Page 89 of Devoured By You
“Nice to see you, too.” I smirked. “That color hair clashes with your beaming red face.”
“Jokes? You’re making jokes when you’ve just destroyed one of the nicest, kindest people I’ve ever met.” She snorted, raking me with a gaze that said she’d like to stick a pitchfork into my balls.
Get in line, honey.
“It’d run its course. I didn’t see any point in dragging out a relationship that was already dead.”
“Ending a relationship is one thing. Doing it with cruelty is quite another. What the fuck has happened to you, huh?”
I dropped my gaze, lifting it slowly. “I lost a fucking leg, and two people died because of me. Keep up, Aspen. I don’t have time to spell it out in words of one syllable.”
She turned purple. Matched her hair now, at least.
“Out of our entire family, you”—she jabbed a finger at me—“are the last person I’d ever have thought capable of hurting someone to the extent you’ve hurt Jill.”
I kept my poker face on, even if I was cringing inside. Aspen was like a bloodhound. If she got a sniff of what my true feelings were, she’d push and cajole and gift herself the role of Chief Cupid. But as long as what had happened on Serenity hung over me like a thundercloud, Jill’s career would always be at risk of some scandal or other spilling over onto her.
“Are you saying I should stay with someone I didn’t have feelings for just to spare hers?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” She huffed, sitting in the chair opposite my desk without waiting for an invitation. Not that Aspen would wait. She wasn’t the kind of girl to wait for anything. She took what she wanted without apology. I envied her.
“I just… I really like her, Blaize.”
“You date her, then.”
She huffed again, this time through her nose. “Are you being obtuse on purpose?”
“No. Merely truthful.” A great fat lie. “Hang on.” I raised a finger as she opened her mouth with what was undoubtedly another comeback and picked up my phone. “I need to take this. Hello, Steve. What have you got?”
Steve was the techie I’d hired to fix the TikTok issue.
“Done.”
I waited to see if he’d say something else. The line remained silent. I’d discovered that Steve was a man of few words when I’d hired him, but that might be a record.
“Both of them?”
“Yes.”
“And what about any new ones that might spring up?”
“They won’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
A brief laugh was my answer. Okay, then.
“Thanks, Steve.”
“Sure.”
He hung up. I chuckled. I’d keep Steve’s number on my contact list. A man like that could be useful for all kinds of things.
Aspen cleared her throat, reminding me that she hadn’t left. More’s the pity.
“What was that about?”
“None of your business. Why are you still here?”