Page 15 of Something Borrowed

Grady steered the car toward the gated community where they were staying for the week. What the hell was going on with Brigid? She was acting jealous, of all things, as if he had been cheating on her, as if she wasn’t the one to put the kibosh on their friends-with-benefits arrangement. Now, she was acting as if she had a claim on him when he knew damn well she didn’t want him.

She huffed in the seat next to him, staring out the window. He slammed on the brakes and cranked the wheel to a little side spot in the road, something of a scenic overlook spot. He shifted into park and turned off the ignition. Finally, he turned, resting his right arm on the seat back, and fixed a hard stare on her.

“Okay, what the hell has gotten into you, Brigid?”

“Me?”

She looked innocent to anyone who didn’t know her. He could swear he saw a gleam of guilt in her eye, as if she knew exactly what he was asking about. She ducked her head as he continued to stare and looked out the front window.

“I had forgotten how beautiful the island is.”

“Yeah, gorgeous. You never answered my question, Brigid. I may not be as smart as you lawyers, but I know when I’m being snowed.”

She whipped her head around. “I never said you were stupid.”

“You never thought I was as smart as you guys either, but here we are. So, what was going on back there with Janine?”

“I don’t know. It all just came out.”

“You mean to tell me that a lawyer and a smart woman had a brain fart?”

She glared at him. “Not so elegant, but now that you bring it up. How long have you been seeing Janine?”

Her words took him by surprise. He had been trying to understand her attitude and, while he’d always known she was blunt, he didn’t quite expect her to take him head on. A slow grin crossed his face. Jealous. Maybe she wasn’t quite unaffected by him as she professed to be. Interesting.

“Seeing her? We’ve been working on the cottage for about six months. We had a few meetings before that, planning the work, etcetera.”

She snorted. “Are you being deliberately obtuse? You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Yes, I know. But you’re ridiculous. We were seeing each other. I wouldn’t cheat on you, although that didn’t seem to bother you with Mike.” He spat the last word, his own green-eyed monster rearing its ugly head.

“Mike and I were college study buddies, and it was just plus ones for business functions. Nothing romantic. Besides, you and I were never exclusive. However, you and Janine seemed awfully chummy.”

He laughed. “I’m like that with the other guys on my crew. I can assure you, I never dated one of them. I’ve never dated or slept with Janine. Yes, we’ve shared food, but that was always in terms of the job, nothing more.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Maybe you are stupid if you couldn’t see that she clearly wants more with you.”

Now it was his turn to snort. “Please. My stay on the island is temporary. She lives here, working with her father on fall house maintenance and construction. My home is in Houston. Nothing can ever happen between us. She knows that.”

“Are you sure? She seemed to be quite interested in you.”

He grinned at the note of jealousy in her voice. She wasn’t as uninterested in him as she had said. He might have rushed her a bit Friday night with his declaration, but it might have been the best thing he could have done. He had forced the issue of them, and she had no choice but to react. As usual, she backed quickly away from anything personal, but now she was rethinking her decision. Leaving the field wide open for him.

Time to up his game. He wasn’t out yet. Maybe he had given up too soon.

“Are you jealous?”

“Jealous? Me?” she barked a laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous. I just don’t think she’s right for you.”

He furrowed his brow. “Really? I don’t see how that’s possible. She’s more like me than anyone I’ve dated in a long time.”

“You haven’t dated anyone in the past four years. The closest you’ve come to dating is what we’ve had.”

He grinned, knowing he was gloating, but he couldn’t resist. “So, you admit that what we were doing was dating.”

“Not exactly. It wasn’t dating, not in the traditional sense,” she grumbled. “We still won’t work out. We’re too different.”

He couldn’t stop from smiling. He faced front and started up the truck and shifted into drive. “We should get going. Caroline is going to be wondering where we are.”

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