Fuck.
Jesse cursed himself that he let Kyan see him texting Chloe. He had wanted to keep this thing that wasn’t anything yet, and might not ever be anything, private for now. “Of course, and if it ever comes to anything, then I will.”
He was only kidding himself. This thing with Chloe was already a thing and if he didn’t do something about it soon he was going to lose her before he ever had the chance to find out if they could have something together. Something real. He knew she was frustrated with him, with the mixed signals he sent. She hadn’t even bothered to answer his last text.
Kyan grinned when the text alert sounded on Jesse’s phone. Jesse looked at it and quietly sighed in relief when he saw it was from Chloe. His brow knitted as he read the message on the screen.
He looked up. “Linn just called Chloe and she’s a little freaked out. Fuckboy left her flowers this time.”
Jesse watched the grin disappear from Kyan’s face. Then he disappeared altogether.
Jesse followed Dillon through the red service door that connected Charley’s kitchen to the club next door. Brendan Murray, the eldest of the Byrne cousins, was waiting for them with Salena right beside him in their usual spot—the semicircular booth of deep-plum velvet closest to the bar.
There was something about that girl that rubbed him the wrong way. Jesse couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but if she was going to be hanging around then he wouldn’t stay long. After a quick drink with his cousins, he would leave.
He and Dillon slid into the booth across from them. Salena ignored the contemptuous look on his face and painted on one of her phony smiles. “Where’s Ky?”
Jesse couldn’t help but roll his eyes. She was so transparent. Salena wanted Kyan all for herself. She was wasting her time, though, and she knew it. Kyan didn’t do relationships. Ever. He hadn’t had a girlfriend since high school, and Jesse was certain if his cousin ever decided to change that it wouldn’t be with a snarky bitch like her.
Dillon answered, “Don’t know. He was supposed to come with us but he took off for somewhere.”
“Or maybe it was for someone,” Jesse couldn’t help but add, smirking. He threw her a wink. He had a feeling he knew exactly where his absent cousin took off to.
Ignoring Jesse, Salena stood from the booth and said to Dillon, “You going to be here a while?”
Dillon gave her one of his non-committal half-smiles, the kind that didn’t reach his eyes. The cousins had all grown up together. They were a tight-knit family of Irish heritage, as close as brothers, so he could tell Dillon wasn’t the least bit interested in anything Salena had to offer. Not tonight anyway.
“Nah, I’m just going to have a drink with Brendan and Jesse before I head on home.”
“Suit yourself,” she harrumphed, her amber eyes narrowing, then stalked off.
Brendan raised his eyebrows at Dillon. “What the fuck is up with you, man?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve never known you to turn down pussy before,” Brendan stated, bemused.
“Oh, is that what she was offering?” Dillon downed his shot of whiskey in one easy swallow. “Not interested.”
Something was definitely up with his cousin. He wasn’t acting like himself. Maybe he had an inkling where Kyan went, too. Jesse watched as Dillon stood up to leave.
“Sit down, man.” Brendan stood to stop him. “Are you okay?”
Dillon patted Brendan’s shoulder. “Yeah, just tired. We’ll catch up tomorrow.” Then he left.
Brendan shook his head and looked at Jesse. “Do you know what’s up with Dill?”
“I have a hunch.”
“Gonna tell me?” Brendan poured a finger of scotch into his glass.
“I think it’s a girl.” Jesse issued a halfhearted shrug. “But I could be wrong.”
Brendan grinned. “Ah, I see.”
He really didn’t, but it wasn’t his place to fill him in. Brendan would figure it out soon enough. He was intuitive like that. When it came to the four of them, they all were. They had been the only family each other had for so long.
Brendan swirled the amber liquid in his glass. “So what’s happening with you, Jess? You’ve got something on your mind. Tay’s coming home this weekend, is that it?”
How the fuck does he do that?
Because that was on his mind, all right. All the more reason he had to figure things out with Chloe.
Jesse sighed. “Partly.” He thought of Chloe and smiled. “There’s a girl.”
Brendan stopped swirling and swallowed his scotch. “I see.”
“You keep saying that, Bren.” Jesse nervously chuckled. He knew what his cousin would ask next.
“Who is she?”
“Her name’s Chloe. She works at Charley’s.” The smile stayed stuck on his face.
“Is it serious?”
“I want it to be.” Jesse shrugged. “Maybe. We haven’t gone out yet or anything like that, but we’ve been friends a while. We talk a lot, ya know?”
“About everything?”
He shook his head. “No,” Jesse said, in a low voice.
“If you want even half a snowball’s chance in hell with this girl then you need to. She deserves your complete honesty. So does Taylor.” Brendan gave him a brotherly pat on the back. “I know it’s scary, but sometimes you have to let yourself be vulnerable. Sometimes you have to risk everything to gain everything.”
“Yeah, man.” Jesse nodded. “I know. I’m gonna talk to her. And Tay.”
In fact, he decided, he was going to go see her. He glanced at his phone. It wasn’t that late. He had to see her.
Right fucking now.
The knock on her door was so light she almost didn’t hear it, and if she hadn’t dozed off reading on the sofa, she most certainly wouldn’t have. Chloe glanced at the time on her cell phone—almost midnight. She got up and looked through the peephole.
No fucking way!
Jesse rarely came by her apartment. She could count on one hand the number of times he’d been here, but he was here now and she wondered why. He stood in her doorway looking much the same as he had when she left Charley’s, except his long hair was loose and flowing past his shoulders. A foot taller than she was, he leaned against the doorframe and peered down at her with those lightning blue eyes and that boyish grin that turned her insides to goo.
“Jesse! What are you doing here?” She opened the door wide and stepped back to let him in. “Is everything okay?”
Jesse pushed himself off the doorframe and stepped inside. “Yeah, babe.” He pulled her in for a hug and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Everything’s okay. I was in the neighborhood and I wanted to see you.”
Chloe kept the smile that was bursting to get out, inside her. As thrilled as she was that he was there, outwardly her demeanor remained indifferent. She knew her worth and she wasn’t about to fawn all over him simply because he deigned to make an appearance at her door.
She lifted a brow. “It’s late, Jesse.” Then turned away to return to her seat on the sofa.
His hand reached for hers from behind. He grasped it and spun her around into him. Their bodies were flush up against each other, her free hand landed on his hard pec. She felt his heartbeat beneath her palm. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her to his chest. His hair brushed her cheek as he slowly lowered his lips to her ear and softly spoke in his whiskey-smooth voice, “I wanted to see you. Alone.”