"Like I said. You don't trust me."

"The hell I don't."

"No, you didn't trust me to protect you. You didn't trust me to handle myself. And you know what? Maybe you were right. After all, blood will tell, right? And my blood definitely isn't as blue as Parker's."

"Parker!"

"I'm just the guy with the brother in prison. A guy with a rap sheet for assault who lucked into a decent career because he's good with his goddamn hands. But don't ask him to do a real job, because he doesn't even know how to protect his own bank account much less the woman he loves."

"Stop it." She slammed her hand back against the wall, making it reverberate through the small entrance hall. "Do not put this on me. You see yourself that way, Spencer Dean. And you know what? That's your problem. I get that you're upset--I am, too. But don't you dare take it out on me."

She didn't bother to wipe away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. He was such a stubborn, goddamn ass.

He made a fist, then pounded it against her wall once, and then once again. He stood, breathing hard. When he spoke, his voice was level. "I heard what your father said. The day he came to offer to finance your company. He said that sooner or later I'd disappoint you. Well, I guess maybe today is sooner."

"Yeah," she said, her body limp with exhaustion and way too tired to fight anymore. "Yeah, I guess maybe it is."

He took a step toward her, then paused.

Her heart hitched, and she wanted to reach for him. To tell him that he was her everything. That he didn't know his own worth. That him holding her and making love to her was a thousand times more powerful than his fist in Brian's face.

But the problem was that she could tell him that every day for the rest of their lives, and until he truly believed that she loved him the way he was, they'd never be clear. And she couldn't live waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Slowly, she stood up, then walked toward her living room. She paused long enough to look back over her shoulder. "I'll see you at work tomorrow," she said, forcing herself not to cry. "You know the way out."

Chapter Twenty

"Is it just Spencer, or are all men thick-skulled idiots?"

"I think it's all men," Amanda said. She glanced sideways at Jenna. "You got an opinion?"

"Definitely all. Although I have Reece trained pretty well."

"That's right," Amanda said. "She does. So, see? Men are trainable. That's good, right? All you have to do is get Spencer one of those little collars with the electric shock, and then when he goes out of bounds, zap him."

Brooke laughed out loud, which was a good feeling considering she'd cried herself empty last night. She'd come to work as usual, but Spencer was off getting lumber, and so she locked herself up in the office and put in an SOS call to Amanda. Jenna hadn't started out as part of the conversation, but had poked her head in to deliver a message and gotten waylaid by Amanda. Which was pretty much what happened to most people around Amanda.

"Thanks, you guys. I have no idea what I'm going to do, but I feel better."

"I don't even know the real issue here," Jenna said. "But in my experience if a guy goes off the rails, he usually gets himself back on track. I mean, the bottom line here is that he loves you. Anyone who's been hanging around The Fix for the last two weeks can see that."

"Is that enough?"

"If it's not, we'll take him out back and throw rotten food at him until he sees reason. Deal?"

Brooke sighed, then blinked back another round of tears. "I love you guys. And I really hope it doesn't come to rotten food."

"It won't. Spencer's a good guy."

True enough. The problem was that Spencer didn't know how good he was. But Brooke had taken enough of Jenna's time, and that wasn't a problem the girls could help with anyway. "Did you say you had a message?"

"Oh, damn. I forgot. I swear, my head is so cloudy these days."

Brooke almost said she wasn't surprised, then remembered that Jenna hadn't actually told anyone she was pregnant, so she kept her mouth shut.

"There's a man to see you," Jenna said to Brooke. "He says he's your father."

Brooke met Amanda's eyes, who looked back at her with all the sympathy of a true friend. She didn't, however, offer to meet the beast in Brooke's place.

Tags: J. Kenner Man of the Month Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net