Read Online Careful What You Kiss For by Jane Lynne Daniels - Free Book Online
Authors: Jane Lynne Daniels
Ads: Link
English. And believe me, it was a huge turn-on.”
So he’d learn fucking French.
Another turn. Still pacing. Her red painted toenails caught his attention. Fiery, but delicate. She’d always had the sexiest toes.
She was still talking. “Great job, things going good. Beautiful condo. My mother and I getting along for once. Even working together — ”
Hell, no. She did not just say her mother was working as a stripper. With a shudder, he recalled the uptight, wealthy bitch who’d warned him to keep away from her daughter. If that woman was stripping, total darkness and a whip had to be involved. Or — hold on. Working together could mean something else entirely. Something this cop would be interested in knowing about.
“And still, I can’t forget about you.”
Things were taking a turn for the better. Max opened his mouth, but she wasn’t letting him get a word in.
“Why Rhonda? Why cheat with her when you and I were so good together? When we had something everybody wants but hardly ever gets?”
The first stab to his heart came from remembering how much he’d loved the girl who had seen in him things other people hadn’t bothered to look for. The second was the realization that after all this time, she still hadn’t figured out why he’d done it.
For every A she’d made in high school, she’d earned a D in street sense.
She stopped pacing back and forth and stared at him, hands on her hips. Even the cat was glaring at him, switching its tail in accusation. “You were kissing her.” Her voice wobbled. “Like you kissed me.”
Not even close. He closed the distance between them. “What would you have done if you hadn’t found me with her?”
She pulled her mouth in tight and refused to meet his eyes.
“Tell me.”
“I wouldn’t have left.”
“Exactly. You wouldn’t have left.”
The words echoed off each wall, making the silence that followed that much more deafening.
“You were supposed to go to college,” he said at last. “But you said you were going to stay with me.”
She dropped her hands from her hips, looking to the window, and back to him. He saw a tremble in her mouth. “I could have gone to college later.”
“I wasn’t even going to graduate from high school. What do you think we would have lived on?”
Her chin lifted. “Money isn’t everything.”
“It is when you can’t afford a place to live.”
Just as he’d expected, she didn’t have an answer for that. He’d only had one answer himself, at the time.
“So it was a setup.”
He jerked his chin in assent, watching her. For some reason, she kept flexing her hand, making a fist and then releasing it.
The punch replayed in his mind in slow motion. Tensley’s fury. Rhonda’s scream. His disbelief. If he’d had the training then that he had now, he could have blocked the blow. Things would have been different.
But “could-a/would-a” didn’t matter for shit. Max had screwed things up but good.
Her eyes met his. “A pretty lame-ass plan.”
He lifted a shoulder. “All I had at the time.”
“Sounds like your intentions weren’t … bad.” She swiped at one eye with the back of her hand and shook her head, staring out the window again. “Better than mine, I guess.”
He would let her blame him, but not herself. And he’d never been able to handle seeing her cry, so that wasn’t going to work out well. “I’m a cop. That’s why I have the gun.”
She turned back. Her eyes widened and she made a little snort. The sound sent a tingle of memory through him. “A cop. If that’s your idea of a joke, it’s not funny, Max.”
“It’s not a joke.”
“The police in this town would never have allowed that. You were number one on their most-hated list.”
“I left after you did. Went to California. Finished high school, joined a police force and got a degree in criminal justice. Came back here. They offered me a job. I took it.”
She considered that, her eyes narrowing.
So he’d learn fucking French.
Another turn. Still pacing. Her red painted toenails caught his attention. Fiery, but delicate. She’d always had the sexiest toes.
She was still talking. “Great job, things going good. Beautiful condo. My mother and I getting along for once. Even working together — ”
Hell, no. She did not just say her mother was working as a stripper. With a shudder, he recalled the uptight, wealthy bitch who’d warned him to keep away from her daughter. If that woman was stripping, total darkness and a whip had to be involved. Or — hold on. Working together could mean something else entirely. Something this cop would be interested in knowing about.
“And still, I can’t forget about you.”
Things were taking a turn for the better. Max opened his mouth, but she wasn’t letting him get a word in.
“Why Rhonda? Why cheat with her when you and I were so good together? When we had something everybody wants but hardly ever gets?”
The first stab to his heart came from remembering how much he’d loved the girl who had seen in him things other people hadn’t bothered to look for. The second was the realization that after all this time, she still hadn’t figured out why he’d done it.
For every A she’d made in high school, she’d earned a D in street sense.
She stopped pacing back and forth and stared at him, hands on her hips. Even the cat was glaring at him, switching its tail in accusation. “You were kissing her.” Her voice wobbled. “Like you kissed me.”
Not even close. He closed the distance between them. “What would you have done if you hadn’t found me with her?”
She pulled her mouth in tight and refused to meet his eyes.
“Tell me.”
“I wouldn’t have left.”
“Exactly. You wouldn’t have left.”
The words echoed off each wall, making the silence that followed that much more deafening.
“You were supposed to go to college,” he said at last. “But you said you were going to stay with me.”
She dropped her hands from her hips, looking to the window, and back to him. He saw a tremble in her mouth. “I could have gone to college later.”
“I wasn’t even going to graduate from high school. What do you think we would have lived on?”
Her chin lifted. “Money isn’t everything.”
“It is when you can’t afford a place to live.”
Just as he’d expected, she didn’t have an answer for that. He’d only had one answer himself, at the time.
“So it was a setup.”
He jerked his chin in assent, watching her. For some reason, she kept flexing her hand, making a fist and then releasing it.
The punch replayed in his mind in slow motion. Tensley’s fury. Rhonda’s scream. His disbelief. If he’d had the training then that he had now, he could have blocked the blow. Things would have been different.
But “could-a/would-a” didn’t matter for shit. Max had screwed things up but good.
Her eyes met his. “A pretty lame-ass plan.”
He lifted a shoulder. “All I had at the time.”
“Sounds like your intentions weren’t … bad.” She swiped at one eye with the back of her hand and shook her head, staring out the window again. “Better than mine, I guess.”
He would let her blame him, but not herself. And he’d never been able to handle seeing her cry, so that wasn’t going to work out well. “I’m a cop. That’s why I have the gun.”
She turned back. Her eyes widened and she made a little snort. The sound sent a tingle of memory through him. “A cop. If that’s your idea of a joke, it’s not funny, Max.”
“It’s not a joke.”
“The police in this town would never have allowed that. You were number one on their most-hated list.”
“I left after you did. Went to California. Finished high school, joined a police force and got a degree in criminal justice. Came back here. They offered me a job. I took it.”
She considered that, her eyes narrowing.
Similar Books
