Page 72 of Protector

“Hey, girlie!”

We both hesitate for only a moment before we embrace, and she says in my ear, “I can tell by your face I’m the last person you expected to see.”

“Well, yeah… One of, anyway.”

Taylor pulls her lips under her teeth and stares at me until I get the hint.

“Jade, this is my friend Taylor…” I pause, my eyes flitting between the two of them as Jade gives a nod and Taylor returns it. “And this is…Jade, Brooks’s sister.”

Jade shoots me a look along with an, “Okay, then” that feels like a knife to my heart. I regret the label that shot out from awkwardness and the fact that I was totally caught off guard seeing her. But, now, I’m glad she’s here.

Correcting my mistake, I take hold of her arm. “Jade was very kind to me when I really needed it…and I’ll always consider her a friend.”

Taylor smiles awkwardly. “Then you should join us. We were just heading to Lupe’s Cantina.”

“Oh,” Jade says, passing her gaze between Taylor and me. “I just needed to talk to Shay. I don’t want to intrude.”

Before I can respond, Taylor hooks an arm through Jade’s and guides her down the street, saying, “If it’s about that hunky brother of yours, it will go much better with some ritas. Besides, I wouldn’t miss this.”

“Don’t mind me,” I say, stepping up to the other side of Jade. I hold my breath, knowing both Jade and Taylor have strong personalities, and I can’t see this working out.

Jade glances over to me. “That’s really up to Shay…though she did promise me tacos.” She winks at me, and I’m relieved she’s not hurt.

Having bent Taylor’s ear about Brooks, needing to spill my guts to someone besides Cal, I’m fine with her being in on whatever this conversation is about. “It’s okay… Suddenly, I really do need that drink, though.”

The walk is short, and so is the wait for a table in the bar. We start with drinks, and Jade patiently waits for us to get settled before she starts a discussion I’m both anxious to hear and dreading at the same time. Considering I never heard back from Brooks, I get the feeling he’s using his sister as the messenger to let me down easy. Not that I wasn’t holding out hope we could be together. Every night I lie in bed and think of him, but as each day passes and no word from him, a little piece of that hope is chipped away.

I stay mostly quiet as Jade and Taylor get to know each other and fall into an easy discussion of their mutual interest of hair and makeup. Taylor even tells Jade she would be perfect for her makeup line. I manage to jump in with agreement, because Jade truly is stunning. By the time the drinks arrive, my heart is racing. I grab my glass and take a big swallow as my two friends eye me.

“Whoa, honey, I hope it’s not me sending you spiraling,” Jade says.

I set the margarita glass down. “I’m not spiraling.”

“Yeah, you are,” Tay says, and I shoot her a dirty look.

Screw it. I take another drink. “I’m so glad to see you, Jade, but I don’t get why you’re here.” Seeing her brings back so many feelings and memories I was trying to store away. But at the same time, seeing her makes me realize how much comfort she brought me and how I vowed to stay in touch.Great, now I get to add guilt to my mess of emotions.

“I’m here because my brother is a stubborn ass.”

Taylor brightens and raises her eyebrows as if this statement somehow means we’re going to run off into the sunset.

“Yeah. This I already knew.”

Jade gives me a crooked grin. “I love Brooks. He’s done so much for me, made sure I was safe…It’s what he does. But for some reason, he doesn’t think he’s good enough for you. He thinks he failed you. That’s why—”

“Wait! What? What are you talking about?”

“Well, that psycho did get you, Shay,” Taylor says. When I glare at her, she winces and hides behind her margarita.

“No, just no. That wasn’t his fault. Is that why he’s ignoring me?”

“Um…that and the fact that you went back to that Rio dude.”

Taylor’s mouth flies open, then she laughs. “No, she didn’t.”

Jade scoffs and sips her own margarita. “Well, it sure as hell looked that way on your show.”

“Oh, my God. You guys are watching?” I feel my face flush, but I’m not exactly sure why I should be embarrassed.

---