Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men 9)

I crossed my arms over my chest and watched her as she paced a few steps away and listened a moment before answering, “Yeah, it’s fine. No problems at all. Really, you don’t have to worry. It’s all good.” She glanced over her shoulder at me before turning away again and more quietly saying yes and no answers before blurting, “Look, I gotta go. I swear, everything is fine. We’ll talk later.” And then she hung u

p on him.

It took her a few seconds, but when she turned back to me, she was already wincing.

Seeing my expression, she let out a breath and said, “Don’t look at me like that, please don’t look at me like that. It’s not like that. I swear to you, whatever you’re thinking, it’s not like that.”

I shrugged. “What am I thinking?”

I wasn’t so sure myself. My chest felt oddly hollow and my heartbeat felt hard and slow, but other than that, I just…I wasn’t sure. I just knew my girlfriend had gotten a call from my brother, my brother she used to have a major crush on, my brother whose call had just prompted her to leave the bed with me and turn her back for privacy.

Striding toward me, she crawled onto the mattress and right into my lap until she was cupping my face in her hands. “Stop thinking something is there that isn’t,” she demanded softly. “You know better. I’m with you, and I want to be with you. And you should know him better too. He’s crazy about Sarah. I’m crazy about you. There is nothing to worry about.”

I heard her words and they made sense, but a part of me still fucking worried. “So he was just calling about work?” I had to ask…because I was being a stupid, insecure fucker and I couldn’t help myself.

Julianna paused dramatically as if she’d already been caught in a lie before she’d even answered me. Then slowly, she said, “No. Not really. I mean, something happened at work last night, and he wanted to talk about that, so technically—”

She was totally fucking keeping something from me. “What happened at work?”

With a groan, her shoulders collapsed. Then she sent me a small rebellious scowl before reluctantly mumbling, “Shaun showed up.”

“Shaun?” My eyebrows lifted. I wasn’t expecting that answer. “Ex-husband, Shaun, with the violent temper?”

Julianna nodded. “Yes. He...” She glanced away, clearly uncomfortable. “Well, I guess he knows about us…” Her eyes slashed to me. “You and me. And he wasn’t very happy about it.”

There was more. I could tell from the look on her face. “What did he do?”

“Nothing,” she immediately answered. When I narrowed my eyes, she lifted her hands. “I swear. He grabbed my wrist and—”

“He grabbed your wrist?” I caught her arm and immediately slid her wrist into my palm so I could examine it.

“See,” she offered, holding out both of them and turning them for my full examination. “He didn’t even leave a mark. Brandt caught him getting handsy and ran him off. The whole thing lasted ten, fifteen seconds, tops. No big deal.”

“No big deal?” I demanded, my mouth falling open. “The guy is stalking you enough to know who you’re seeing. We haven’t exactly made a big production of our relationship, you know. He’s got to be keeping close tabs on you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Or he heard about it from Theo, Tyla’s boyfriend. I think they’re friends.”

“I don’t care how he learned. He had no right to approach you about it and put his hands on you. You two are fucking over, and he’s not letting it go. He’s going to be a problem.”

When she started to sigh, I narrowed my eyes. “He’s going to be a serious problem, Julianna. Don’t brush this off as nothing. What he’s doing are beginning signs. It only gets worse from here. You need to report this.”

She squirmed on my lap, clearly uncomfortable. “Really, I don’t think it’s that bad. He wants us to get back together, not kill me. And he’s not too energetic about reconnecting with me either because he only comes around when he’s between women. I seriously think his attention will peter out completely over time.”

I only shook my head. “I don’t. He hasn’t stopped yet, so I doubt he’s going to. I’ve had you, I know how addictive you are.” Growling out my frustration, I gripped my hair. “Thank God you called me over. I don’t want you being home alone while he’s fucking stalking you.”

“Oh my God, Colton. It’s not that bad. I swear to you.” But I remembered her face the first night I’d stayed on her couch and he’d come knocking. A strong independent woman like her who’d hated me at the time had allowed me to sleep over. She knew just as much as I did that Shaun’s behavior was wrong.

“You should’ve called me from work,” I told her, “I would’ve come and followed you home.” When she cringed over that, I studied her more intently. “What?”

She let out a breath before glancing away and mumbling, “Brandt followed me home.”

I couldn’t control the instinctive jealousy that ripped through me. My brother had been there for her when I hadn’t.

I hated that.

But I nodded like the big, mature boy I was supposed to be. “Well…good. He better have walked you to your door and checked out your apartment too.”

“He walked me to my door,” she confessed, “but I wouldn’t let him inside.” Her brown eyes were worried and watchful as she studied my face.