She blew out a long breath and whispered. “And then we had sex.”
“Fucking hell.”
“More than once.”
Maverick sat up straight. “Are you guys back together?”
She shook her head, eyes on her fingers as she twisted a napkin between them. “No. That’s never going to happen.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, considering I’ve never met two people more into each other than you guys. Why don’t you just see if you can work things out? I know something bad went down way back when, but baby, life is short. None of us know when our last moment is gonna be. That’s why you need to fix this. Live every moment with all that passion inside you, but live it with the guy you love because if you don’t, what the hell is the point?”
If only she could.
“I can’t,” she whispered.
Maverick pulled her into his arms, and it was all Donovan could do to keep herself from sobbing like a baby.
“You can’t tell anyone, not even Cooper. He’s the last person on this planet who can know. If he found out…” She exhaled shakily. “God I should have just kept my mouth shut.”
She didn’t have to see Rick’s face to know he was scowling something fierce. “What the hell does my brother have to do with anything?”
She thought of Cooper’s threat. “Everything,” she whispered. “Rick, promise you won’t say a word about me and Jack. I can’t have that getting out. There are things you don’t know and…Jack would never forgive me.”
Maverick’s eyes glittered in the dark, his handsome face dark and angry. “You still love him.”
This was Rick. She couldn’t lie.
“Yes.”
“But you don’t want to be with him.”
More like, can’t. Now was the time to lie. “Yes,” she whispered.
“That’s fucked up.”
She laughed at that. “Yes.”
The car came to a halt, and she peeked out. They were parked in front of a pub. A couple guys were out front having a smoke and a few women hung back to chat them up. It didn’t look trendy or hip, but it had an interesting name. The Black Dog stared back at her.
“You coming in? The place belongs to Abby’s family, Tucker’s girl. Thought I’d check it out. I hear they have live music.”
“No,” she said gently, pushing Maverick away. “I’m heading back to the hotel. Flying to LA in the morning.”
“You look like you need a drink.”
“I do,” she said, attempting a smile. “I just prefer to drink alone tonight.”
Rick hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“Go. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
She gave him a quick kiss and then directed the driver to her hotel. It was a hot summer night, and the streets were full. Families. Teenagers. Tourists. At a stoplight Donovan watched a couple strolling hand in hand. The man was listening to whatever his girl was saying, his face so full of love that it made Donovan’s heart ache. She wanted that. She wanted that so much.
When he laughed and pulled her in for a kiss Donovan wanted to look away, but couldn’t. From the shadows of the backseat she watched him cup his lover’s face, before claiming her all too willing mouth. The kiss was a lingering passionate one, and they didn’t give a damn that they were in the middle of the sidewalk. Several catcalls rang out and when the couple finally parted, they were both laughing, his hands never left her face.
Donovan sank back into her seat, hating the wave of jealousy that rolled over her. But she couldn’t help it. How could she? That nameless couple had everything she wanted and it was everything she would never have.
“At least I have Belize,” she whispered to herself, cheeks flushing as she thought of Jack between her legs, his mouth on her.