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“If you want me to, I can pick out a sofa that she’d like and make her accept it. I have a key to her apartment. You can move out that piece of shit she has now and move in the new one while she’s at work,” Clara offered.
I thought about her suggestion a moment. Brielle would be furious, but this was her best friend. She would know how to get through to Brielle.
“How long have you known her?” I asked Clara.
She paused and pressed her lips together. “Uh … let me think … it’s been eight years now,” she said. “We weren’t even legal drinking age when we became friends.”
“Did you meet in college?” I asked, wanting to know more about Brielle.
She kept surprising me. I knew so little about her, and she didn’t offer much up. It was clear that she didn’t want me to know her.
Clara shook her head. “No, I was at a religious private college. It was the only college my parents would pay for, and Brielle was at the junior college she works at now. My mom insisted I get a job. I was so angry about it, but then I met Brielle. It was the best thing my mom ever did for me.”
“You met her at work?” I asked to clarify.
Clara nodded. “Yep.”
“Where did you both work?” I asked.
“A boutique called Luxe. Brielle was the manager there, and she hired me. Candace, the owner, trusted her with everything. Candace dated the president of the junior college for a time; she’s the reason Brielle got the job there. As much as Candace loved having her as an employee, she wanted more for Brielle, and the college could give her health insurance and pay her more.”
Clara handed me the last dish in the sink and let the soapy water out, then turned to look at me as I rinsed it and dried it. When I was finished, I met her gaze and realized the flirty twinkle in her eyes was gone. She looked serious.
“Brielle is special. I don’t care who you are; I’ll hurt you if you hurt her,” Clara informed me.
“I’m almost twice her age. I don’t intend to do anything to her,” I replied, not sure if I believed my own words.
There was a good chance I would have done quite a bit to her had Cam not called last week when we were in her apartment. I’d been real close to doing more.
Clara raised her left eyebrow. “Like hell you don’t. You can’t stay away from her. You hung on every word she said. I don’t blame you. If I were into women, I’d have claimed her and put a ring on it by now. But under all that tough exterior, she has a lot of past pain and hurt. Cam is what saved her.”
There was that damn name again. A man I had yet to see around, but when people spoke of him, they acted as if he were some fucking hero. Brielle wasn’t that damn perfect. She’d cheated on Cam. Did her fan club know that?
I was letting a hot piece of ass that had some good qualities cloud my judgment. Sure, Brielle was a good friend and thoughtful, but she wasn’t innocent. She did shit like the rest of us. She should think of being as thoughtful to her boyfriend as she was to the rest of the people in her life.
“Maybe someone should worry more about Cam getting hurt,” I said before I could stop myself.
Clara frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
This wasn’t my business. Brielle hadn’t done anything to me. I didn’t need to butt in on her personal shit. Just because I kept getting a hard-on for her didn’t mean I could get nasty and share her dirty laundry.
I just shook my head. “Nothing.”
“Oh no. You don’t get to talk about Cam and not explain,” she said, her tone slightly angry.
What was wrong with her? Damn women were fucking confusing.
“I don’t know what kind of relationship she has with Cam. I can’t say because I’ve never even seen the man with her. This isn’t my business.”
Clara stood there in silence for several moments, and I turned to leave, not wanting to get hammered with more questioning. Thankfully, she let me go without any more annoyance. Mrs. Jo was hugging Damar, then Jim, thanking them for their present as they stood at the open door to her apartment.
Brielle was gone. I was ready to leave too.
The silence in my apartment seemed like a welcome friend now. I needed it to think and process. To get my head back on straight where Brielle was concerned.
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