“Night before last.”
And as if a lightbulb flickered in her brain, Bryn chimes, “Ah! And he canceled his training today.”
“Yep, and I haven’t talked to him since I left his house yesterday morning,” I whisper. “He didn’t answer my texts or my calls.”
“Damn,” Erin mutters. “I’m going to have Kyle slash his tires or some shit.”
“So, nothing from him since the deed?” comes from Bryn.
Wincing in humiliation, I say, “Oh, I’ve seen him, just haven’t talked to him.” Erin and Bryn look at each other in confusion then back at me, waiting for me to explain. “I saw Madden and Belle at Publix this afternoon—with Gia.”
“Fuck!” they mutter in unison.
“Fuckin’ forget the tires,” my sister says, snatching her phone from her pocket. “Kyle is too pussy for the job I need done. I think I know a couple of guys who owe me a favor for getting their sentences reduced..”
“Don’t,” I tell her quickly, placing my hand over her phone. “Let it go. I knew better. I knew this wouldn’t work. I knew I shouldn’t get involved with a client. I knew she was his one, and I went ahead and fell in love with that piece of man meat anyway.”
Stunned silence. A foreboding air clings to the space, leaving us each irrevocably quiet. Which is odd given the three females occupying the room have never been at a loss for words.
“You love him?” Bryn asks.
“All of him,” Erin asks, “and not just his man meat?”
I chuckle because leave it to my sister, the supposed professional lawyer, to help ease the tension out of the room. I love her so fuckin’ much.
“Yep,” I tell them. “I think I knew I was going to love him the minute he realized I had a clit and not a dick. I actually fell in love with him when I watched him slay his goals in the gym, when I watched him cower to his momma and cater to his daughter. I fell in love with him a little more every day, and I knew fuckin’ better.”
I don’t want to hear their explanations or advice. I did this. I fell in love with a man I knew wanted someone else. I hold my hand up to stop both of them from speaking. “I watched that man comfort his baby girl and be everything she needed him to be without hesitation. I fell head over heels in love with him, and I knew it should have never happened. I knew what his goals were, and I knew he had something for Gia in the past. I was a damn fool for ever thinking that I could compete with her.”
My sister’s face is a mixture of somberness and rage. I know she’s mentally running through all the scenarios of how she can legally fuck Madden over. She’s loyal like that. Bryn paces my small living room, shaking her head.
“Jo,” Bryn stops, “don’t you think you should talk to Mad first?”
“No.” I’m adamant. “I can’t see him, Bryn. I have to let him go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
MADDEN
“Well, fuckin’ hell,” Bryn greets as I enter the gym. “Look who found the balls to show his face at Dumb
Belles.”
The fuck?
“You’ve got some nerve—” She’s cut off when Jordan appears at the front desk.
“I’ll take this from here, Bryn. Thanks.”
Bryn eyes me cautiously, and I ain’t got the slightest fuckin’ clue what the hell is goin’ on. They can’t seriously be this enraged that I canceled my appointment yesterday, can they?
“You’re sure, Jo, because I’ve got a five-pound dumbbell ready to shove up hi—”
“Bryn! Please, you’re causin’ a scene.”
Bryn walks around the desk, pointin’ at her eyes with her index and middle fingers then stabbin’ them in my direction. “I’m fuckin’ watchin’ you, Davenport.” Her attempt at shoulder checkin’ me on her exit causes her to squall and mutter profanities, and I’d fuckin’ laugh if I weren’t scared for my well-bein’ at this exact moment.
Fuckin’ hell. Women are scary. Southern women are fuckin’ nightmares.