“Okay,” Flynn said. “I probably deserve that.”
“No probably about it, dirt-for-brains. You definitely deserve to be beaten to a pulp.” Matt wore his cop face, the one that made it clear he didn’t tolerate idiots.
“Look.” Flynn gestured to the unconscious Abby. “It’s not my fault she came storming over to my place and went all Xena on my pool. If she’d given me a chance, I would have told her there was a camera crew.”
“Not your fault?” Jena jumped to her feet. Her curves were poured into cut-off jeans and a bright pink baby tee. Long honey waves flew around her face. She strode to Flynn. “Not your fault?” She poked him in the chest. It hurt. Were her nails filed into talons? “This is all your fault.” She swung back round to Matt. “He’s the dummy in the family, right?”
That stung. It hit the same nerve people had been tweaking his whole life. The assumption being his brother Harry was a genius but all Flynn could do was kick a ball.
“Right now he is.”
“Thanks, cuz,” Flynn said.
Jena pointed at the sofa. “Abby has been through hell for years. While you were playing ball, she was taking care of her dying husband and baby girl. While you were screwing half the models in England, she was raising a daughter and running a struggling business. She got through all of that then you waltz in, party under her nose and drive her insane. You broke her. And now you need to fix her.” She folded her arms.
“How the hell am I supposed to do th
at?” He knew coming back to Invertary was a dumb idea. The town attracted nutjobs.
“I don’t know.” Jena poked him in the chest again as Abby groaned. “All I know is you’d better do it. Or I’ll kick your ass.”
He almost laughed at the thought of the tiny ex-dancer trying to kick his ass. Then he caught Matt’s steely gaze. Yeah. Jena might try to kick his arse. But Matt would make sure she was successful. Abby moaned as she struggled to sit up, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Hey, honey.” Jena went to help her. “Water, Matt.”
He nodded and headed out of the room, growling low in his throat as he passed Flynn. Not a good sign.
Flynn watched as Jena helped Abby to sit on the sofa. She put her elbows on her knees and rested her face in her hands. Huh, maybe he had broken her after all. She’d only just started to show some spark, the thought it was over made him feel strangely responsible. A feeling he was not used to at all.
Matt handed Abby a glass of water, which she sipped. Her head hung in defeat.
“Are you okay, honey?” Jena brushed Abby’s shoulder-length chestnut hair away from her face. Thick, shiny waves hung past her shoulders. It was the kind of hair a man wanted to wrap his fists in.
“I’m fine,” Abby said. “This is what happens when you drink cheap wine on an empty stomach. Plus, I haven’t had any decent sleep for months. I guess my system just overloaded.”
“I can see why.” Jena glared at Flynn. “Do you remember what happened?” she asked Abby.
There was a snort of derisive laughter. “Oh yes, I remember every detail.”
She looked up at Flynn. Her eyes were filled with anger, resentment and pain. He shifted in place.
“Show me,” she said.
He stared at her blankly.
“Show me the internet clips.”
Oh. He hesitated. “I’ll go get my iPad.”
“Use mine.” She pointed to the side table at the end of the sofa.
Matt helpfully handed the iPad to him. With an unusual feeling of trepidation, he brought up the BBC news. They were running the clip on their sports and entertainment sections. Without a word—because seriously, what could he say?—he handed the tablet to Abby. She watched silently, without moving a muscle. Jena wasn’t so still. She gasped and glared at him. Aye, the editing made it look worse.
“I don’t know what to do about this.” Abby’s voice was barely a whisper, and it sounded so defeated that Flynn felt something he hadn’t felt in a long, long time—guilt. It stirred in his chest and reminded him a lot of heartburn.
Jena and Matt frowned at him. Obviously expecting something. The problem was, Flynn wasn’t sure what.
“I spoke to my lawyer,” Flynn told them. “He told me the contract is airtight. There was nothing I could do to stop the segments from being aired.”