Jake’s expression was full of outrage, shock and horror. ‘The man should’ve been charged. Do you think you’d recognise him if you saw him again? We could arrange a police line-up. We could check the guest list of that night. Track down everyone who attended...’
Jaz pulled out from under his hold and crossed her arms over her body. ‘No. I don’t want to even think about that night. I don’t even know if I gave the guy the okay to mess around. I was the one who started flirting with him in the first place. But then things got a little hazy. It would be his word against mine and you know what the defence lawyers would make of that. I was too drunk to know what I was doing.’
‘But he might’ve spiked your drink or something,’ Jake said. ‘He committed a crime. A crime for which he should be punished.’
‘That only happens in the movies,’ Jaz said. ‘I’ve moved on. It would make things so much harder for me if I had to revisit that night in a courtroom.’
His frown made a road map of lines on his forehead. ‘I can see why you hate me so much. I’m as guilty as that lowlife.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘That’s not true.’
‘Isn’t it?’
Jaz bit her lip. ‘I know it looks like I’ve blamed you all this time but that’s just the projection of negative emotion. I guess I used you as a punching bag because I felt so ashamed.’
Jake came over to her and took her hands from where they were wrapped around her body, holding them gently in his. ‘You have no need to be ashamed, Jaz. You were just a kid. I was the adult and I acted appallingly. I shouldn’t have given you any encouragement. Leading you on like that only to throw those girls in your face was wrong. I should’ve been straight with you right from the get-go.’
Jaz gave him a wobbly smile. ‘You just called me Jaz. You haven’t done that in years.’
His hands gave hers a gentle squeeze. ‘We’d better get a move on. My client isn’t the most patient of men. That is if you’re still okay with going? I can always tell him you had something on and go by myself.’
‘I’m fine,’ she said. And she was surprised to find it was true. Having Jake of all people being so understanding, caring and protective made something hard and tight inside her chest loosen like a knotted rope suddenly being released.
He gently grazed her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. ‘Thank you for telling me.’
‘I’d rather you didn’t tell anyone else,’ Jaz said. ‘I don’t want people to look at me differently.’
‘Not even Miranda?’
She pulled at her lip with her teeth. ‘Miranda would be hurt if I told her now. She’d blame herself for not watching out for me. You know what a little mother hen she is.’
Jake’s frown was back. ‘But surely—?’
‘No,’ Jaz said, sending him a determined look. ‘Don’t make me regret telling you. Promise me you won’t betray my trust.’
He let out a frustrated sigh. ‘I promise. But I swear to God, if I find out who hurt you I’ll tear him apart with my bare hands.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
LATER, IN THE car going back to Jaz’s place, Jake wondered how on earth he’d swung the deal with his client. His mind hadn’t been on the game the whole way through dinner. All he’d been able to think about was what Jaz had told him about that wretched night after she had left his room. He was so churned up with a toxic cocktail of anger, guilt and an unnerving desire for revenge that he’d given his client, Bruce Parnell, the impression he was a distracted, lovesick fool rather than a savvy businessman. But that didn’t seem to matter because at the end of the dinner his client had signed on the dotted line and wished Jake and Jaz all the best for their future.
Their future.
What was their future?
Jake was so used to bickering with her that he wasn’t sure how he was going to navigate being friends with her instead. While it had been pistols and pissy looks at dawn, he’d been able to keep his distance. But now she’d shared her painful secret with him he couldn’t carry on as if nothing had changed. Everything had changed. The whole dynamic of their relationship was different. He wanted to protect her. To fix it for her. To give her back her innocence so she didn’t have to carry around the shame she felt. A shame she had no need to feel because the jerk who had assaulted her was the one who should be ashamed.
But Jake too felt shame. Deep, gut-clawing shame. Shame that he hadn’t handled her infatuation with him more sensitively. His actions had propelled her into danger—danger that could have been avoided if he had been a little more understanding. He could see now why Jaz had stepped in with the engagement charade when Emma Madden had turned up at the door. She had been sensitive to the girl’s need for dignity, offering her a safe way home with someone at the other end to make sure she was all right.