JADE
“It’s been nearly two weeks, Brooke. I don’t think Eli is going to call.”
My words hung in the air like a dark cloud as I chatted on the phone with my sister.
I looked down at the text messages that I’d received from Eli the day after we’d slept together. I’d probably stared at them a thousand times, but they still didn’t make any sense. But the message was loud and clear.
Don’t want to see you.
Don’t want you here with me.
Better off being alone.
There was really no question about what he’d been thinking after we’d slept together.
He was done with our relationship, and his swift rejection had nearly broken me.
Okay, I’d rationally known that there was a chance that things might not turn out well between me and Eli, but I hadn’t expected that the night he’d finally taken me to his bed would be the last time I ever saw him.
We’d reached for each other all night long, both of us hungry for the passion that we found every time we touched.
To be honest, we hadn’t really slept much, so I hadn’t expected to wake up to find Eli already gone to his office in the morning. His driver had arrived to take me home during the late morning, but I hadn’t really been worried. It was the radio silence I’d had from him for fourteen straight days after his text messages that told me that he didn’t ever intend to see me again.
“Honestly, Jade, I just don’t see it,” Brooke answered. “I don’t know what’s up with the weird text messages, but the guy is crazy about you.”
“Maybe he wasn’t,” I said thoughtfully. “Maybe I was just a distraction.”
I hadn’t uttered a word about the things that Eli had told me the last time I saw him. It was personal, and I was pretty sure that he hadn’t shared the experience with very many people.
My heart still bled for him, even though we hadn’t seen each other. Not only had he lost his twin brother, but his father had died two years after Austin. So while he was still trying to twist himself into a person he was not, he’d had to give up his own dreams to take over for his dad.
How does anyone recover from two enormous losses so close together in their life?
“You were not a distraction,” Brooke answered. “Nobody acts like he did when you were in the hospital, over a casual fling. He has feelings for you, Jade. I can’t say that I understand what happened, but I’m positive I’m right. I think it’s more likely that he’s afraid of the way he feels, and wants to run away.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I muttered as I got my lazy butt off the couch and headed to the kitchen. “Whatever the reason, I’m not going to see him anymore. I wish it had lasted longer, but I knew what I was getting myself into when I started seeing him. No commitments. No strings attached. It was just sex.”
Really, really good sex.
“You can’t fool me, Jade. Please don’t try to sound philosophical. It’s not working. He broke your heart.”
“He did,” I admitted softly. “But I’ll get over it. I’ll have to.”
I’d been crying nonstop for the last two weeks, and it needed to stop. Even if Eli was running away, I couldn’t stop him from doing it.
“Oh, Jade. I’m so sorry. He’s such a jerk for hurting you.”
“I thought you liked him,” I reminded her.
“I did. But I don’t anymore,” she said adamantly. “How could I still like him if he doesn’t have enough sense to know what he had?”
I sighed. That was one thing in my family that was always consistent: if you mess with one Sinclair, you’re messing with them all. We all stood by each other no matter what.
“Please don’t say anything to our brothers,” I requested. “You know how they are.”
“I’m not so sure that I don’t want to see them clean Eli’s clock,” Brooke said.
“Brooke,” I said in a warning voice.
“Oh, all right. I won’t say a word,” she promised, sounding like staying quiet was the last thing she wanted to do.
“I’ll be okay, Brooke,” I said, not sure if I was trying to reassure my twin or myself.
“I know you will,” she replied softly. “I just hate seeing you hurting now.”
“Sometimes experiencing pain leads to something good, right? Look what you went through. And you found Liam because of it.”
Brooke snorted. “You’ve been reading too many romance books, sister. Pain sucks. And don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. But I did find Liam.”
“Okay. If you want to know the truth, I’ve been thinking about calling him. I have to fight my instincts every damn day. And it does hurt.”
“I know,” Brooke said with a sigh. “I can feel your pain.”
I had no idea why I ever tried to brush things off when I talked to Brooke. Maybe because she was so happy, and I didn’t want to be a downer. But she always knew, just like I could always tell when something was wrong with her.
My twin and I had the same kind of connection that I knew Eli had experienced with his brother.
“He’s gone through a lot, Brooke. I can’t tell you everything, but he went through something terrible. So maybe he is running away. I know he cared about me.”
“I know he did, too,” she agreed. “Look, maybe you should talk to him. It was pretty damn clear that he really cared about you, Jade. And I wouldn’t ever get your hopes up if I didn’t believe it.”
“I think Eli and I are actually a lot alike,” I mused. “I found out he was a science geek, too. He has a PhD in aerospace engineering, Brooke. He went to Caltech.”
“Holy crap!” she exclaimed. “Do you have any idea how selective they are?”
“I know. And his money didn’t get him in there. He’s probably smarter than I am.”
“But I don’t understand why he isn’t working in the field,” Brooke commented.
“His dad’s death was unexpected,” I explained, trying not to lie to my sister. “He took over after his father passed away.”
“Is he okay with that?”
I thought about her question before I answered. “I’m not sure. But he does have his own aerospace lab, so it isn’t like he isn’t still involved in rocketry.”
“Talk to him, Jade.”
I paused before I said, “He did offer to make me his unofficial intern so I could learn about conglomerates and investing.”
“Perfect,” she said happily.
“And I suppose it’s time for a makeover,” I added. “And a whole new wardrobe.”
“Don’t change who you are for him, Jade,” she cautioned.
“I’m not a student anymore, Brooke. I have a PhD. If I’m eventually going to get into any kind of management or professional career, I’m going to have to learn how to dress the part.”
“If you want that, then do it. You’re right. I had to dress up to work in the bank every day. I didn’t love it at first, but I kind of miss it now.”
“Maybe because you have a lot more funds to buy new clothes these days,” I teased. “Did you decide what you’re going to do in Amesport?”
I knew damn well my sister would never be happy not working.
“I can’t go back to a bank,” she shared. “The memories are too painful. But I’m starting to look at my other options.”
“You’ll be outstanding no matter what you decide to do,” I told her. “And you’re not exactly hard up for funds. You can take your time.”
Brooke had been through enough emotional trauma.
“Liam keeps me busy,” she joked. “And it’s kind of fun to do analysis on possible investments. That might be where I end up someday.”
Brooke was happy whenever she was knee-deep in numbers. “Then maybe you can manage my money, too,” I said hopefully.
“I’m entirely certain you can do that yourself,” she answered confidently. “Especially when you’ll be learning from Eli. He really has an uncanny ability to see the big picture on his investments. He’s taken over some corporations that should have been impossible to recover. But he manages to turn them into profit monsters after he changes the direction of the company.”
“Showing up at his office won’t be easy,” I mumbled.
“You’re the gutsiest person I know,” Brooke replied. “And you’re brilliant. But you’ve spent most of your adult life in school and studying. You just haven’t really had a chance to function in the business world yet. But I have no doubt you’ll do fantastic.”
“I’m still applying for a lot of positions,” I told her. “But I still have no idea where I’ll end up.”
“I know you want to do long-term research. And you’re plenty qualified.”
“I’m more than willing to start in an entry position,” I explained. “But I really want to be a permanent part of a team. There’s so much happening in genetic conservation now, and most of the groundbreaking stuff is going to take decades to build on.”
“Are you applying for anything on the East Coast?” she asked hopefully.
“I’m pretty much applying for positions without consideration to geography. I can live anywhere.”
“Fingers crossed for something closer to me,” Brooke teased.
“I’ll keep you posted,” I replied.
“First things first,” she said. “Go find a dynamite business wardrobe that has a little bit of sexy. I can’t wait to see you turn Eli inside out.”
I was fairly certain that Eli Stone was already tormented, and it had nothing to do with me, but I didn’t mention it.
We chatted for a few more minutes about the family, and then we hung up.
I was on the computer moments later trying to figure out who I could hire to make a science geek into a professional.
Turns out, it wasn’t all that hard.