Low blew out a long breath as he leant back on the dishwasher. “Really, Jam? You wait until my very last shift to ask me to cover for you on the weekend? Your timing sucks, mate.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re only moving out to the stables. It’s not like you’re leaving the company. One extra shift won’t kill you.” I eyed him. “Plus, you said yourself, you owe me after all the shit you and Reese pulled last year. I covered for both your asses multiple times. Remember?”

A hint of guilt flashed in Low’s eyes and he dropped his arms. He ran his hand through his hair, leaving it resting on the back of his neck. “Fair enough. I’ll cover the function for you. I still think you should do it though. You need to get her out of your system.”

I shook my head. “I can’t. I get why she chose him, but I don’t want to see them together, parading around like some happy family when I know what a scumbag he is.”

“Maybe he’s changed. People do.”

“Not him.”

Low frowned. “She really got under your skin, didn’t she?

That was the understatement of the century.

“You’ve done nothing but mope and talk about her for weeks. I’ve never seen you so hung up on someone.”

I huffed and ran a cloth over a splodge of water on the bar top. I didn’t bother answering. I couldn’t deny it. My logical brain understood why Elodie had chosen to go back to Rick, and I respected her decision. But fuck. It made me feel hollow inside. I’d been falling for her, and having it yanked away before we really had the chance to explore it made my chest ache. I was plagued with thoughts of her. While I was running, I thought about how easy it was to talk to her. While I was working, I thought about how kind and good she was. While I was studying, I thought about the curve of her hip and the sway of her ass. And then I’d have to go take a cold shower to relieve my frustrations. My body kept moving, but my heart was elsewhere. And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was sad and disappointed.

“Jamison.” The feminine voice startled me from my thoughts. If I’d had my wits about me, I probably would have recognised Bree’s brassy tones and run in the other direction. Funny how one voice can sound completely sexy one day, but then sound like cats on a hot tin roof the next.

I caught the scowl on Low’s face before I answered. “What are you doing here, Bree?”

She tapped her long, red nails on the bar top, the sound instantly grating on my nerves. “Do you get a lunch break?”

“No.”

Low snorted and turned away.

She gave me an overstated pout that she probably thought was sexy but just looked ridiculous on a grown woman. “Please?”

“Fine.” I glanced over at Low. “Cover for ten minutes?”

“You got it.”

I pushed open the bar door and walked a few feet away to a vacant table. Bree followed, sitting herself in the chair next to me instead of across from me. “What’s up?”

“Rick left me.”

“I know.”

“He’s back with his princess, isn’t he?”

That was rich coming from her. Elodie was as far removed from a princess as Bree was removed from down to earth. “Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Bree.”

“It didn’t look good on you at the wedding either,” she snipped.

“Did you think I was jealous?”

“Isn’t that why you made such a scene?”

I thought back over the night I’d met Elodie, and all I could remember was losing myself in her eyes and being hung up on every word she said. I just remembered having fun. Laughing. Feeling that spark of connection and attraction that made you want to do dumb things. Like kiss a woman you barely knew on stage while singing “Love Shack.” A grin pulled at my mouth.

“Jamison! Are you even listening to me?”

“What?”

“Rick. He won’t take my calls, but I know Elodie’s company is having a big bash here next weekend. Can you get me in?”

“What’s wrong with you? They have a kid together, Bree. Doesn’t a family being together mean anything to you?”

She laughed, the sound cruel and uncaring. “Rick didn’t care too much about that when he was relentlessly pursuing me. I tried to keep him at bay because I was with you, but…”

“But you just couldn’t help yourself,” I said dryly.

She shrugged. “You couldn’t give me what I wanted.”

“Thank God for that,” I muttered under my breath. My blood boiled all over again at the thought of Elodie and Nathan at home alone while Rick was out chasing other men’s girlfriends. What a charmer he was. Bree and him, both.

“I think we’re done here.”

“What? No! Are you going to get me into the party? We could go together.” A calculating light shone in her eyes. “Rick’d hate seeing me saunter in on your arm. That’s why he’s back with her, you know? He couldn’t stand seeing the two of you all over each other.”

I stared at her, bewildered. I didn’t even recognise her. Was she this mean and vindictive when we’d been dating?

“What’s gotten into you? Why are you being like this?”

She tapped her talons on the form guide someone had left on the table. “Like what?”

I scoffed. “You’ve been downright cruel to Elodie. And you’ve treated me like shit. You’ve never been easy to handle, but you were never this vicious either. What’s changed?”

She bristled, her eyes blazing fire. But I waited, refusing to look away, safe in the knowledge her words held no truth. Elodie and I had already apologised for making a scene at the wedding. We hadn’t done anything else to deserve Bree’s wrath. And I deserved an explanation.

I watched the fire in Bree’s eyes die, only to be replaced by tears.

Shit.

“Hey,” I said, softening my tone. “Don’t cry.” I glanced over at Low who was watching from the bar and gave him a panicked look. I didn’t know what to do with a crying Bree. This was uncharted territory. He shrugged and scuttled away into the kitchen. Asshole. Fat lot of help he was.

Bree shook her head and blinked hard, but it did little to help. A choked sob rose from her chest and my eyes widened.

“Shit, Bree. I’m sorry. Please stop.” I patted her hand awkwardly, wishing I’d never called her on her bullshit. I’d never seen her cry before. She had always been tough as nails. I hadn’t realised she was capable of emotion.

Her bottom lip trembled and in that moment, I saw her. Real. Honest. Raw. For the first time ever, I saw beneath the makeup and the attitude and the walls she put up to keep everyone at bay. “Everyone always leaves me,” she said miserably. A tear tracked down her cheek. “Rick. My sister. My ex. All I ever wanted was for someone to love me for who I am. For them to stay.”

I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. I knew it couldn’t have been easy for her to lay her skeletons on the table like that. But at the same time…

“You cheated on me, Bree. Did you forget that? You were the one that pushed me away, not the other way around.”

She pulled her purse onto her lap and clutched it tightly. “You were never really there, though. Physically, sure. But I knew you were never going to love me. I knew your feelings didn’t run that deep.”

“Neither did yours.”

“They might have.”

I gave her a disbelieving look, and the corner of her mouth lifted.

“Fine. I didn’t feel like that either. But that’s why I let Rick pursue me. It felt nice to be truly wanted by someone. And then he left his wife and proposed… I thought he was the real deal. But then he was so jealous over you and Elodie hooking up…” She sniffed and let her blond hair fall around her face. “He was just the same as Timothy.”

“Timothy?”

She nodded. “High-school boyfriend turned brother-in-law. Remember?”

I remembered. I wasn’t surprised that being dumped by Rick brought up old memories for her. “I don’t know what to tell you, Bree. Guys like Timothy and Rick? They’re weak. And in the end, they’re the ones that miss out. Don’t follow them down that road. Do something about your anger issues, and let the next guy see the real you. I know there’s a good person hidden behind all your walls and spikes and armour. One day, some guy is going to smash through it all, if you let him. I want that for you, Bree. I truly do. That guy is worth waiting for.”

She gave me a wobbly smile. But it was an honest one and made her look years younger. “Thank you. That was kind. And I know I don’t deserve it.” She paused before adding, “You’re a good guy, Jamison.”

I shrugged. “Don’t tell anyone.”

We both rose to our feet and she kissed me quickly on the cheek before heading to the exit. I watched as she opened the glass doors and almost collided with Reese who was coming in from outside. Bree disappeared into the crowd as I stood next to Low, who’d obviously thought it safe enough to reappear now that the crying had stopped.

“Jamison!” Reese called as she hurried over, breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed pink. Low intercepted her, catching her by the shoulders, his worried gaze searching her face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Reese gave him a quick smile. “Nothing, I’m fine. I just need to talk to Jam.”

“Okay, then.” He dropped a kiss on her head and moved aside to let her by.

“What’s up?” I asked when she stopped in front of me, her chest rising and falling rapidly. I eyed her empty hands. “Where’s the coffee?”

She looked blankly at me. “Shit, sorry. I completely forgot.”

I laughed. “So, what did you do at the coffee shop then?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, if the two of you would just let me get a word in.”

Low and I both stood obediently silent and waited.

“I saw Elodie at the coffee shop.”

My heart sunk.

“She was with Rick and Nathan.”

I stacked a pile of coasters on the bench top, shuffling them so they all lined up neatly. “Not exactly helpful info for me right now, Reese. But thanks for the neighbourhood watch report.”

“Just shut up and listen, will you? Something isn’t right there. She didn’t look happy at all. And neither did Nathan. Elodie and Rick spent the whole time I was there arguing.”

I frowned. “Couples fight.”

“Not like this. I think you should call her.”

“She won’t want to speak to me.”

She slapped the back of her hand across my chest. “What, you can’t call and check in with a friend? She looked like she could use one.”

My heart rate picked up and a question lodged in my throat. “You…you don’t think Rick is hurting her, do you?”

Relief calmed my pulse when Reese shook her head vigorously. “No, she looked in control of the situation. Nothing made me think she was in physical danger. But she just looked miserable. I wanted to talk to her, but she rushed out of the shop pretty much as soon as she saw me.”

I mulled it over. I couldn’t just call or go over. I’d promised myself I’d leave her alone, let them have a chance at being a family again. But damn if every nerve ending in my body wasn’t urging me to go straight there and make sure she and Nathan were okay.

“Low? I’m going to need my Saturday night shift in the function room back.”