“Why?” I asked. “We had one night together. What am I to you?”
“I don’t know!” he said, frazzled. “I don’t know, all right? It’s like some goddamn self-preservation kicked in, and I had to stop this before it got out of hand.”
“How could it possibly get out of hand?” I demanded.
“Because being with you breaks all the rules!”
“Rules are meant to be broken.”
“Not these rules.”
I shrugged. “I have rules, too. I swore, I’d never look at another person from the Wright family. I decided Wright isn’t right,” I said, mocking the Wright Construction motto. “Yet here we are.”
Then, suddenly, Jensen’s fingers pushed up into my loose ponytail. His palms cupped my cheeks. His dark eyes gazed down into mine, and I didn’t move a muscle to stop him. The energy felt charged, heating the air between us and dragging me into his downward spiral. I could see our breaths mingling in the frigid air. His lips met mine, soft and tender, searching to make sure this was allowed. I was frozen for a second before I met his touch. He pulled me against him, crushing our mouths together. And it didn’t seem to matter in this moment that we were in broad daylight on one of the busiest streets in Lubbock.
I couldn’t get enough of his mouth, his body. The feel of him through the layers of clothing. The taste of him. He was everywhere.
Slowly, my brain came back to my body, and I shoved him away from me.
“How dare you!” I spat. “You cannot send me mixed signals like this, Jensen. Either you want more or you don’t. I won’t play games with you. I’m tired of being jerked around by men who think that they can do whatever they want.”
“Emery, that’s not—”
“Save it,” I said, raising my hand to silence him. “I’ve heard enough.”
Chapter 15
Emery
I leaned back against the giant glasses sculpture outside of the Buddy Holly Center. They were iconic to the legend who had been born here and gone on to such fame. I’d worked here on and off throughout most of high school, and being back felt just as surreal as everything else that had been happening in my life. I felt like I was reliving high school, only with a different Wright brother.
Betty hit the curb in her old red Buick LaCrosse and then parked in front of the center. She waved at me from the driver’s side. I could only laugh. She had always been out there.
“Hi, Emery, dear. How are you?” Betty said. She hurried over to where I was standing and then gestured for me to follow her.
“Doing all right. How about yourself?” I asked.
Betty jingled the keys and then hit the door with her hip to let us inside. “I’m just fine. This way. Oh, you know the way.”
I did, but I didn’t say anything.
“I’m dreadfully sorry that we’re closed today. We had to do some maintenance and decided to shut down during the holidays.”
“Maintenance?” I asked.
“Replace the floors, new roof—that sort of thing. Wright Construction offered to do the whole thing at a discount since we’re a historic museum. Isn’t that wonderful?” Betty asked. She finally reached her office and let me inside.
“Just wonderful,” I agreed, unable to escape the Wrights for even one day.
“That Jensen Wright came over to tell me himself.”
“That was nice of him,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Here we are,” Betty said. “Thank you for being able to meet with me today. I’m going to Florida to visit my grandbabies for Christmas, and I won’t be back until after the New Year. It would have delayed everything for you.”
“This is great. I appreciate you coming in early for me. Who is going to be here to let people in for the construction crew?” I took the stack of paperwork from Betty and hastily filled out the sections to get my job back and be on payroll.
“We have a few people who will be here for the holidays. They have keys and can alternate days. But we’re closed up from Christmas to New Years.”
“Well, if you need someone, let me know. I will be around.”
“I’m sure they would love to work you into the schedule. Let me get you a copy of the key while we’re at it,” she said.
A few minutes later, I had successfully filled out the paperwork, gotten ahold of the keys to the Center, and was on the schedule for the construction crew. That also meant I was going to be getting some money in for the holidays.
I left Betty, feeling more accomplished. Even though this wasn’t my dream job, it was at least a job. Something tangible to hold me in Lubbock that wasn’t just family and old memories.
When I hopped back into my Forester, I realized that had taken a lot longer than I’d thought. It had only felt like a few minutes, being inside there, but I was definitely going to be late for my shopping date with Heidi and Julia. They seemed intent on me going, and I did need a pick-me-up.