to cover up, so blatantly exposed to the sunlight was totally unexpected. Wow, she was potent.
His first reaction was to turn forward, chug his drink and spend the next four hours getting so drunk he could not remember their entire conversation. He’d stumble out… and go where? That’s what stopped him. He was somewhere in Seattle, but he didn’t know where exactly. Stupid city. He had no idea how to get back to his place, or anywhere else for that matter. He failed to memorize the address. He needed Jody and she was leaving.
He swung around. “Wait… maybe you’re onto something.”
She faced him fiercely, her hands fisting at her sides, and her eyebrows arched in challenge as her jaw ticked back and forth. “How so?”
“It’s a long story. But my mother hates me and has for ten years. I’m not welcome in her house. So maybe that comes out with the women I meet. I’m not a woman hater though. I honestly don’t treat men any differently. I’m antisocial with both sexes. I’m equally rude to everyone.”
“What a terrible fucking excuse.”
He finished his drink and rose to his feet as he nodded. “It’s pathetic. I hear that. But it’s all I got.”
“Except you actually want a woman to work at cuddling up to you?”
“I don’t know if that’s how I’d word it. But when your mom hates you, maybe it makes you think of things that aren’t very nice.”
Her mouth twitched. “Did you treat her like you treat everyone else? Which came first? Your attitude and behavior or her hatred of you? I mean, it’s like the chicken and the egg kind of question. On the one hand I could forgive you for being the way you are because you had to endure your mom’s hatred, and yeah, that’s a valid reason for insecurities, but if you brought it on…”
“That’s an interesting question. I might have been the cause of her disgust. But one thing ended any chance of ever having a relationship for us.”
“And that was?”
“Killing my brother.”
They were standing near the end of the crowded bar and people moved and jostled around them. They spoke directly to each other, having to keep their eye contact sharp just to make out what was being said. She tilted her head, blinking and opening her mouth before shutting it. What could snarky, sharp-tongued Jody find to say to that? “Why? Why did you kill your brother?”
Startled, he fought the urge to flee when she stepped closer to him. He towered over her, and technically exhibited all the power and strength, but hell, any idiot could see that she ran the show completely. “Why? That’s a weird thing to ask.”
“No. It’s not. Did you murder him? Or was it just an accident?”
Ross didn’t know how to reply, or how to describe what happened. Again, it was a conversation he never had before.
“It wasn’t murder, but it was not an accident either.”
Her eyebrows waggled higher on her forehead. “That’s the weirdest explanation I’ve ever heard.”
“It wasn’t intentional, but I should have foreseen it.”
“Oh… okay. That must be very hard to live with.”
“Yeah. Not great.”
“And your mother?”
“She fully believes I murdered him.”
“Okay. That is… somewhat illuminating.”
Turning, she headed out of the establishment. Ross was puzzled by her reaction, overwrought almost as he followed her out. Dazed and slightly dizzy with the small, but potent conversation, he trailed her. Only after she dropped into her car seat and they pulled out onto the street did she speak again. “I don’t claim to get it. You refuse to share anything, so this is probably a huge revelation for you to divulge, but you have to remember that whatever you had to endure in the past is severely souring and tainting the way you treat others. People can only react to your words and behavior toward them. If you want this chance with Zenith to work out, you need to advance beyond the obvious distress you experienced regarding whatever happened and learn to stow it away. I hate to see you lose such a vital chance as this.”
Not what he expected. Turning, he watched how the night lights played over her profile. Her jaw was locked, so there was not a lot of sympathy. He told his clipped version of Roland’s death to a few people, but they just felt sorry for him. In some ways, it became an inadvertent way for him to manipulate others. When people felt sorry for you, their expectations for you diminished