“When I said boyfriend earlier, I meant I’m a friend that’s a guy and nothing more. Jenna’s one of the best women I know. She’s smart and funny. Kenneth’s a lucky guy. And frankly, she’s smart enough to know better than to date a guy like me.” I pause for a second, hoping. Five, then ten seconds go by without any intervention from her. I don’t look in her direction, afraid of what I might see. “I should be going.”
The smile that forms on her mom’s face is one of triumph. She knows that I’m full of shit, but she’s won. She launches into a diatribe of words not meant for me. I go get my shirt, shrugging into it quickly before leaving, never once glancing back. I can’t.
Unable to drive, having consumed too many shots, I walk. Downtown is buzzing with activity. I call my brother.
“Come hang with me?”
“Hell yeah! Like you have to ask.” His next questions are where and when.
I suggest a place, and he says he’ll meet me. Almost there, I ignore my phone as it chirps in my pocket. I’d been the fool to change Jenna’s ringtone to be unique so I’d never miss her call. I’m tempted to answer. Kissing her and being inside her had been a fantasy come true. But now reality has crept in. A Connelly will never be good enough for a Rhoades. How long have I ignored that truth?
When my brother arrives, he’s not fooled by my sudden interest in brother bonding.
“What gives? You look like the Grinch and someone stole your Christmas.”
“It’s nothing.” I hold up my second glass, feeling like I want to beat my chest and tell Jenna’s parents to go fuck themselves. Good thing I don’t have their phone number. “Let’s just enjoy the night and drink it away.”
“Bro, this isn’t like you. You have work in the morning. It’s that Jenna girl again.”
“It’s not,” I lie. “Just drink up. It’s on me.”
He doesn’t believe me, only stares.
Clapping a hand on his shoulder, I say, “You know I’m proud of you, right?”
His smile comes easy. “How much have you had already?”
“Not near enough.”
It’s going to take a lot to forget the one girl who makes me feel alive.
“Good then. You probably won’t yell when I tell you Dad called and he wants to come down for a visit.”
Seventeen
JENNA
Practically shoving my mother out the door, with her protesting the entire time about how rude I’m being, I run around my house in search of my phone. Brandon left—and I honestly can’t blame him with the way my mother treated him. Talk about rude behavior. Once I sober up and straighten things out with him, I’m going to tell her exactly how I feel. But I have to figure this trust shit out, too. Was she serious or bluffing? I was always under the impression it was an irrevocable trust. Why would they set it up any other way? My understanding is that tax implications are crazy. Ben would know better. I need to talk to him … after the alcohol clears and my bouncing thoughts straighten out.
Pillows fly in the air as I search for my stupid phone. I eventually find it under the comforter on the bedroom floor. My fingers shake so badly it takes me several times to hit Brandon’s name in my contact list. And when I do, he doesn’t answer. Even after I call him a dozen times. My heart sinks. And I’m ashamed of myself for not standing up to Mom, especially after everything Brandon and I shared. Gut-wrenching sobs, the kind that I haven’t experienced since Ben lost his best friend, gush out of me and I curl into a ball on the floor.
When my house no longer sounds like a wailing banshee lives here, I try to figure out how I allowed all this to happen. An astounding realization nails me, and I’m filled with great remorse. It all centers on one thing—money. I agreed to marry Kenneth to please my parents, mostly my mom, because of her desire to level up her social status and for Dad to keep the Balfour account. Money. Kenneth is a great guy and we had some good times, but he was never the one for me, even before I caught him with Horace. I stayed for one thing—the stupid money—which I don’t even give a shit about. And then, I didn’t break it off with Kenneth even before he asked me to marry him, because of the status. I adored hanging out with Brandon and avoided him because I didn’t think my parents would accept him—in other words, he didn’t have enough money to suit them. And now—my mom tells me I may be cut off if I don’t do what they want, and like their little puppet, instead of speaking up, I let Brandon say those things and take the hit. In all likelihood, I just let the greatest thing that ever walked into my life, walk away. And damn, if I didn’t deserve it. If I were capable of it, I would rip my hair right out of my head.
The phone that’s still in my hand starts ringing. Hoping it’s Brandon calling back, I quickly look at it, but am more than disappointed to see it’s not.
“Hey, Bennie.”
“Jenna, what’s wrong?”
Just his question makes the waterworks open up again. Between the snivels, I explain what happened.
“The guy from the import repair shop that I met that night you were out with the girls? He’s the one Mom caught you with?”
“Yeah. But I ruined everything.”
“Why do you say that?”
I explain everything that happened, from almost the beginning to now.
“You didn’t ruin it, Jenna. You have to go and prove to him otherwise. Remember what an ass I was to Sam? If he cares about you, he’ll open up.”
“I don’t know, Ben. We’ve been dancing around this relationship thing for a long time.”
“How badly do you want it?” he asks.
“Pretty fucking bad.”
“Then stop wasting time and go for it.”
Switching topics, I ask, “Hey, what do you know about my trust fund?”
“Not much. Why?”
“Mom’s threatening me if I don’t get back with Kenneth, she’s going to change it. She says it’s revocable. And you know how she is about the Balfour account? I’m sure that’s going to come up.”
“Hmm. That’s something I haven’t thought about, but, Jenna, that’s fucking blackmail. Tell Mom to fuck off. Does Mom know about Kenneth?”
“Huh. She thinks he fucked another woman and that men will be men—her words not mine.”
“She actually said that?”
A bitter laugh escapes from me. “Yes, she did.”
“I wonder if she would feel the same if Dad slept around on her. You should tell her the truth,” Ben suggests.
Then a light bulb flicks on. “No. I’m going to have a little chat with Kenneth that will include some ideas on my part for him.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll see. It will all be apparent at dinner next Sunday.”
“Oh, Jenna, what do you have planned?”
“Nothing malicious. Don’t worry. But in the meantime, can you do me a favor and try to find out about our trusts?”
“Yeah. I’ll do you one up. I’ll get you all the information on that. I have access to it all. If it’s revocable, it will state it in there. But I can’t conceive of that. The taxes on it would be fucking nuts. And Mom doesn’t know shit about this stuff.”
“Thanks, bro.”
“Jenna, do me a favor, will you?”
“What?”
“Go after that guy of yours. Life’s too fucking short.” He hangs up before I can respond, leaving me to stare at my phone. I decide to try Brandon once more, but no luck. He doesn’t want to talk to me. That’s okay. To be honest, I wouldn’t want to talk to me either. But I’m taking Ben’s advice. My teeth are sinking into this one, and I’m not letting go. I have to think how I’m going to approach him, but I’ll come up with something. In the meantime, I have another situation that needs addressing.
My next phone call is answered on the second ring.
“Jenna. What a pleasant surprise.”
“I’m glad you think so. We need to meet.”
“Tonight?”
“No. In the morning. I’ll be at your place a
t seven thirty sharp.” I hang up. My plans are forming, but the first thing I need to do is sleep off this fucking Herradura.
It’s not even nine o’clock when I crawl into bed. But I’m instantly surrounded by eau du Brandon. His scent is all over my sheets, and I want to rub it on my skin so it sinks in forever. At first, the memories of what we did in this bed keep me awake because my blood is so heated. All I want is for him to be here with me. But my exhaustion takes over, and soon my alarm is beeping me awake.
A shower and two cups of coffee later have me arriving on Kenneth’s doorstep.
The door swings open to a smiling Kenneth as he bends down to kiss my cheek, only I step out of his reach. His confused look almost makes me laugh.
“This isn’t a social call, Kenneth. We are going to discuss what will happen at Sunday dinner.” Poor Kenneth. A part of me wants to feel sorry for him, but I can’t anymore. He’s gone from wearing a happy face to appearing genuinely distressed.
“What do you mean? Aren’t we going to be announcing our re-engagement?”
“You’ve gone down the rabbit hole if you honestly think I would do that. Come on, Kenneth. Get real.”
“But, Jenna.”
“There are no more but Jenna’s. In fact, I’ve made a decision in this. If you don’t tell them this Sunday that you have decided you don’t want to marry me, I will blow your cover.”
Casper has arrived. Kenneth’s face turns a whiter shade of pale, as they say in that song.
“Y-you can’t mean that,” he stutters.
“I mean every single word. Actually, it’s a promise. End this, now. I’m tired of these shenanigans and of my mother showing up at my house. Her threats are old, and I’m sick of them.”
He grabs my hand, saying, “But, Jenna, I love you.” I believe him. In his own sort of odd way, he does.
“I know. But I don’t love you.” There, I finally said it.
He frowns. “Did you ever love me?”
“Yeah, I did. And I love you now, but as my friend. However, if you keep this up, I won’t be able to say that.”
Rejection and dejection weigh him down. It doesn’t make me happy at all to see him this way.
“Kenneth, I truly wish your parents would accept you as you are.”
He snorts. “Like that will ever happen.”
“Maybe if they get to know Horace.”
“They wouldn’t care who I was with.”
He’s probably right. His parents are the stodgiest people I’ve ever met. And even though Horace has the social status and is from one of the wealthiest families in Charleston, they wouldn’t care.
“Besides, Horace has a fiancée.”
“Yeah, I still don’t get that,” I say.
“She wants it that way, not him.”
“Like I said, that doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Jenna, it lets her do as she pleases, which was how I was thinking it could be for you. I guess I was wrong.”
“You were. I want the whole package—love, marriage, family.”
Kenneth says, “And I can give you that.”
“No, you can’t. I don’t love you. I’m sorry. So on Sunday, you will tell everyone that you’ve made a decision.”
His nod isn’t very convincing, but I’m serious about what I said. If he doesn’t do this, he will be outed, and that won’t go over too well. I wave as I leave, and when I get to my car, I text him, saying, Don’t forget. If you don’t do this, everyone will get this little picture sent to them. I send him the picture I took of Horace and him. I can only imagine the look of horror on his face right now.
My next stop is Brandon’s shop, and when I get there, I don’t see his truck or motorcycle in the parking lot. Maybe he’s working on it and it’s in one of the bays, so I go in anyway. Dana sees me coming with the usual unfriendly glint in her eyes. For once I wish I didn’t feel like the chum and she’s the shark.
“What do you want?” she asks.
“Brandon.”
“He’s not here.”
“Oh.” Honestly, her response throws me off.
“He called in and said he’d be … detained.”
“Fine.” There’s no use saying anything more to her, so I leave. When I get to my car, I decide to go to his place, but my phone rings and it’s Ben.
“Jenna, I got some news.”
“What kind?”
“Well, Mom is sort of right about the Balfours. Their account is huge, but not big enough to kill the company if they leave. What would hurt more is their clout. You know—big senator takes his investments elsewhere. That type of thing.”
“That makes sense,” I say.
“So, what are you gonna do?”
“Tell Kenneth if his dad moves his money, he’s toast.”
Benny laughs. “Good plan.”
“Anything on the trust?”
“Not yet. I wanted to give you the Balfour news first. But, Jenna, if I were you, I wouldn’t give a shit about the trust. Mom and Dad will get over whatever you do. If you and Brandon go down that path to wedded bliss and have a baby, Mom will be all over that shit and your trust will double.”
“Slow your horsies, big bro. I’m not even close to that yet, and you already have the stork visiting.”
Ben laughs. “No, really. Just quit wasting time and do what you want and not what Mom wants.”
“Got it.”
His call has me driving somewhere unexpected. When I pull up in front of Brandon’s, his car is there so I know he’s still home. Only my nerves kick me in the gut like an old mule. The man won’t even answer my calls. What makes me think he’ll want to see me? As I sit here and try to figure out what to do, his front door opens, and out walks a long-haired gorgeous blonde. Her hair is a tangled mess, and she’s wearing a large man’s T-shirt over a pair of what looks to be boxer shorts as she carries her clothes and shoes in her arms. She skips to her car, which is parked on the street, and a few seconds later, Brandon walks out the door. He sees my car, but I don’t waste a second as I put my car in drive and speed off. Now the roles have reversed, and it’s my phone that’s ringing and me not answering.
Eighteen
BRANDON
Thirty seconds after Jenna peels out, my brother comes out of the house begging Kym to stay. In that time, I’ve dialed Jenna’s number more than once to no avail. So I snap a picture that speaks a thousand words she’ll actually listen to. It’s of my brother and his girlfriend making out. And I text it to her.
Having played referee all morning with these two, I’m late to work. I grab my keys now that she’s calmed down and doesn’t look ready to destroy my home and ride my bike to work. The motor drowns out my thoughts on the way in.
Dana is lying in wait when I step into the garage. “Can you be any later?”
Grinning at her, I say, “Sorry, boss. I didn’t realize new management took over.”
“Don’t give me shit, Brandon. We’re behind as it is.”
I ignore her and start on a BMW that came in late Saturday. It isn’t long when a doorbell sound is heard in the bays. The alert is to let us know someone has entered the front office.
“It’s for you, Brandon. One of your fan girls,” Dana calls.
Jeff, in his usual M.O., says nothing.
“Dana, let it go.”
“Why? She was just in last week. There’s nothing wrong with her car.”
Ignoring her, I try not to think about Jenna making the wrong assumption.
I’m finishing with the customer when a familiar face walks in. He waits for the woman to leave before speaking.
“Brandon, remember me. I’m—”
“Horace, I remember.”
Not that I want to remember what Jenna walked into between him and Kenneth.
“How can I help you today?” I ask.
Part of me wants to offer him a drink. He’d inadvertently helped Jenna see the light. And for that, I owe him more than I’ll ever tell him.
&nbs
p; “The orange engine light of death came on,” he says dramatically.
Parked out front is a sedan that doesn’t seem to be his speed. It’s a Maybach, somewhere between a 2008 and a 2010. I can’t exactly tell from this distance.
Reading my mind, he says, “It’s Grandmother’s. In light of her death, I should sell it, but it’s sentimental. There were times…” His eyes go unfocused for a second. His next words mumble out. “We’d take long drives…” Then he trails off, lost in thought.
“Let’s take a look,” I say, trying to bring him back.
There is a long day ahead of me. The sooner I can get to it, the better.
“Ah, yes, a look.” He smiles and his eyes dip. Thank goodness for the counter. “And what a tall glass of sweet tea you are.”
“Where is your fiancée?” I ask, deflecting his comment.
“Why? Are you interested? I wouldn’t mind sharing her with you as long as you don’t mind sharing me?”
I chuckle. “If I remind you that I’m not gay, will that get you to stop flirting with me?”
“Doubtful. I like to see you squirm. Straight men are the most fun to play with.”
Shaking my head, I make my way outside. His comment has me wondering if Kenneth had thought himself straight before he met Horace. “Can you pop the hood?”
“I can pop anything you want, sugar.” He tries to get my attention with swinging hips and exaggerated movements as he walks to the car.
Thankfully, Jenna pulls in the lot at the same time.
“Horace,” she says, after closing her door. “Why am I not surprised to see you here?”
The hood pops up, and Horace steps out. When Jenna moves to stand right next to me, too close for just casual friends, he glances between us.
“You and him?”
She nods, which surprises me. He’s bound to tell Kenneth, and that will only add fuel to the fire that’s ready to blow between her fiancé and her.
The Cruel and Beautiful Series Boxset Page 95
