Mason pulled out onto the road and started driving without direction from Jay. Of course not. Mr. Helpful had driven Em home. He already knew where they lived. Mason cleared his throat and Jay inwardly groaned. Here it came. Obviously a silent ride home to a bottle of aspirin and a bed so he could think straight was too much to hope for.
“I’m going to be straight with you, Jay. I like Em. A lot. I’d even go as far as to say I care about her.” Jay glared at Mason’s profile as he concentrated on the increasingly hazardous road. If this asshat thought now was the time to make his move . . . “But she cares about you.” Mason spared him a glance as they pulled up to a red light. “Don’t be an idiot. I won’t let you hurt her.”
Jay wanted to argue that he would never hurt Em, but he’d done exactly that. And it wasn’t the first time. And it wouldn’t be the last. He would keep hurting her because that was what he did. He hurt the people he cared about. Maybe not exactly like his father, but it was a trait they shared. The one’s he loved the most always seemed to pay the highest price, and the longer Em stuck around—the longer he allowed her to stick around—the more likely he was to cause serious damage.
Em was damaged enough already. She was strong, and brave, and beautiful . . . and damaged. There was no denying that. All he wanted in life was to heal her. Chase her demons away. Not become one of them.
Chapter Fourteen
Em
Em knew that what had happened the night before held the potential to destroy some relationships. Not theirs, though. They’d already been through hell and back. It would take a lot more than a single kiss and some wandering hands to tear her and Jay apart. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, though. It hurt like hell.
Em rubbed the ache in her chest, but found no comfort. They needed to talk. Ashlyn was right. She knew Jay well enough to know he’d beg her forgiveness—that he must be feeling like crap—and she already knew, without a doubt, that she’d give it. But there was a deeper issue they needed to discuss. One that scared the hell out of her.
Jay would never intentionally hurt her. But if things had changed—if he could no longer live with her . . . insecurities, she needed to know. She couldn’t blame him. Her issues were exactly that, hers, and a lot to deal with. If she wanted this to work, she needed to find a way to get past them—to stop being such a coward—before something happened they’d both regret.
That was a little hard to do with Tom standing behind the bar, though.
“I thought yesterday was your last day?”
“It was. Jay called in a favor this morning. Guess he was hung over.” The sympathy in Tom’s eyes made it clear he didn’t believe that any more than she did. He knew exactly why he was covering Jay’s shift.
“Sure. Right. Well, thanks.”
“Where is he?” Ashlyn passed Em an apron and started rooting around the drawers for a couple of order pads.
“Hung over.”
Ash glanced at her before resuming the hunt. Yeah, no one was buying that. “He’s probably embarrassed. He did make an ass of himself last night. Maybe he wants a chance to talk to you in private first. We could swing by there after work and—”
“No.” If Jay wasn’t ready to face her, she wouldn’t force him. “Not yet.”
“Good call. Have some self-respect. Make him come crawling back,” Ash declared enthusiastically, tossing a pad across the ticket counter.
“Ash . . .”
“Oh, come on. Even if you don’t want to see it, I do. You know I need my daily dose of drama.”
No wonder Ashlyn stuck around. Drama seemed to be the one thing Em could always be counted on for. Even when she tried her absolute best to avoid it.
“Drama?” Mason wandered up behind them, dropping a friendly arm over Ash’s shoulders. “Here that’s been going around.”
Em groaned. “Can we please talk about anything else?”
“Sure. How about them . . . Yankees?”
Ashlyn ducked out from under Mason’s arm with a swat to the back of his head. “Are sports all you people know how to talk about?”
“Us people?”
“Men. You foolish, foolish people.”
“Can’t argue with that.” His gaze darted back to Em, and she felt the weight of his words on her heart.
“That was subtle.” With an exaggerated eye roll Ash went to restock the tables in her section.
“Sorry, subtlety really isn’t my thing.”
“It’s okay.” Em tucked her pad into the pocket of her apron and started loading up on salt and pepper shakers.