The Price of Inertia (The Seven Sins #4) - Lily Zante Page 0,21

out, I pull away.

“Mari?” His eyes sparkle with concern.

My eyes have welled up, and I’m embarrassed. “It’s nothing,” I say, but I don’t sound convincing at all.

“Hey.” He hugs me again, then pulls me inside gently. “You’re upset because you went to see your mom,” he says, putting his arm around my shoulder protectively. “You always get teary.”

I nod, because if I say anything, the emotions I’ve managed to bottle up inside me might explode and gush out in a torrent of tears.

Jamie is warm, and strong, and his hug is the most comfort I’ve experienced in weeks. Dale and I had been slowly drifting apart but it was weeks before I realized something was wrong. We had stopped making love months ago. That should have told me something.

“Talk to me,” he coaxes.

I pull away to retrieve a tissue from my pocket, then blow into it. “Just give me a moment.” I turn away and blow loudly into it. I dab at my eyes, feeling silly now that I’ve had a moment to compose myself.

Thank goodness that it’s only Jamie. I don’t usually fall to pieces. I’m usually dignified and together. Minor events don’t ruffle me, but my life recently has been made up of things that aren’t minor.

We go into his living room, and I sink onto his couch. He stares down at me looking worried.

“I’m sorry.” I dab at my eyes again. He squats down in front of me. “Your ...” He lifts a finger to my face. “Your mascara is running.”

I attempt to wipe it away with my tissue. He makes a face.

“Worse?” I sniffle.

He takes my tissue—even though it’s damp with my snot—and finds a dry corner, then wipes my eye gently.

I breathe out. Since when was Jamie so kind and considerate? I’ve always thought of him as my work colleague. We’ve helped one another through tricky phases but this feels different.

I claim my tissue back from him and proceed to tell him about my visit to my mom, and how it upset me. He squeezes my hand and reassures me about her being in the right place and how I’ve always cared for her. He says all the things that make me feel better. Then I tell him about Trevor losing his job and how shocked I was by Ward’s sudden dismissal.

“He did what?” Jamie is shocked. I can almost see his earlier fascination for Ward breaking away. I tell him about the conversation Trevor and I had, and the things Trevor said about Ward.

“I’m shocked that Ward fired him but Trevor was being downright rude.” He seems unsure about where to sit, then walks to the couch opposite and sits there instead of next to me.

“Trevor didn’t do anything wrong. We were just talking.”

“But he was laughing at him, talking about him disrespectfully. I saw Ward. The guy looks pretty tubby and out of shape. He’s going to feel humiliated hearing you two talking about him like that.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Still, I can’t blame him for firing the trainer guy.”

I roll my eyes. “He floats around wearing a robe all day! He’s not fit, but he’s not as big as he looks in that ridiculous thing.”

“He’s probably feeling self-conscious about his weight and shape. You said his agent more or less shipped him off to a new city and told him to get with it.”

“I’m not saying Trevor was right, but he didn’t deserve to be fired like that.”

“I’d do it.”

I look at him in surprise. “You’re too nice. You’d give a guy a second chance.”

“Would I?”

I nod. Of course he would. Because Jamie is a nice guy. There’s not a bad bone in his body. A few of our work colleagues used to think me and Jamie were flirting around one another, even though both of us had partners, but it was never like that. It wasn’t flirting, he’s just a really nice guy. I’ve never been attracted to him. He’s too nice and I like dangerous men. Maybe that’s why I have a track record of picking losers. I like the excitement and my ex was reckless. Maybe that’s why he did what he did, and that’s why I ended up getting hurt.

“I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head. I’m unsure about Ward. He’s rude and surly and lazy. I don’t feel scared, or threatened in any way, but I don’t like him as a person. I also can’t afford to lose this job. I tell Jamie about my fears, about