Deal Takers (Dealing with Love 2)

Adam goes down, with his hand over his bloody face. “You broke my nose, you asshole!”

Charlee pops her head out to see what the commotion is about. I don’t have time to explain, so I give her an apologetic nod before running after Rainey.

Chapter Twenty

RAINEY

“Rainey, wait!” Brody yells from behind me.

I keep walking, needing to put as much distance as possible between myself and Adam. I pry my engagement ring off my finger and throw it down the sidewalk, as it’s now a useless piece of shit, and I can’t stand having it on me any longer.

Brody finally catches up with me. “Hey, are you okay?”

I give him a what do you think look. “Fucking peachy.”

I pick up my pace even more, swiping angrily at my tears. “God, how could I have been so fucking stupid?”

Brody pulls on my elbow, halting my steps. “Hey, don’t do that. Don’t blame yourself for this.”

“Go ahead, get the I told you so out of the way.”

He puts his hands on my shoulders and crouches down so we’re eye-to-eye. “Princess, listen to me. You did nothing wrong. This isn’t your fault. How could you have known?”

I throw my hands up and release a sardonic laugh. “That’s the best part! It all makes sense now! I’ve felt that something was wrong for a long time, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. But now...now that I know the truth, all the signs were right in front of my face. He’s married, Brody! And he’s having another kid! How could I have not known that? We’ve been together for years!”

Thank God my place is only a few blocks away because I need a drink. Or ten. I’d much rather wallow in misery in the comfort of my own home.

I stop when we reach the entrance to my building. “I’m just going to go upstairs and have a lengthy conversation with Jack and Jim.”

Brody frowns. “Rainey, I’m not comfortable leaving you alone right now.”

I don’t have the energy to bicker with him right now. “Whatever. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The elevator is taking too long so I take the stairs up all three flights with Brody hot on my heels. I head for the kitchen as soon as I’m inside my apartment and begin filling two shot glasses. I manage to down one before Brody can even close the door behind me.

He puts his hand over mine when I reach for another. “You should probably slow down there.”

I glare at him. “Brody, you’re either drinking with me or leaving. Your choice.”

“Honey, trust me, I’m all about having a good time but I don’t think drowning yourself in whiskey is the answer.”

I grab another glass out of the cabinet and pour two fingers of Jack Daniels. “Look. When I wake up tomorrow, my entire life is going to be different. The future that I thought I had is gone. I just want to forget about all of that shit for one night and I don’t need your unsolicited advice on the matter. Now, what’s it going to be? Are you joining me or are you leaving?”

He stares at me in silence for a bit. I don’t know what he’s trying to puzzle out in that genius brain of his, but he seems to figure it out soon enough. Brody nods resolutely, picks up a glass, and swallows the whiskey in one gulp.

I pick up the bottle to pour him another. “Good answer.”

Chapter Twenty-One

BRODY

For the record, I knew this was a shitty idea from the start. In my experience, bad things happen when a woman is both angry and drunk. But Rainey was determined and the alternative of leaving her alone didn’t appeal to me at all. Now, here we are, many shots later, and fuck if I know where to go from here. I’m buzzed...but Rainey is sloshed. She can’t decide if she wants to laugh or cry. Sometimes she does both. Even worse, when she’s not doing either, she’s getting...flirty. My head keeps telling me to ignore it—that this woman is upset—but Thor is definitely enjoying the fact that whiskey apparently makes Rainey a bit frisky. When she reaches out to rub my leg, again, I know I need to distract her.

“We should watch a movie,” I suggest.

“You want to Netflix and chill?” She looks way too excited about that.

I jolt off the couch and head to the kitchen to grab some water. The sooner she gets sobered up, the better.