Lucas dragged his ass out of the car and to the front door of his new apartment. The crazy week of puppy rescue, his buddy’s wedding, moving across country and finally coming face to face with Jenny were taking their toll. He was ready to pass out for a solid twelve hours, given the chance.

Jenny didn’t know.

That was his biggest takeaway from today.

During the last year he’d lived here, the line between family and wanting more had begun to blur between him and Jenny. They’d never done anything, neither had ever said something, but they hadn’t had to. There was no denying their chemistry. But she wouldn’t leave her husband, either, the rotten piece of shit.

The first time Lucas had taken Walker to Magic City, it’d been on a whim. Sure, he’d had a pretty good idea that Walker had cheated on Jenny a few times. Deep down, he’d had some sort of idea that he could catch Walker in the act and finally convince Jenny it was in his best interest to leave him.

What had happened was so much worse.

And she didn’t know Lucas was involved.

He shook his head and walked up the steps to his apartment.

If Jenny didn’t know, he wasn’t telling her. Six years was enough time for her to learn the truth if ever she would.

Instead, he needed to focus on the present. His new job. The puppy. Having Jenny back in his life. That sort of stuff.

He liked the new shop. Mary and Kellie had done their market research, picked a good spot, and the locals seemed to really embrace them. A number of business owners and other people who frequently dropped by had come in to meet him throughout the day, proving that the shop wasn’t just another tattoo place. They were part of the community, and that was a selling factor that couldn’t be fabricated.

Things with the shop manager, Carly, hadn’t gone as well. She’d mostly ignored him to the point it was downright comical. She seemed young, though, so he was willing to cut her a lot of slack. Change was hard on anyone and they’d dropped him in her life without warning. He’d give her the two weeks the other girls had requested, then he’d meet her passive-aggressive hostility with a direct confrontation. They’d sort it out, one way or another.

He pushed the apartment door shut and glanced around the empty abode.

Right.

No furniture, save for a bed his parents had loaned him.

Great.

He checked the time and winced.

Jenny would be by with Omen any minute. She’d offered to do him another solid by running to a pet store after she closed up the pet spa and getting him some much-needed puppy supplies. Omen couldn’t keep living in the travel crate. She needed all sorts of things he hadn’t owned in years.

Kellie hadn’t been kidding about the two clients wanting extensive work done over the next few months. After the consultations he’d spent most of his day sketching. Both clients would begin regular, rotating sessions next week until the pieces were done. It was good work that got him into the routine, but there wasn’t much that could make him forget that Jenny formerly-Hewitt-now-Moss was just through that bit of wall.

He shook his head and shambled toward the fridge.

A half-drunk can of energy soda and one of those pre-cooked, rotisserie chickens in a bag was all he had on hand.

Someone thumped on his front door.

He stared at the dark rectangle, listening for any identifying sounds.

His parents hadn’t been quiet about his return, and there were a few family members he wasn’t keen on seeing soon. Like Walker. He’d finally been released from prison and had left Lucas a few messages about getting together.

Fuck it.

Eventually, he’d see everyone and either they’d come to blows, or everything would blow over.

Lucas opened the front door and stared at several sacks.

“Is there a person under there?” He grabbed the few handles he could see.

“Thanks!” Jenny hefted the load in her arms higher. “Come on, Omen. That’s a good girl.”

“Did you buy the whole store?” He stared in horror as Jenny dragged her whole haul into the apartment.

“There was a sale.”

“You know, just because something is on sale, doesn’t mean you have to buy it?”

“She needed it.” Jenny deposited the things onto the kitchen counter, Omen’s leash still hanging from her wrist. “Man, do we need to get you some furniture or what?”

“Yeah, I think the dog has more furniture than I do.” He went down on one knee and Omen rushed him.

“I tried everything I could think of, but she’s not having anyone cut those burrs out of her coat.” Jenny crossed her arms and leaned on the counter. “I got the bad ones out, but I scared her, even being as gentle as I could. I don’t know what to do, Lucas.”

“We’ll get them out eventually. Thanks for trying.” He scratched Omen’s back.

Jenny had managed more than he had, which was great. The way he saw it, Omen wasn’t going to have the kind of hard life she’d been born into, and eventually they’d work the knots out.

“She’s so sweet.” Jenny smiled.

“Yeah, she is.”

He hadn’t been so certain last week that he wanted another dog, but Omen was wearing him down. Given another week, he’d probably have her a puppy bag or something he could tote around with him. It was so hot during the summer and fall here that he was afraid she’d burn her paws.

“You know, I have some of your old furniture, if you want it back?”

“Nah.” He’d shed everything when he'd left Texas, except his tattoo machines and his beat up old car. Taking anything else with him felt wrong. He’d just needed to go as fast as he could.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I was just thinking I needed to run to the store or something.”

“It’s eight o’ clock, Lucas.” Jenny sighed and shook her head. “I’m ordering you a pizza, we’ll get Omen set up, and then I can look to see what garage sales are happening this weekend. The rich neighborhoods all have online advertisements for the really good ones.”

Lucas didn’t much care what furniture he got, so long as he had a place to sleep and something to cook with. He couldn’t tell Jenny that, though. She was on a tear to do for him and he had no idea why, and no inclination to tell her to stop. He was just happy to have her around.

She jabbered on about this, that, and the other while they arranged Omen’s things. Listening to her was nice. They’d always had an easy way with each other, and that didn’t seem to have changed. At least he didn’t think so, at first.

The quieter he was, the more Jenny talked. The more Jenny talked, the more she used her hands. The more she used her hands, the less she looked at him.

By the time the pizza was there she was practically talking to him with her back facing him and practicing some sort of invisible baton routine.

Lucas paid for the pizza and put it on top of the fridge, for lack of a better spot to stick it.

“You know, we could get you a patio set what with this tiny bit of yard you have over here. And then you could grill and set Omen up with a little spot and—”

“Jenny.”

He walked up behind her, her face reflected back in the glass. Her eyes were wide and lips parted.

Was she really glad to see him? Or was this all an act?

Jenny had done a lot of stuff because people expected it of her, but they’d always been honest with each other. Maybe a little too honest.

“You know, you don’t have to be here or do any of this stuff? No one expects you to like me. Hell, if you hate me, I’d say you had the right to.” He shoved his hands into his pockets.

Lucas was the reason for so many things that’d gone wrong in Jenny’s life.

She turned, blinking up at him, her face creased and lips parted.

“Hate you?” Her brow furrowed.

“Yeah, after everything I put you through...”

“Lucas, you were what got me through things. How could I hate you?” She stared down at her hands. “If anything...you should hate me for chasing you away.”

“I left of my own free will. You didn’t do any chasing.” He reached out and bumped her chin with his knuckle. Hell, if Jenny had so much as crooked her finger at him, his morals might not have held him back.

“But you wouldn’t have left if I’d listened to you. If things went different.” She stared up at him, those green eyes of her so clouded with sorrow and pain. “I was scared, Lucas. I did a lot of bad things out of fear. Fear that...what I felt for you wasn’t anything good, that deep down I was so bitter and mad at Walker that I was willing myself to feel something for you to get back at him.”

And Lucas had been part of the bad more than he’d been part of the good. That’s what ate at him now.

“Come here.” He slid his hand around to the back of her neck and pulled her in for a hug. “I could never be mad at you, you know that.”

Because he loved her, and not a little bit, either. A whole lot. And though the past was behind them, it was clear they had a lot of healing to do to move forward. As friends. Because Jenny deserved better than him in her life.

“I’ve missed you so much.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed.

“I’m here now.” Lucas closed his eyes, grateful for the height difference that gave him a moment to get his face under control.

“Sometimes I think you—and Batman—were the only good that came out of those years.” She laid her head on his shoulder, showing no signs of letting go of him.

“My family always liked you better than Walker.”

“Your family’s nice. You know Walker’s sister almost threw me a divorce party?”

“What?” Lucas chuckled and peered down at her.

“I had to threaten to tell her mamma about that one trip she took to Mexico—you know the one.”

“Oh, shit.” Lucas winced. Yeah. He’d been on that trip and spent a good deal of it as the sober one pulling the too-drunk cousins out of trouble. He and Jenny had bitched to each other about everyone. “How long has it been? Since the divorce, I mean?”

“I was prepped and ready with papers the day he reported to Huntsville. Some probably thought I was cruel, but—”

“It’s smart. He couldn’t fight you or make it ugly from inside prison.” Lucas stroked her back, relishing these moments together. “We good?”

“Yeah.” Jenny smiled, all that tension gone. “I’m just glad to have you part of my life again.”

He gave her a last, little squeeze and kissed her brow.

The time he spent with Jenny was precious, but he had to be careful. It would be all too easy to fall back into old ways. She wasn’t his cousin’s wife anymore, but that didn’t mean she was his, either. He’d have to get his lust under control so that he could enjoy her company, because that was all he deserved.

g

Jenny watched Lucas walk into the kitchen, her gaze latched onto those wide shoulders of his. Under his dark shirt, he had a mural done across his shoulders. In her mind, she could trace the dark tattoos memorializing the friends he’d lost in the Navy. And those weren’t the only parts of him she’d memorized.

She could still feel the press of his lips on her brow, the heat of his body, how tightly he’d held her. These were the things she’d carried in the back of her mind over the years. How a simple touch from him felt more intimate and personal than anything else she’d ever experienced. It’d scared her back before, and instead of trusting what Lucas—and her gut said—she’d made yet another wrong choice.

Walker wasn’t the worst man to walk the earth. He just wasn’t the man she should have married right out of high school. He wasn’t the man who’d make her happy for the rest of her life. In fact, they’d made each other so miserable they’d nearly destroyed each other.

Jenny had finally learned from all the wrong, and now she wanted to grab hold of what was right.

She’d married the wrong Hewitt, but without Walker she’d have never met Lucas. She wouldn’t know what she wanted right now, in this moment.

There was no point in bemoaning the past. It was behind her, and she was a better person because of it. But Lucas might not want her. She’d turned her back on him and laid the blame at his feet. He was here though. He’d hugged and kissed her forehead just like he used to do.

That meant something, didn’t it?

There was only one way to find out, wasn’t there?

She licked her lips and swallowed.

If she didn’t try, if she let this go, they’d settle into that frustrating, familiar routine of being family, friends now, and she’d never get up the courage to demand more.

Jenny put one foot in front of the other to the tune of Omen chewing on one of the new squeaky toys, and closed the distance between her and Lucas. She grasped his elbow and tugged. He turned, lips parted as though he were about to say something.

She didn’t care.

She cupped his cheeks with both hands and pulled.

His eyes went wide and he rocked forward, bending just enough to do what she had to.

Jenny pressed her lips to his. It wasn’t a smooth meeting of lips. He wasn’t prepared, and she was a touch over-eager. His body jolted, his backside hit the cabinets, and he froze. She stepped closer until she stood between his feet, his mouth finally moving against hers.

But he wasn’t kissing her back.

“Jenny.”

Her mouth muffled the word.

If she kept kissing him, would he give up talking?

Lucas grasped her by the shoulders and pushed her heels back on the floor. He straightened, taking his mouth out of her reach and stared down at her, his gaze wide, his eyes so dark she wanted to crawl into them and lose herself.

“Jenny...”

They stared at each other for a moment, Lucas’ mouth working without sound.

She hadn’t really considered what she’d say if he didn’t kiss her back. Getting her courage up just to kiss him was as far as she got.

“I don’t know what to say.” Lucas slid his hands down her arms to grasp her hands.

“Did you ever want to kiss me?” Or had she misread the long stares and the words they never said?

He blinked a few times, that dazed look still giving him a confused, puppy-dog expression.

“You are—were—my cousin’s wife.” Lucas closed his eyes.

“Were. And yeah, I was. He and I should have split years before we did. Meeting you...drove that home in a way that scared me. The way we talked. How easy it was. Being around you was what it should have been like with Walker. I think part of me resented you for that, but I could never hate you. I survived because of you.” And he’d respected that she was married.

There’d been a few nights when she’d been so hurt and angry that if Lucas had had any sort of inclination to help her cheat, she wasn’t sure she’d have made the right decision. They’d never stepped over that line, and she’d fallen for him a bit more because of it. Oh, she’d had plenty of guilt for her feelings toward Lucas, but she’d never acted on them. It didn’t make her a saint, but it helped her understand Walker, at least in her heart.

Lucas and Jenny kept staring at each other, neither of them speaking.

So many lost years, and here they were again.

“What do you think I was trying to tell you that night...?”

“The night you told me Walker was a huge, honking cheater?” The night everything went wrong?

“Yeah.”

“You were looking out for me, and I was embarrassed, hurt, angry.” Jenny shrugged.

“Jenny, I told you what Walker did because I’m a selfish bastard. I watched him piss all over this wonderful life he’d lucked into, and I was so damn angry with him. I told you because I wanted you to leave him and be with me.” Lucas’ face twisted into one of pain. “I should have told you sooner. I should have looked out for you as family, I just...I was selfish.”

“We were all in a no-win situation. What were we supposed to do?” Jenny turned to lean against the counter and rest her head on Lucas’ shoulder. “Walker didn’t love me. I didn’t love him. The whole family said we couldn’t get a divorce, that we had to work it out, and we were stupid enough to listen to them. It’d have been a lot easier if Walker and I had been mature enough to talk through our problems and understand that we had to make our own choices. Instead, we acted out like stupid kids. He started drinking all the time and that’s when things got really bad. We made a lot of people’s lives miserable, and I’m sorry you were dragged into it all. I’m not sorry I met you though.”

Listening to Walker, Jenny would have never thought she could do much of anything. His words had been cruel. He’d known how to hurt her. And then there was Lucas, who saw the best in her and a way to do everything. There wasn’t a problem he couldn’t solve, and when she’d found herself on her own, she’d channeled his voice and figured out how to move on. How to support herself doing something she loved. He’d made her better through kindness.

“I’m not sorry.” Lucas covered her hand on his bicep with his and kissed the top of her head.

That gesture killed a little of her inside.

It was the mark of the friend zone.

Just because he’d wanted her once didn’t mean he still did, and he was showing her that with every kind gesture.

•  •