comment. He hadn’t missed how distracted she’d been when she and David had arrived. Something was going on between them. He hated the ray of hope that shot through him the instant he realized it. Why did he always have to fight his attraction to her? She was a stunning woman, but she hadn’t changed. She was still the Friday Party Girl. It was what had led to their breakup. It was what had taken her to Hollywood. She frequently appeared in entertainment news and had so many friends it made him dizzy. He often wondered what would have happened if she hadn’t always put her social life ahead of him.
Maybe that was what had come between her and David. His brother shared Eliza’s passion for a good time, but it was easy for her to forget a man in the process. He’d tried to warn his brother, but he was already headed down the same road as Eliza. Both of them lived for the party. Except for that nagging feeling that she’d somehow changed. The way she dressed. Her hair. Her makeup. All of it was more subdued. Why?
He stifled another ray of damn hope.
Eliza had been the kind of girl who stood out in a crowd. Intentionally. Brandon had been the opposite. Still was. They had never meshed that way. He preferred his secluded life on the ranch. Eliza would never thrive here. She may have matured over the years, but she was still Hollywood’s hottest party planner. She shined the brightest when she was the center of attention. She’d wilt away in the silence of Reed Ranch.
“Remember the one you threw at the park?”
Brandon was drawn back into the discussion. Jillian had been awfully quiet. He dreaded finding out why. He was afraid he already knew.
“Which one?” Eliza laughed.
Did she laugh because she was no longer that girl, or did the memory delight her? Either way, he was entranced. Unwillingly.
“The one that you couldn’t break up by ten.”
“Oh, yeah.” She nodded with the recollection. “You weren’t there, were you?”
His face lost its animation. “Yeah. You didn’t talk to me, though.”
Eliza turned away, rigid with whatever thoughts pressed her.
“I remember that night.” As soon as Brandon spoke, Jillian fidgeted beside him, pursing her lips and averting her face. He couldn’t reassure her. He had to be honest. And if he was honest, he’d admit he didn’t feel enough for her to pretend Eliza didn’t matter to him. She did. She just wasn’t the right woman for him. She was a friend. But Jillian wasn’t the right woman, either. Looking right at Eliza, he continued, “Two of the boys were angry that you kept telling them to leave.” he had stayed to make sure she was okay. He’d done that a lot with her. As wild as she was, she’d needed someone to look out for her.
Her striking blue-green eyes lifted, and he found himself back in time with her. Bumping into each other at the Smokin’ Burger. Kissing her on her front doorstep. Beating up boys for her…
“He was always rescuing her,” David said to Jillian, not hiding his derision.
“Maybe we should talk about something else,” Eliza said.
“That’s supposed to be your job now,” Brandon said to David. “You staying out of trouble?”
Eliza averted her head, and that sparked his curiosity.
“Stop being my big brother, Brandon. I can take care of myself.”
He had his doubts about that. Taking in Eliza’s profile, he’d bet she wasn’t helping matters. David loved to party and that was her specialty.
“We should get to bed,” Eliza said, pushing back her chair to stand.
“It’s not that late,” David protested.
“Come on, David.” Eliza took his hand and coaxed him to stand.
Reluctantly, he did, meeting Brandon’s reproving look in defiance as he slipped his arm around Eliza. Refusing to let it get to him, he stood and so did Jillian. He didn’t understand why Eliza was affecting him so much now.
“Good night,” she said to him and Jillian, lingering the longest on him.
“Good night,” he answered.
Jillian said nothing.
Brandon watched them leave the kitchen, David swaying a little against Eliza. He wished he was the one taking her to bed. He’d already shown them to their room, one that was far away from his. He’d be damned if he was going to sleep anywhere near enough to hear them. And that frustrated him. Aside from the alcohol David depended way too much on, he was his brother and Eliza was his wife. The two of them together shouldn’t bother him.
Turning to Jillian, he saw how she still watched him the way she had all evening. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
Jillian didn’t move when he took a step toward the living room.
“Can I talk to you first?”
There it was. She was going to grill him now. “Sure.”
She breathed out an uncomfortable laugh that he thought might be staged. “I don’t quite know how to say this.”
“Just say it.”
Slipping one of her hands around his biceps, she moved closer. Brandon had to smother the urge to shrug her away from him. How his sentiments had changed so rapidly bothered him.
She tipped her head up to look at him shyly. “I think it might be good if Eliza and David stay in town tomorrow.”
Her shyness contradicted her statement. “They’re staying here. David is my brother.”
“I know, but…”
“What’s wrong, Jillian?” He struggled for patience. Was she so insecure that she’d ask him to kick his own brother out of his house?
Sliding her hands over his chest, she leaned against him. “I can tell she still has feelings for you.”
Had it been that obvious? Had David noticed? He must have. A tide of guilt overcame him. “She’s married to David.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. She could still try and take you from me.”
Take him from her? Alarm bells buzzed in his head. That was taking insecurity to a new level. Brandon stepped back. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
“But, Brandon…” She angled her head coyly and manipulatively.
“We talked about this, Jillian.” He cut her off before she could continue. “I don’t want to settle down with anyone. I thought you were okay with that.”
“I am.” She crowded him some more, clinging, her hands touching too much.
He stepped back farther, feeling a familiar suffocation encroach. Women who demanded too much of him never lasted. Usually he saw this coming a lot sooner and ended the relationship before anyone got hurt. But Jillian was good. She’d snaked her way close to him and now she was striking.
“You
