Chapter Twenty-Nine
Brian
I decided to put my toes in the sand, too. Although I found myself scanning the shoreline to see if I could spot Jade instead of admiring the crashing waves in front of me.
It was hard not to take what Alan said to heart.
Was I being a chicken shit?
I’d thought I’d been playing it smart—in it for the long game, but maybe that had just been an excuse.
Sylvia had burned me pretty badly in college when she decided to date Chris Day and me at the same time, without letting me know we weren’t exclusive.
I’d been out ring shopping when I saw her through a restaurant window having dinner with him.
Even after finding out, I’d been willing to forgive her, but told her she needed to make a choice.
She chose him.
I guess a guy majoring in finance held more promise than me with my criminal justice degree.
I’d blocked out the pain by busting my ass and graduating early so I could join the force once I turned twenty-one. I’d thought I was over her, then fucking six months later, she shows up in town and plans the wedding of the year.
Not long after she became Mrs. Day, rumors about him cheating started to fly.
Shawn had encouraged me to try and get her back, but I’d refused.
“She made her choice.”
I didn’t know if that was my pride or common sense talking.
Still, it was hard to see her driving around town in her brand-new Lexus and designer clothes and not feel like I hadn’t had enough to offer her.
Why would Jade be any different?
I knew I wasn’t being fair to Jade. This really wasn’t about her.
It was about me and my need to feel worthy.
Obviously, I still had a ways to go.
****
Jade
There was so much I had to wrap my head around.
First, Brian was interested in me.
Like, for real. At least for a fling while we were here and maybe the occasional hookup in Haven Springs.
How did I feel about that?
After grabbing his thick cock last night, Slutty Jade was all for it. “Hop on for a ride and make those sex dreams come true, girl!”
Sensible Jade wasn’t so sure.
After all, I had six practical reasons why I would never date Brian O’Shaughnessy. Although, admittedly, they didn’t sound very solid now.
Now that I knew why he called me Sunshine, I kind of liked it, so Rule Number One was out the window. And did I really care about the town’s rumor mill talking about me?
So much for Number Two.
And now that I thought about it, why would it matter that he was good friends with Lainey? Wouldn’t us dating make being godparents easier?
I didn’t have an argument for Five and Six, though.
There was nothing I could do about my ancestry. I was still French Protestant, and he was still supposed to marry an Irish Catholic girl. There was no changing who I was.
Buuuuut, maybe the fact that we both worked a lot could be a good thing. Maybe we’d actually understand if the other wasn’t available.
I let out a big sigh.
Who was I kidding?
No matter how I tried to spin it, I knew getting involved with him was just heartache waiting to happen.
I had learned my lesson with Garrett, and regardless how fucking hot Brian looked shirtless, I wasn’t going through that again.
But I think I could have a fling with him.
As long as we were upfront about what it was, we could keep things fun and superficial, right?
Just sex.
No expectations of anything else.
I could handle that without getting my heart broken.
Now I just needed to figure out how to bring the topic up with him without embarrassing myself.