Page 90 of Between Desire and Denial

Zen beat me to schooling him as she softly retorted, “Can’t be careful if someone else isn’t driving carefully by you.”

He scoffed in irritation before he got up and swiped his helmet off the counter. He was close to Zen, but her arms were crossed as the tension between them crackled. “Want a ride? I can show you how careful I am right now.”

It was like they were the only two people in the room for a moment before her eyes widened and she almost jolted away from him. He blinked once, shaking his head before he turned to me and tried to dispel the moment. “Or I’ll give you a ride on the motorcycle, Olive. You know I’m careful.”

“Yeah, Dimitri would love his girlfriend hopping on the back of another man’s bike,” I said sarcastically.

“If that’s actually true, I’m happy to rectify you being his girlfriend if you want.” He cleared his throat and rubbed his gloved hands together like he’d enjoy it. I didn’t have a thing for bikers, but Jameson still pulled it off well as he combed his hand through his dark hair. I think Zen saw that, too, as she bit her lip and walked away.

“It’s true, Jameson.” I held his gaze this time, trying to get that point across.

“Good. Because I want what’s best for this community. Your hometown and mine.” He slid his helmet on. “And for your brother. And my fucking daughter. She deserves the world. She’s all I got. I wouldn’t risk any of this if it wasn’t for her. She deserves a damn good childhood, and I’m not going to give her any less than that.”

“I wouldn’t want you to. I mean that. I’m not sure what the goal is here but—”

“I’m not sure what you heard at the grill out.” I opened my mouth, willing to tell him at this point. “But I’m trusting that you know Lucille and I have it under control. Keep what you know about the Diamond Syndicate to yourself.”

“But—”

“Just for now.” He took a deep breath. “The less you know the better. And the less everyone knows is better. I’ve got two weeks to iron this out. Lucille and I will do just that.”

He turned toward the front of the spa, unlocked the door, and left just like that.

“He’s such a drama queen,” Zen grumbled.

Lucille rolled her eyes and hummed in agreement. “He’s right though. Don’t talk to anyone about it, okay? Just give us two weeks.”

“That’s up until the board meeting.” I tilted my head. “What about the article I’m writing?”

“Ah, by then, everything will be fine.” She waved away any concern. Then she turned and looked out the window. “Oh, look. Knox is being driven home. I know that SUV. You should go see if he’ll play some basketball with you, Olive. Make sure he’s doing okay.”

I studied the older woman and her tactics. “Don’t you need a hair trim?”

“Oh, that can wait till next week.” She chuckled, already making her way toward the door. “I have to work on my garden anyway.” She held the door open for me.

“Well, this was fun,” I mumbled without any joy in my tone.

“It’ll be fun to catch up with Knox. He needs you now more than ever,” she said, cryptically. “Remember, no secret spilling.”

Easy for her to say. She didn’t have an obsessed Dimitri Hardy texting her.

When I walked out of that door, another message came in from him.

Dimitri: You’re being short with me when I want long texts. Paragraphs. Novels from you.

Me: I’ve just been busy. And stressed.

Dimitri: Headaches?

Me: No but that doesn’t mean it’s because of the birth control.

Dimitri: I beg to differ, Honeybee. If you’re stressed, take a day of rest.

Me: I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Go work.

I took a deep breath, thinking of all that Lucille said. So many commitments and choosing what I wanted to commit to. I encouraged Dimitri to leave me alone, pushed him away because there was fear in getting attached to something that could potentially destroy you. I sacrificed the butterflies and giddiness I felt in getting responses from his texts for the safety net of loneliness.

I walked home and tried to focus on my responsibilities by calling Knox. My attention needed to be on him anyway. We’d been playing H-O-R-S-E every day now, and he looked like himself more each time. Would he tell me if he knew something? Were we getting that close again?