Page 28 of Kiss the Girl
“We?”he said snarkily. “How cute.”
“Excuse me?”
Now he leaned forward menacingly, resting his arms on the desk. “So you were out flirting with me last night while your boyfriend was home sick. Do I have that right?”
“Boyfriend?!”she repeated loudly. “Are you out of your mind? Why would you even think something like that? What is wrong with you?”
He shrugged. “Seems to fit. You claim the old guy’s not your dad and yet you’re traveling across country and living with him. You have any other explanation?”
Now it was her turn to get mad. “As a matter of fact, I do! He’s afriend!He was my father’sbestfriend! My parents are both gone—my biologicalandadoptive ones—and Cash is the closest thing to family that I have left!”
He looked more than a little chagrined.
“We look after each other,” she went on. “When he said he was going to come back to Magnolia against his doctor’s orders, there was no way I was going to let him do it alone. There was nothing keeping me in Seattle anymore, and even if there was, helping a friend is more important.”
The mirthless laugh had him leaning back in his seat. “Really? Even a friend like Cash? You know he’s a deadbeat dad, right? How he abandoned his wife and kids when they were little? How he never came around and then when he finally did and seemed ready to make amends and made all kinds of promises, he took off like a thief in the night?” With a smug smile, he added, “You thinkthat’sa friend worthy of turning your life upside down for?”
It would be easy to tell him exactly why Cash left like a thief in the night, but she was too angry to do it and, honestly, even though it directly involved her, she didn’t think it was her place to tell him.
Some of this had to be on Cash.
“I don’t see it as turning my life upside down,” she countered.
The silence was deafening after that and Savannah honestly had no idea what to say and the way Jackson was glaring at her was making her squirm.
“Why did he come back, huh?” he asked after a long moment. “I mean…I get that he’s dying and all that, but…after the way he screwed everyone over this last time, why bother? Does he get some sort of kick out of messing with all our heads? Like his legacy wasn’t shitty enough, he wants to add this to it?”
She sighed patiently because she and Cash had talked about this—how he knew he was going to have to deal with their anger—and how he felt strongly about being able to apologize one last time.
“It’s really not my place…”
“Oh, but it kind of is,” he argued. “The old guy won’t pick up a phone to tell anyone he’s back and he’s letting you deal with his family, so…”
“Okay, let’s get something straight here,” she began with a little more heat than she intended. “Cash isn’tmakingme orlettingme do anything where his family is concerned. That’s why we opted to find a place outside of Magnolia Sound. He thought he could come and get situated without running into anyone he knew. There was no way for either of us to know your aunt was going to see us or that your cousin owned the spa I applied for a job at, or that I’d end up having dinner with and later massaging his son!”
Her cheeks felt like they were positively on fire at that last part, and yet she couldn’t make herself look away.
“While I know it doesn’t seem possible, those were all truly coincidences,” she added for good measure.
All he did was shrug.
“What is it you want me to say here, Jack?”
“It’s Jackson.”
Seriously?“Well, last night it wasJack,” she reminded him with just a hint of sarcasm.
“Yeah, well…last night was different. I didn’t realize…”
“What? You didn’t realize what?” she demanded. “I’m still the same person you met last night! Everything I told you about myself was true!”
“You didn’t mention you moved here to help some worthless loser inflict more pain on his family.”
Most of the time, Savannah prided herself on being even-tempered and being able to handle a solid difference of opinions.
That wasn’t happening right now.
Coming to her feet, she stared down at him. “I think we’re done here.” When she turned to walk away, Jackson called her name and she simply glanced over her shoulder at him.