do have a choice in all of this?” I puffed out an exasperated breath. “Never would have guessed with the way you two ambushed me.”
“We would never force you to do anything,” Leo said gently. “But we hope you choose to stay.”
Damn it.
Why did they have to be so damn accommodating? Between the food and the scrubs and the spa-like atmosphere, they’d gone all out with their persuasion game. Not to mention the “we’ll prove it to you” speeches.
Their production almost made me forget why I was angry with them in the first place. But, then, memories of the ball flashed across my vision, and I had no trouble remembering everything.
Still, hadn’t I been the one preaching second chances to Tristin for the last couple of months? Could I really deny him—or Leo—one, after everything?
I knew the answer without even having to think about it. Which is why I ended up saying, “Okay, I’ll stay.”
Tristin rewarded me with one of his rare smiles. “Thank you, Thea. I won’t let you down this time. I promise.”
My throat clogged, so I merely nodded. Again, with the pretty words. I didn’t, couldn’t, trust them.
He started toward the stairs. “I’ll, uh, let you two talk.”
Which meant he was leaving me alone with Leo. Just great.
I couldn’t exactly argue, but I did have one more thing to say to Tristin. “Oh, and, Ruthless?”
He turned, embarrassed humor crossing his face at the nickname. “Yes?”
“If you ever make another crack about my sex life, we’re done.” I could put up with a lot, but I had too much self-respect to put up with that.
Tristin gave me a grim nod. “Understood.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Thea
A strained silence fell between me and Leo in Tristin’s absence. Pretty sure that was a new one. Our relationship may not have been the easiest in history, but it was rarely awkward. Until now.
I had a feeling it had a lot—okay, everything—to do with the fact that I couldn’t seem to scrub away the memory of him leaning into Jillian. Flirting with her. Maybe even touching her. And Leo had to know there was no way to completely explain his actions away, no matter his intentions.
He scooted closer to me on the couch but didn’t touch me. “I’m sorry, Thea.”
“For what?” There were various options, so I wanted him to be clear.
“First of all, I’m sorry for agreeing to take Jillian to the ball to begin with. Even though I was trying to look out for my teammates, I shouldn’t have put them before you.” He scowled. “And I sure as hell shouldn’t have gone along with my father’s attempt to interfere in our lives.”
That was a decent start.
He threaded his fingers through the front of his hair. “Also, I know you saw me with Jillian, and I can’t apologize enough for that. I was doing it for you, I swear, but I still shouldn’t have. I’m sick over it.”
“What happened between the two of you?”
I wanted to know the details. Then again, I really didn’t.
“Absolutely nothing. I turned on the charm in an attempt to gather a little information about her father, but that’s it. I didn’t touch her.”
I wished that brought me comfort, but it didn’t. Maybe because, once Tristin had revealed Jillian’s identity, I’d instinctually known nothing else had happened.
If I was honest with myself, my current frustrations didn’t have nearly as much to do with Jillian as what had come later. But we would get to that.
“Did you find out anything?”
He relaxed a little into the couch. “Nothing useful. I wasn’t sure what to ask her without raising suspicions. So, I went with vague questions about how she got along with her family. She told me about her parents’ divorce and how she doesn’t see her dad that often now. I complained about Dad to her, suggested that he would do anything for his business, hoping she would say the same about her father. But she didn’t take the bait.”
“Okay.”
I wasn’t really surprised. Leo had been as caught off guard by Jillian’s connection to Jim Green as the rest of us. It wasn’t like he’d had a lot of time to come up with a strategy. Besides, I highly doubted her father would have ever hinted to the fact that he’d been involved in my mother’s murder, even if it was true.
“The entire time I was with her, I was thinking about you and how fucking gorgeous you looked. I never once even considered anything more with her.” He breached the gap