Third Chances (Men Of Manhattan #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,73

the bag on his lap.

He laughed when he pulled out the dirty magazine. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. You need to unwind."

He laughed again. "Yeah, maybe. I don't really think I need this for that though. You could just give me my phone. I have tons of naughty pictures of Penny on there."

"Seriously? I promise not to look at that."

"I'll kill you if you look at them."

"I won't." I really hoped I could keep my word on that. Picturing her was one thing. Actually seeing her naked wasn't a good idea. "I'm going to let you talk to her in the morning. Mason has your phone right now, so I can't help you there."

"Thanks. I really do miss her."

"I know. Which is why I got you this." I pulled out the ice cream.

He smiled. "I am glad you and Penny are close. I don't know what I'd do if you two didn't get along." He popped off the top and grabbed one of the spoons. "This is one of the best parts," he gestured to the screen as Vince Vaughn started one of his long hilarious monologues.

I laughed and realized James wasn't laughing with me. I looked over at him. He had fallen asleep. I remembered seeing him like this sometimes growing up. He was always so stressed out, but when he was asleep he looked so calm.

How could he think he wasn't a good brother? Had I somehow made him feel that way? It hurt me that he thought that. James had protected me my whole life. He gave into Mom and Dad's demands so that I wouldn't have to. He gave up his life so that I wouldn't have to. He wasn't a bad brother. I was.

And that's why I took care of him when he was like this. That's why I was the only one that didn't abandon him when he got so depressed that he fell off the wagon in college. That's why I wouldn't let some fucking girl tell me anything about his problems. I knew his problems because I had caused them. He was depressed because of what my parents did to him. He took all the pressure off of me. And yet he was always there for me. He came to every single one of my soccer and baseball games growing up. He helped me with my homework. He bailed me out of jail. He was always there when I needed him. I owed him everything.

Yet I wasn't the one who cured him. Penny fixed him, not me. Or maybe becoming a professor and leaving New York. I wasn't sure. But one thing was certain; I had failed him. Especially when I was younger. He sacrificed so much for me. And I just let him. No one should ever be judging him. They should be judging me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "James, I'm so sorry."

***

I woke up laying next to him in bed. I wasn't sure where Mason and Matt were. But I had made a promise to James and I wanted to keep it. I pushed his shoulder. "Get up."

He groaned in his sleep.

"Do you want to talk to Penny or not?"

His eyes flew open. "Do you have my phone?"

"No, Mason still has it I think. You'll have to use the phone at the concierge desk. But you have to hurry before they wake up."

"Right." He climbed off the bed and looked around for his shirt.

"Over there." I pointed to where he had stripped for Daphne last night. Daphne. Ugh.

"Thanks, Rob. I owe you one."

"No, you really don't."

He gave me a strange look. "What happened last night? I remember going to dinner, but..." his voice trailed off. "And my head kind of hurts."

"Go call Penny. I'll explain later."

James gave up looking for his dress shoes. He slipped on his flip flops instead and ran out the door. I tried not to laugh at how ridiculous he looked in a suit and flip flops.

Chapter 25

Daphne

I pushed a branch out of the way and cursed under my breath. It was like a thousand degrees outside, even with the rain. When I had started out, it hadn't even been drizzling. I had made a few wrong turns, though, and the hike was taking longer than I thought it would. By the time I reached the waterfall, I was completely soaked, even though the canopy of leaves had been blocking most of the rain.

I stepped into the clearing and looked up at the sky. Most people probably would have spread their