The Werewolf Dates The Deputy - Kristen Painter Page 0,23
you attracted to him? Outside of the spell, I mean. I know he gets on your nerves, but he’s also your kind of guy.”
“Back up. Why would you think he’s my kind of guy?”
“First of all, Real American Firemen is your favorite reality TV show.”
“It’s Real American Firefighters, and I don’t see what that has to do with any of this.” So what if she’d downloaded every episode and watched each one multiple times?
“Did you get knocked on the head too?” Tessa laughed. “Come on! He’s handsome, outdoorsy, good with his hands. He’s a first responder, like you, so you have all that in common. He comes from a strong family. He’s a supernatural like us. What’s not to like?”
“You said it yourself. He gets on my nerves.”
“Why is that?”
“Because he argues with everything I say.”
“So you said you wanted to stay at your house, and he refused?”
“I don’t mean that. I mean, like, whenever we’ve had to work together. The race, for example.” Except that he hadn’t argued with her on how to handle the gas leak.
“I think you’re being obstinate. You are pretty stubborn.”
Jenna sat up. “Whose side are you on?”
Tessa laughed. “The side of love.”
“Oh, shut up. It’s not happening.”
Tessa let out a frustrated sigh. “I know you had your heart broken, but—”
Jenna stiffened. “This conversation is over. You know where I am and why I’m not home or at work. That’s all I really called to tell you.”
“Jenna, you have to know that Titus is not Eric.”
Just the mention of that name made Jenna’s vision go red around the edges. “I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Well, you should. You’re obviously not over what he did to you.”
Jenna’s jaw went so tight she swore she heard something pop. “You know what he did to me. How he betrayed me. And with…her. That’s not something that just goes away.”
“I know, but—oh, I think I know now why you don’t like Titus.”
Jenna shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about—”
“Yep, it all makes sense. It’s because he has a broken engagement in his past, too, isn’t it?”
A shudder went through Jenna, and painful memories washed over her, leaving her as numb and hurt as if they’d just happened yesterday. “Please,” she whispered. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay,” Tessa said, her voice softened by sympathy. “I’m sorry. But just know that there are good men out there. Sebastian is proof of that. And a good man can erase the damage of a bad one.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” But Jenna’s head was elsewhere. Lost in the past and the pain that had been dealt to her. “I need to go.”
“Call if you need anything.”
“I will.” Jenna hung up and tossed the phone on the bed, then stood and walked to the window. The forest beyond was deep and inviting. A run sounded pretty good right now. Maybe it would clear Eric from her head.
At least temporarily. Because she wasn’t sure anything could remove him forever. Not after his lies and the way he’d humiliated her. Any man who could betray the woman he supposedly loved was not the kind of man she could ever be interested in.
And that included Titus. She didn’t know the details of his past, just that he’d had a fiancée and that the relationship had dissolved. It was possible the woman had left him, she knew that, but it was a rare story that didn’t have two sides.
So much as she might truly be attracted to him, she refused to allow herself to fall for another man who would break her heart.
She’d be celibate the rest of her life before that happened.
She sighed and tipped her head back. She hadn’t let Eric into her head in a long time. Not like this. She’d really thought she was over him, but Tessa was right. Jenna was lumping Titus into the same category as her ex because of his past. She was allowing the results of her broken engagement to Eric to influence her perception of Titus.
It wasn’t a fair thing to do. But protecting her heart was more important. Maybe she was protecting her pride a little too. She never again wanted to be as vulnerable as she had been with Eric. That’s what love did. Made you vulnerable. And when love went wrong, it left you humiliated. She didn’t need it.
She had her job. Her family. Her friends.
She didn’t need love to be happy. Was she happy? What did that mean, anyway?