Adore Me (Austin Singles 3)

“Fuck yes. You spent the last hour and a half giving your undivided attention to another person, so yeah, Morgan, I’m pissed. Hell, the guy’s own date got up and walked out. The two of you were so wrapped up in each other you didn’t even realize Renee and I were bored out of goddamn minds.”

She swallowed hard. “He’s a friend, and I value his friendship.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “You value his friendship over me? You value it over being rude to two people who were also sitting at that table?”

“Blake! You cannot be serious right now. Jarod was there for me during a time when I needed someone, and we share some tough memories. If that is something that bothers you, then I don’t know what to tell you.”

“What bothers me is that I sat next to you and you ignored the fact that I was even there. And it’s clear the guy is interested in you as more than a friend.”

Morgan let out a roar of laughter. “Okay, yeah, right. If he’s so interested in me, then why has he never made a move?”

I shrugged. “He was in the army. He was never around. You don’t think it’s odd he happened to have a job interview in Austin?”

Morgan shook her head. “He was all over Renee today. Blake, I can’t believe you don’t trust me.”

“I trust you. I don’t trust him.”

“Then I don’t know what to say, because Jarod is a part of my life, and I will not cut him out because you got your feelings hurt when you weren’t a part of our conversation.”

Anger raced through my veins. I took a deep breath and then took a step back. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Morgan, but I can’t help wonder how you would feel if the roles were reversed. If Renee and I had talked and kept you and Jarod out of the conversation, would you be pissed at me?”

She swallowed hard and said nothing.

Turning, I headed to the door. I waited for her to call my name, tell me to wait. I wanted her to at least see how it looked from my side.

But she didn’t.

I threw open the door and headed to my car. When I got in, I looked back at the door, hoping to see Morgan there. She wasn’t there, and the door was shut.

My mind swirled with every stupid emotion I could have. She defended him. Took his side. I had no damn clue how to deal with that. I knew I had probably overreacted, but she had to see what they did tonight was downright rude.

WITH MY PAINTBRUSH in my hand, I stared at the blank canvas. I had been like this all morning, simply staring at a blank page, trying to will myself to paint something. Anything. I hadn’t heard from Blake since he walked out the door last night, and it was killing me, especially since I had texted him this morning to please call me. We needed to talk. He was so angry last night, and I couldn’t blame him. A part of me was ashamed I hadn’t gone after him. What I had done last night was downright rude, and the more I thought about it the angrier I was with myself. Especially for defending the action.

The sound of the doorbell made me jump and rush to the front door. I didn’t even bother to check who it was.

Throwing it open, I said, “Blake!”

But Jarod stood there, and a disappointed look crossed his face before he replaced it with a look of relief.

“Hey, it worried me when you weren’t answering.”

“What?” I asked.

“I’ve tried calling you all morning.”

A sick feeling hit my stomach, and I rushed to the kitchen where my phone was plugged in.

“Shit!” I said when I noticed the ringer was on but turned down to where I hadn’t heard it go off. When I opened the phone, I saw I had a missed text from Blake along with two missed calls from Jarod. Opening the text message, I held my breath.

Blake: I agree we need to talk. I don’t like how we left things. Do you want me to come over or meet?

“Shit. Shit. Shit.”

The text was from almost three hours ago.

I pulled up his name and hit call. My breath felt like it was stalled in my throat. After a few rings, it went to voicemail.

“Damn it.”