Up in Flames(22)

“Sleep well?” he asked when I reached him.

“Yes, thank you,” I replied, remembering that he had tucked me in last night.

“Good.” He held out his elbow for me to take. “Let’s go eat.”

“Same place?” I asked, curious.

He shook his head. “I don’t want to bore you. I made other arrangements.”

As if he could bore me. The man was fascinating, and he smelled so very good. I wanted to lean in and take a deep breath.

“On the Strip?” I asked.

He led me out of the casino before replying with a brief glance. “That would be boring, wouldn’t it?”

I wanted to tell him that nothing was ever boring with him. I never knew what to expect with him, and that feeling had quickly become a craving that I had developed a real taste for. The excitement of the unknown. I didn’t tell him that, though. It would make me vulnerable. “I guess so,” I said, hoping my curiosity wasn’t completely obvious from my tone.

A low chuckle from his chest made me believe I hadn’t hidden my thoughts at all. That, or he was just incredibly observant. I could tell by the way he spoke and the way he held himself that he was intelligent. More so than any other man I had met. That in and of itself intrigued me. A man with his dangerous appeal who loved reading classics instead of watching TV? Damn.

“I have a private meal waiting at the top of Caesars Palace. The view is spectacular, and we’ll have some privacy. It’s not the penthouse, but it’s the best I could do.”

Wow. Not what I’d been expecting. I knew I wanted privacy. Lots of it. But so did he, apparently. This was what I wanted. Major had kept me at arm’s length for too long. It was OK for me to move on to better things.

I wasn’t going to think about Major again.





Major


The waves crashed against the shore as I sat slumped forward with my elbows on my knees. A long-necked bottle dangled from my right hand, a cigarette from my left. I wasn’t a smoker. Never had been. But right fucking now, I needed it. I was lost and confused and so damn depressed I didn’t know what to do with myself.

It had been two days since I’d left Vegas, and with each moment I spent away from Nan, replaying her words in my head, I realized my mistake. How I had messed up. How my fear of feeling too much for the unstable, beautiful, crazy bitch of Rosemary Beach had put me here in this sad pit of hell.

She had wanted me. Now she didn’t. That was the hardest thing to accept: not knowing what you have until it’s gone. The fact was, Nan made me laugh. Her haughtiness was a mask she used to cover up the vulnerability underneath. I’d seen it. Fucking broke my heart whenever she let her guard down. I could clearly see all the ways in which she was broken. Instead of being the man she’d needed and wanted, I’d failed her. I’d failed us.

Cope would fucking break her. He planned on sending her back to me destroyed, and I hated the idea of it. She didn’t need to be hurt anymore. She’d been hurt time and time again. Fucking bastard didn’t care, though. He just wanted the information that I had failed to get.

“Didn’t know you’d decided that lung cancer was the way to go.” Mase’s voice broke into my thoughts. I looked up to see my cousin’s disgusted frown.

“Fuck off,” I muttered, and took a long drag before turning my attention back to the Gulf. When did he get into town, anyway? Mase spent most of his time in Texas at the family ranch.

“If I was smart, I would. Looks like I’m going to be a dumb-ass, though, and try to find out what’s wrong with you.”

Great. Just what I needed. A fucking intervention. “Not in the mood. You’re in the wrong state, aren’t you?” I grunted, then took a drink.

He sat down beside me on the bench in front of my apartment complex. “Never seen you like this. Not even when your dad kicked you out for fucking his new wife. What’s up?”

Nan was what was up. Motherfucking gorgeous high-maintenance insecure sexy-as-hell Nan. “Go back to Texas.”

Mase chuckled, and I wanted to beat his ass.

If I weren’t on my tenth beer, I would have considered taking him on. But at the moment, I just wanted to be left alone.

“Came to town for a visit. Blaire’s baby shower is coming up. Please tell me this isn’t Nan-related.”

“Can’t,” I shot back, annoyed.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Shit was right. I was in deep fucking shit. I had fucked up everything. Nan would get hurt because of me. Nothing I could do now.

“Why did you decide to tangle up with Nan? I warned you not to. She ain’t the kind of woman a man takes seriously.”