Page 6 of Jilted

Chapter Six

B rett stood in the kitchen doorway watching as his mom held up a wooden spoon to Amy’s mouth.

“Mmm,” Amy hummed. “You’ve really outdone yourself this time, Ginny. This is fantastic.”

His mom smiled. “You’re too kind.”

“Seriously, what did you do differently?”

Ginny laughed. “It’s a secret.” She winked.

Brett smiled. His mom had always liked Amy. He hoped that, with time, his mom would treat Vanessa the same. Clearing his throat, he stepped into the kitchen. “Dad says the grill is ready for the meat.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll take it out to him.” Ginny pulled a tray of sausage from the refrigerator.

“No, please, let me,” Amy said, reaching for the tray. “I want to help.”

“Nonsense.” Ginny waved her away and walked outside.

Brett continued to watch Amy, noticing how nervous she seemed. She wouldn’t look at him, which was odd. Before he had a chance to question her about it, Craig came walking into the kitchen. Brett sighed with frustration.

“Did I interrupt something?” Craig asked, yanking open the refrigerator door and pulling out a bottle of beer. He twisted the top, tossed it in the trash, and took a long drink.

“No, of course not,” Brett snapped.

Craig shrugged and turned his attention to Amy. “So, Amy, what do you say you and me hit the pool hall after dinner? If I remember correctly, I owe you a rematch.”

Amy laughed. “Yes, you do, and this time, don’t cheat.”

“So, is that a yes?”

“Yeah, sure, sounds fun.”

Brett clenched his teeth. He turned to his brother. “Do you mind giving us a minute?” When Craig left, Brett turned to Amy. “What’s that all about?”

“What?” she asked innocently. “While you were gone, Craig and I spent some time at the pool hall. Now that I actually know how to play, he owes me a rematch.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“I thought I told you not to get involved with my brother while I was gone.”

“You told me?” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “First of all, Brett, I’m not involved with Craig, but even if I was, what business is it of yours? You’re the one getting married this weekend.”

His stomach rolled at her words. What a strange reaction to the mention of his upcoming wedding.

He should be happy about getting married, not feeling uneasy and dreadful.

Maybe it wasn’t the mention of his wedding, but rather the thought of Amy and Craig being together.

Then again, he had no idea why that bothered him so much.

“I told you, my brother doesn’t have a very good track record with women. He’ll hurt you, Amy.”

“Well, he won’t be the first man to do so, and I’m sure he won’t be the last.”

What the hell did that mean?

“Brett?” Vanessa called, coming into the kitchen.

He smiled at her, but secretly wished she’d go away so he could talk to Amy. Jesus Christ, what the fuck was wrong with him? Vanessa was his fiancée. He should not be wishing that she would go away so he could be alone with another woman.

“Hey,” he said, putting his arm around her waist.

Vanessa kissed him on the cheek. “I thought maybe you left.” She giggled.

“No, of course not,” he said.

“Well, I’m going to go see if Ginny needs any help,” Amy said. Then she turned on her heel and left.

Fuck. Brett had no idea what just happened, but he did know that things were tense between him and Amy. Things had never been tense between them before, and he didn’t like it one bit.

“C’mon,” he said to Vanessa, “let’s get back outside.”

Brett spent the rest of the evening trying to focus on Vanessa, but all he managed to do was watch Amy and Craig flirt. God, it drove him nuts!

“It’s been a lovely evening,” Amy said, “but I really have to get going. As usual, Ginny, a fantastic meal.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Brett said, not caring that Vanessa gave him a dirty look.

“That’s not necessary.” Craig stood. “I’ll walk her out. We’re going to the same place anyway.”

Brett clenched his hands into fists. Of course, Craig would have to rub that in. Brett followed them to the front door. He leaned in and gave Amy a hug. “Are we still on for Friday night?” he whispered.

“Sure.” Her tone was cold, clipped. She released Brett and looked at Craig. “Ready?”

“Yup.”

Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Brett repeated that half a dozen times as he watched his brother leave with Amy. In that moment, he knew he’d lost Amy in more ways than one. And that hurt like hell.

Brett arrived at Amy’s house exactly at eight, just like he said he would.

Even though he lied to Vanessa about what he was doing tonight, he was really looking forward to spending the time with Amy.

He’d missed her. He was used to seeing her more often, to talking to her every day about everything.

Knowing their relationship would change was hard to swallow. There was no way he could maintain the same close friendship with Amy while being married to Vanessa. It was simply impossible.

Sure, he and Amy would always be friends; it would just be different now. And he suspected Amy already knew that. She had to. But he was determined to stay friends with Amy – no matter what.

“Amy, I’m here,” he shouted as he entered her house.

“I’m ready.” She walked out of the kitchen wearing a pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Simple yet beautiful.

Her chestnut-colored hair was down, cascading around her shoulders. A touch of eye shadow accented her chocolate brown eyes and pink lip gloss made her lips look like they were sparkling. His gaze lingered on her lips a few seconds too long.

“I was thinking we could take a walk along the river and talk after we eat,” she said.

Brett nodded. He had a feeling this was coming. Amy was the type of woman who liked to get things out in the open and face them head on. “Yeah, sure.”

Amy smiled. “Good.”

They left her house and walked down to the corner where the small taco stand was located.

For being a food stand, they had surprisingly good food.

Amy and Brett ordered their usual crunchy steak tacos with extra sour cream and scorching hot taco sauce.

They took a seat at a two-person umbrella table and ate in silence for several moments.

The silence was mildly awkward considering he’d never felt uncomfortable around her a day in his life. He took a deep breath. “What’s on your mind, Amy?”

She finished her iced tea and pushed her food away. “Are you sure you want to do this, Brett?”

“Do what?”

“Marry Vanessa. You haven’t known her very long. Are you absolutely sure about this?” She folded her arms on the table and leaned forward.

He’d asked himself those very same questions not too long ago. After a moment, he nodded. “She’s the one, Amy. I know it. I can’t explain it, but I know.” At least, that’s what he kept telling himself. He wasn’t sure he believed that though.

Amy gave him a sad smile. “Then I want nothing more than to see you happy.”

Brett reached across the table and took her hand into his. “Thank you, that means a lot. You’re my best friend. I need you by my side through this.”

She pulled her hand out of his. “I would never dream of missing your wedding, Brett, but you know that...”

“Yeah, I know.” He hung his head and sighed. “Things are going to change between us.”

“They already have,” she said quietly.

He raised his head and looked at her pointedly. “We will always be friends, Amy. Always .”

She had to know that. The two of them had been friends far too long to have it end just because he was getting married. There was no reason Amy couldn’t be friends with both him and Vanessa. And he was making progress convincing Vanessa that Amy wasn’t a threat to their marriage.

“I’ve decided I’m going to run the new studio in Morris County. You can continue to teach lessons at the current studio.”

“What?” He must’ve misheard her. “We won’t be teaching together?”

“I think this is for the best.”

“Why?” Christ, this could not be happening. He knew things would change between them, but he did not expect this. There was no reason in hell that they couldn’t continue to work together.

“We both know how this is going to go. For a while, Vanessa will be fine, and she’ll even be okay with me hanging around. But then things will change. She’ll get upset, and she’ll want you to choose. I don’t want to put you in that position, Brett, so it’s better to distance ourselves now.”

Unfortunately, she was right. Brett’s track record when faced with having to choose between Amy and a girlfriend was consistent – he’d always chosen Amy. He knew he couldn’t do that this time.

Amy stood. “I’ll see you at the wedding on Sunday.”

“You’re leaving? I thought we were going to take a walk and talk.”

“We’ve said everything that needs to be said.” Without another word, Amy turned and left.

“Wait!” he called.

She stopped and turned back to look at him.

From where he stood, he could see her tears. He hated seeing her cry. “Please tell me the truth…are you and Craig…” He couldn’t finish the thought. It was too unbearable.

“Craig and I are friends, Brett. Same as you and me.” Then she turned back around and walked away.

This time, he didn’t stop her.

Friends – like him and her. That was a slap in the face considering he’d never thought of Amy as just a friend. And he was pretty sure Craig didn’t see her as just a friend, either. In fact, he was convinced his brother didn’t know how to be just friends with women.

Brett stared after her, unable to comprehend what had just happened between them. It hurt like hell, but as she disappeared around the corner, he knew that everything she said was for his benefit. It still hurt though. A lot.

His first instinct was to chase after her, to beg her to reconsider, and tell her that nothing would change between them. No, that wasn’t fair to her. He was sure all of this was just as hard on her as it was on him. Amy would see that things would be okay. Brett would show her.

With a sigh, he gathered their garbage, threw it in the trash can, and headed home. Vanessa would still be out with her friends, but that was okay. He wanted some time alone anyway.