sun was shining brightly, and it was the kind of late summer afternoon where the heat was so oppressive that being outside was a chore. She was just thinking that when she glanced past Jackson’s shoulder and saw Mo standing there on the patio outside the country club.
She shook her head. It was over between them, had been for longer than either of them wanted to admit.
“It could,” she whispered to Jackson, not sure if she was talking to herself or him. “It’s just...”
“I’m not Mauricio,” he said with his usual bluntness. “I never will be. And I’m not about to apologize for that.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to, and I don’t think you want to be Mauricio,” she said. “I like you, Jackson.”
He laced their fingers together and pulled her toward the willow tree that had been planted decades ago and now had large branches that cascaded down to the ground. He held the willow branches to the side as they stepped underneath them into the relative coolness of the shade provided by the tree. She could hear the melodic sound of the fountain in the nearby water feature.
He let her hand drop and then shook his head. “I like you too, Had, but not enough to play second fiddle to a Velasquez or any other man. There was a time when I might have considered it—”
“No, there wasn’t. You’ve always been such a strong, confident guy. That’s one of the things I’ve always admired about you.”
“But you’ve admired me as a friend, right?”
“Yes. But I thought that’s what you wanted from me,” she said.
“It is. I mean it would be a major cosmic F you to Mauricio if you and I had clicked and ended up married,” Jackson said. “But I wouldn’t do anything to mess with our friendship.”
“Me neither,” she said, putting her hands on the sides of his face. He had a strong jaw with only a hint of five o’clock shadow. His eyes were gray, so unlike Mauricio’s with their dark power. Jackson was the kind of man she’d always thought she’d fall in love with and end up marrying. But the heart didn’t work that way. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said, before pulling her close and bringing his mouth down on hers. He angled his head for the kiss and she closed her eyes as their lips rubbed against each other’s. She opened her mouth and his tongue brushed against hers. He tasted of mint and it wasn’t an unpleasant experience but...
There was no spark.
Not a single bit of attraction. There was no way she could hook up with him to get over Mo. Not when all she could think was how one single brush of Mauricio’s fingers against her skin had set her on fire.
No matter how much she wanted there to be a spark with Jackson, there just wasn’t.
He pulled back and shook his head. “Well, hell. I guess we are meant to just be friends.”
She smiled at the way he said it. “I was hoping for something more too.”
“I bet,” he said. “You going back in? Want me to stay with you?”
She shook her head. She’d had enough of being the proper Southern lady her mama wanted her to be. She was done standing in the same room with a man she didn’t want to lust after and pretending that she was cool with every society matron gossiping about her lack of prospects. “I’m not going back in. I think I’ve done my sisterly duty.”
“Then I guess I’ll see you around,” Jackson said. As he walked away, she stood there in the shade of the willow tree and felt her hands clench into fists. She wanted to punch something or someone... Mauricio Velasquez, who had ruined her for other men, it seemed. She felt a scream rising up in her throat and realized she needed to get out of there. Go somewhere far away from engagements, her parents and the man she was thinking way too much about.
Mauricio went straight to the bar, ignoring his brother who lifted a beer toward him. He needed the hard stuff if he was going to be able to drive the image of Hadley and Jackson holding hands out of his mind. He knew he had no claim on her, and thought he had made his peace with that until he’d touched her.
Touching her had proven that all of his growth since they’d broken up had been for nothing. The spark was still there. Maybe what they needed was one good lay to get it all out of their systems. But he somehow didn’t think that Hadley was going to be too interested in that.
He ordered Jack Daniel’s neat and downed it in one swallow, and then forced himself to turn and move away before he started that slide back down to the out-of-control-guy he’d been last fall.
They’d broken up when she’d moved to New York but had kept in touch with texts and video chats. Mo had missed her but he had been casually dating and hooking up as well. He’d texted her a few times saying he wanted her back in his life permanently without realizing that she was coming back to town the very weekend he’d sent his last text. Then she’d used her key to let herself in and surprise him at his place early one morning after he’d hooked up with someone else. She’d caught them together.
Until that moment he had never realized what an ass he’d been. He had wanted Hadley back but he’d also hated to be alone so he’d been playing both sides. He shouldn’t have done that. He’d regretted it since then but he was too stubborn to admit that at first.
He noticed Helena watching him with one eyebrow arched. He put his hands up and walked away from the bar, but as he turned, he knew he needed to sort this out. He was in the wedding party and had to spend the next nine months with this group. Helena deserved some reassurances that he wasn’t going to ruin her wedding with some sort of brawl.
He walked over to Hadley’s sister. “I’m not going to F this up.”
“Good,” she said. “Your mom reassured my mom that you were over Hadley.”
“She did?” For fuck’s sake, he thought. His mom was going around making sure that everyone knew he’d behave? That was messed up. Like really messed up. He didn’t need her doing that.
“Yup. You know what it’s like living here. It doesn’t matter that we’re the fastest growing small town in Texas, the attitudes are slow to change,” Helena said.
He sighed. “Believe me, I know. You should be in real estate if you want to see slow attitudes. No one wants to pay full market value for anything.”
“I’ve heard you have a way of charming them into paying the going rate,” Helena said.
Real estate was a nice safe topic and one that he had no problem discussing. Anything to keep from talking about Hadley.
“Your fiancé isn’t that bad at it either,” Mauricio said.
“Good to know...” Then after a long pause, she asked, “Has he made any investments lately...big ones?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“It’s probably nothing,” she said.
But he knew Helena. She wouldn’t have brought
