of me?” Leighton asked softly.

“Because you were the one girl he was truly obsessed with. I noticed the way he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”

“You must realize that I was just another challenge for him. Yet another competition between the two brothers. It wasn’t any deeper than that. Derek admitted it to me before Nick’s wedding. He even apologized.”

“Wow, the ape-man said sorry?”

“He did,” Leighton said with a small laugh. “No one was more shocked than I was. And that night at the wedding, Tommy and I had an overdue talk. It’s truly over between us.”

Jayna shook her head, a wry smile on her lips. “Relationships are complicated and require too much work. Especially if you add in trying to figure out the Brennan twins.”

Leighton laughed, a genuine, warm sound that made Jayna smile in return. “Tell me about it. But enough about Derek and Tommy. What about you? Anyone new?”

Jayna rolled her eyes. “Nope. Only a string of bad dates. Maybe I’m destined to remain single.”

“Or maybe,” Leighton said, reaching across the table to squeeze Jayna’s hand, “you just haven’t found the right person who can handle your fire.”

“My fire or my ire?” Jayna laughed and her eyes moved upward as she continued speaking. “There is this one guy, though. He’s absolutely dreamy. A paramedic who doesn’t know I’m alive. It’s just like high school all over,” she chuckled.

“Doesn’t know you’re alive? Impossible!” Leighton exclaimed.

Jayna shrugged. “A problem for another day. Today, I’m happy to be here with you and Jamie. This trip is exactly what I needed.”

As they finished breakfast, the sun climbed higher in the sky, promising another day of adventure and possibility. The past and all its complications could be set aside.

Part 2

Chapter 23

The past and its complications kept coming back to haunt or humiliate her. The conversation Kylie had with Lance last week kept replaying. Every embarrassing word. Why had she put herself out there like that?

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