Page 65 of A Kiss at Midnight

The man is practically begging me to open up to him, and I’m oh so tempted to. But what if it backfires, and makes my situation worse? Then again, it can’t seem to get much worse than it is now.

Before I’m able to stop myself, I’m letting out the entire story. To his credit, Tyler doesn’t interrupt, not even once. His eyes grow wider and he grips his coffee cup tightly a few times, but he doesn’t release my hand, and he doesn’t ask questions.

“So yesterday, he strongly pushed for marriage, and I don’t have any prospects of ever getting married to anyone else, so what difference should it make? But at the same time, I believe in the institution, of two becoming one in the eyes of God and all of that, and... I don’t know. I’m so confused right now.” Having finished my long, sad story, I’m now trying desperately not to give in to tears. How I hate the dang tears.

I’ve only been around Tyler a couple of times, but I feel better telling my story to another person, a guy who seems to want nothing from me. He’s quiet for long enough, though, that I grow uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Oh, Jewel, I’m the one who’s sorry. You’ve been shouldering far too much for too long. I believe my brother has honorable intentions toward you, but he’s clearly not going about it in the right way. I’m glad you’ve talked to me. My brothers and I may not always see eye to eye on things, but nothing will ever rip us apart. We do need each other to step in once in a while and help the other out. This might be one of those times.” His lips finally show a hint of a smile.

“Tyler, I don’t want you going to battle for me,” I say, now wondering if I should’ve spilled my story. “Maybe you should simply forget I told you all of this?”

“It can’t be undone, Jewel, and it shouldn’t be. You need someone in your corner. I’ll speak with my brother.” He stands up.

“Right now?” I squeal.

“The sooner, the better,” he tells me, and he starts off toward the door.

“Tyler, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“I guarantee there won’t be any backlash, Jewel,” Tyler says, and then he’s gone, my front door closing behind him.

I walk into my sitting room and slump down on the sofa, praying I haven’t screwed up my only way to get Justin back. What if Blake gives up on me and I lose Justin forever? I’ll have only myself to blame.

All I can do is wait and see what Blake’s next move will be... but the waiting might very well kill me. Once again though, I have no choice but to sit and wait... and wait... and wait.

Chapter Review

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Blake

As often happens, Ihead to my office building on a Saturday. My brother called earlier, snapping at me, which isn’t like Tyler, and demanded a meeting. I’m confused. Tyler’s the peacemaker of our family, the one who never loses his cool. From a few of the things he growled at me, I have no doubt he’s been by to see Jewel. It seems she might have told him everything. Instead of being upset about this, I’m happy to see, or at least suspect, that she’s still fighting.

I’m not as happy about Tyler being so protective of Jewel, but I also know he won’t overstep his bounds when it comes to her. We never poach on each other’s territory... though we aren’t beyond pretending to do so.

As I near the office, I wonder what Tyler will say. The funny thing is, if I listen to anyone other than Max, it will be to one of my brothers, andespeciallyto Tyler, since Tyler’s always the voice of reason when anger seems to consume me to the depths of my soul — if I even have a soul. But Tyler sure as hell wasn’t the voice of reason an hour ago. He’d been too busy snapping at me.

I park and walk to my office, then decide to wait for a while before buzzing my brother. It’s such a rarity to find Tyler in a bad mood that I can’t help but add fuel to the fire. Granted, this move might come back to bite me in the ass, but I can’t help myself. A man has to do what a man has to do.

After about ten minutes, my intercom sounds, and I know it’s Tyler. He most likely told security to notify him the minute I entered the building.

“Yes, Tyler?” I say in a chipper tone.

“We’re supposed to be meeting, Blake.”

I lean back. “I’m sitting here waiting for you, bro.” The line disconnects. I school my expression and watch as a moment later my door’s thrust open, and Tyler enters the room.

“I’ve known you to do some pretty dumb things, Blake, but this has to be a new low for you.” Well, this is a civil greeting... not.

“It’s been a few days, brother,” I tell him with a smile. “It’s good to see you too.”

“Don’t play games, Blake. I’m not one of the boneheads you employ, one of the yes-men who bow and scrape to you to keep from pissing you off,” Tyler says. I laugh.

“Do you like being feared?” Tyler asks.

The question takes me by surprise, and I lose a trace of my grin. “Yes,” I say, but is this as true today as it was a year ago — heck, even a few months ago? I honestly don’t know.

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