Page 20 of Let Me Say It Again

“Just dandy,” she replied in a pacifying tone.

“Nate will be at the party.” Why the hell did I say that?Probably because you’ve been wanting to bring him up since you made up that story about being engaged to Jade and ropedher into all of this. Because you want to feel her out and see how she feels about things. Especially things with Nate.

“Don’t care,” she answered not a moment later.

Way to not have to think about that one. That boded well for me. “Not even a little?”

“Not a hair on a rat’s ass.”

I raked a hand through my hair and leaned back on the couch, fixing myself so my vest didn’t wrinkle with the way I was sitting. “So, you’re over him?”

“It’s been a long time, Red. Plus, life goes on, you know? There are other dicks out there. Your brother’s isn’t the only one.”

I was pretty sure the saying wasother fish in the sea, but something told me she meant what she said. You had to appreciate Jade’s directness. “Didn’t you love him?”

“What is this? A therapy session?” she spat back, undertones of disgust apparent in her voice.

“I don’t fucking know,” I mumbled. Guess I was just wondering if I was crushing on a woman who still had unresolved feelings for my brother. “You didn’t answer the question.” I already knew it. I was like a dog with a bone.

“I don’t know. At the time, I thought I was in love with him, yes. But love is an illusion. It’s like wishing upon a star. You do it because you buy into someone’s sugar-coated fantasy that there’s a pot of gold at the end of rainbows, and people’s lives can change for the better.”

“You don’t believe any of that?”

Without any hesitation at all, Jade answered, “No, I don’t,” basically at warp speed. It was like it was a knee-jerk reaction for her—love = lie.

My stomach clenched. For some reason, that didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t think life was peaches and cream either. It was hard fucking work and some days were harder than others.I knew people didn’t think I understood that because I had money, but I worked just as hard as anyone else, believe it or not.

“Hey.” Jade’s voice was closer, so I turned around, wondering if she was coming out because she was ready. No such luck. She was popping her head out, wearing nothing but a neon green towel. “Do you see my cutlets out there?” she asked, her eyes scanning the place.

I had no idea why that mattered, but I answered, anyway. “No. I’d imagine they’re in the fridge, though.”

“What?” Her head snapped to me, and she raised a brow. Then she laughed.

What was so funny? Was she having a nervous breakdown?

“You’re a guy,” she said, as though that was explanation enough. It was not, by the way.

I brought my brows together in confusion. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, you don’t know what cutlets are. They’re my boob inserts, and I can’t find them in my room. Last I had them—” A look of relief washed over her, and she turned around. “Never mind. I left them in my tub.”

“Why are they in your—” Shaking my head, I decided to let that one go.

Awkward silence filled the air as I sat, taking in Jade’s small as shit apartment and the lack of anything personal. There were hardly any picture frames. No real decorations. It was more like a bachelor pad than a woman’s place. Nothing, like artwork, hanging on the walls. The walls didn’t even look painted. They were bare-ass white. It was depressing actually. I wasn’t all for collages of family photos cluttering the walls, but this was just sad, no other way to put it.

“This is what I get for working with my sisters now. I’m subjected to boob cutlets like I’m a model or beauty contestant,” Jade said, breaking into my train of thought.

“How is that going?”

“Concerned how I’m spending my days?”

“Concerned? Not really the word I’d use. Not in relation to how you spend your days.”

“What does that mean?”

“If anything I’m more concerned with how you’ll be spending your nights.”

“This is fake.”

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