something was wrong. Monroe made no move to take the gift. He stared down at it, then back at Linc. Embarrassed for both men, Jessie nudged him. ‘Take it, Monroe.’
He glanced round at her then. He looked dazed.
‘Roe, it’s okay,’ Linc said softly. Jessie saw his smile fade as he lowered the present.
Ali came up behind her husband and rested her palm on his back.
Monroe still said nothing, still made no move to accept the gift.
Jessie could feel the hollowness inside her. Linc had been so eager, so pleased about the surprise he had planned. It was awful to see him look so dejected. Why didn’t Monroe just take the present? Why was he hurting his brother’s feelings like this?
She gave Monroe’s arm another nudge. ‘Take it, Monroe. It’s for you.’
Jolted out of whatever trance he seemed to be in, Monroe slowly took the gift out of his brother’s hands. But he didn’t look at Linc, Jessie saw, her temper rising, he just continued to stare at the prettily-wrapped present.
‘I…’ Monroe cleared his throat. His Adam’s apple jerked, tension snapped in the air around him, tension and something else Jessie couldn’t explain. ‘I’ve got to go.’
With a quick nod to Linc, he slung the present under his arm and strode past the dismayed party-goers. He disappeared across the lawn, without looking back once.
Jessie stood dumbstruck. She heard Linc sigh and speak quietly to Ali. ‘Hell, that went well.’
Jessie watched Ali rub her husband’s back. ‘It was the right thing to do, Linc.’
‘I don’t know,’ Linc murmured. ‘It was too soon.’
Jessie could see the thin glaze of tears in her sister’s eyes as she shook her head, the look of desolation in her brother-in-law’s. What were they talking about?
‘I can’t believe you’re being so nice about this,’ Jessie said. ‘That was rude.’
Both Linc and Ali stared at her. It was as if they’d only just seen her. Jessie’s temper and her confusion spiked up another notch. ‘I’m going to go and tell him so,’ she said. But as she tried to march past them both Ali stopped her.
‘Jessie, don’t go over there now. Monroe needs time.’
‘I don’t give a toss what he needs,’ Jessie hissed.
Linc had walked off to talk to the other adults, obviously to try and smooth things over. Watching him, Jessie felt her anguish increase at the shoddy way this good, strong man had been treated by his own brother.
‘Monroe was totally out of order, Ali. He didn’t even say thank you.’
‘There are things going on here you don’t understand, Jess. This is between Linc and Monroe. You mustn’t interfere.’
Jessie bit down on her lip, trying to shore up her temper. What didn’t she understand?
‘Come on.’Ali gave her a weak smile. ‘We need to sort out the party bags. And don’t forget Emmy’s still got all her presents to open. Will you help me?’
Jessie nodded, but couldn’t bring herself to smile back at her sister.
The fact that she didn’t understand, that she didn’t know what was going on, didn’t make her feel any better about what had just happened. It only made her feel angry and insecure. She had come to like Monroe in the last week or so, had come to think she knew him a little. He’d been right when he’d said there was something between them. But it wasn’t just passion she felt for him. She had come to care about him. A lot, if she was honest with herself.
The cavalier way he had treated Linc proved to her that she didn’t really know him at all. It seemed she had come to care about a man, desire a man, who was a complete stranger. And that frightened her.
Jessie’s unhappiness increased as the party bags were handed out and Emmy’s presents were opened. The little girl was thrilled with the mechanic’s kit Monroe had given her, but threw a small fit when her mother told her she’d have to wait to thank her uncle. Emmy’s reaction made Jessie’s anger towards Monroe grow. Why had he skulked off like that, without even a thought for Emmy? After spending so long picking out her present yesterday, why hadn’t he at least stayed to see it opened? It showed a careless, callous disregard for the little girl’s feelings that couldn’t be excused.
Finally the last of Emmy’s friends and their parents had left the house.
Jessie gritted her teeth and set about tidying up the mess from the party while the rest of the household packed for their trip to New York. By the time she’d finished an hour later, the room was spotless and she’d managed to work up a pretty good head of steam. Monroe had not appeared to apologise.
Jessie helped load up Linc and Ali’s people carrier. She mentioned to Ali again that someone should go and talk to Monroe, but Ali simply shook her head as she climbed into the car.
‘Let it go, Jess. Don’t worry about him.’
It had been on the tip of Jessie’s tongue to say she wasn’t worried, not about Monroe anyway. But she stopped herself. Ali looked tired, Linc was clearly subdued and they needed to get on their way if they were going to get into the city before midnight.
The minute the car was out of sight, Jessie closed the property’s gates and scowled at the garage apartment.
If Ali and Linc were worried about hurting Monroe’s feelings—she snorted; as if the man had any feelings—she certainly wasn’t. She stalked across the lawn, righteous indignation wrapped around her like a cloak.
She could hear the music blaring from his apartment as she crossed the lawn. Rock music was howling at a decibel level that could make your ears bleed, masking the sound of the cool sea breeze rustling the flowers and tall grass.
It was just another sign of his thoughtlessness. There was no point in knocking, so she marched on in, sailing through on a wave of anger. She shouted his name at the top of her lungs.
And then shouted it two more times before the music shut off.
Her eardrums were still throbbing in time to the rebel chant when Monroe strolled into the room. His chest and feet were bare, his T-shirt hooked through the belt loop of his jeans. Flecks of paint stood out against the dark hair that curled lightly across his chest. The easy grin she had come to expect was gone. His face was hard, his eyes flat and expressionless. He looked savage and intimidating.
‘How long have you been here?’
‘Long enough.’ Jessie clung onto her anger, ignoring the weakness she felt at the sight of him. ‘Linc and Ali and Emmy have left, by the way. Just in case you’re interested.’
He gave her a dismissive nod. ‘If there’s nothing else, I’m busy here. I don’t have time to chit-chat.’
Jessie sucked in a breath. How dare he talk to her like that?
‘You don’t say.’ She
