Page 2 of Smut Lovers

Through the pounding rain, I watched him open the door and get my purse and violin from the back seat.

He held my violin close to his body, shielding it from the rain.

Tears sprang to my eyes. Ten years and he remembered how important that violin was to me.

Jogging back to the car, he carefully laid the violin in the back seat along with my purse.

Tears burned the back of my eyes and I shoved my palms against my eyes. I had to pull myself together.

“Hey,” his voice was soft and a contrast to his earlier words. “Are you okay?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “I should be asking you that. I’m sorry. I know I’m the last person you probably expected or wanted to hear from today.”

His hands caught mine and pulled them away from my face. “It’s fine. I’m glad you called. What are you doing here?”

“Um, I accepted a position at Devonbury Fine Arts,” I said tentatively.

His eyes widened. “And your father allowed that?” It seemed he remembered too well how controlling my father was.

“He passed away about a year ago.”

Jayden raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

I laughed bitterly. “Don’t be. He wasn’t a good man.” That was the world’s biggest understatement.

“He was still your father.” He said gently and I shrugged. I should probably have grieved his death harder than I had but towards the end, there wasn’t a lot of love lost for that man.

“So anyway,” I said, forcing brightness into my voice. “I still play, obviously. But what about you? Do you still play the guitar?”

I kicked myself when his green eyes shuttered like a door had been slammed over their light.

“Not since you left,” he said gruffly. He looked out the window, a grim look on his face.

There was a sexy five o’clock shadow highlighting his strong jaw.

His short, dark brown hair was cut close to his head in a military style cut.

He had been cute as a fifteen-year-old boy but now he was devastatingly handsome.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t want to go. My father…”

His hand covered mine. The heat felt good to my icy fingers. “Fuck, Emmy, you’re freezing. We have to get you warmed up. Where are you staying?”

I rattled off my address, and he winced. “That’s on the other side of the city. Did you eat?”

“Um, not yet.”

“Then we’ll head to our place, so you can eat and get warmed up, then I can take you home.”

I bit my lip. “Our place?” I questioned. Was he in a relationship? I had no claim to him but the thought still made my stomach roll.

“Danny’s and mine ,” he said, his green eyes dancing with amusement as if he knew where my thoughts had gone.

“Oh,” I said, sinking back into my seat. “The lady on the phone said Danny was on a trip.”

“He’s on his way home. I called him as soon as I got off the phone with you.”

“Oh,” I said again. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I never imagined I would see one ghost from my past today, much less two. Although I’m sure the guys felt the same way. How did Danny take the news that I had randomly popped into their lives again?

“He can’t wait to see you,” Jayden said gently.

“I don’t know why,” I said. They should hate me. “I don’t know why you’re being so nice, either. You should hate me, both of you. I left saying nothing. I–”

“You didn’t have a choice,” Jayden said, putting a finger to my lips.

I ignored the thrill that raced up my spine as his thumb brushed against my bottom lip.

“Danny and I went over that night. The night you left. We found your father loading the car. He told us to stay away or he would… make life harder on you.”

For not the first time since my father’s death, I mentally cursed his name. “I don’t understand why he hated me so much,” I whispered, as a shudder ran through me.

Jayden mistook my shudder for being cold as he dropped my hand to throw his car into drive and ease out onto the street. “I don’t know, but let’s save that conversation for later. We have to get you warm first.”

The drive to his place was quick. Predictably, they lived in a high rise building downtown. They really had done well for themselves. When Jayden pressed the “P” for penthouse, I couldn’t help letting out a soft chuckle.

He grinned at me, making my heart skip a beat. “A long way from that double-wide.”

“I knew you both would do well,” I said. “You should be proud. You got everything you wanted.”

His eyes were unreadable as he stared at me. The elevator doors opened, and he ushered me out as he murmured “not everything”

“I’ll give you a tour later, but first we need to get you out of those wet clothes. We have a guest room just down this way.”

I caught a glimpse of the living room with a cozy cream-colored sofa before he guided me down the hallway to my right.

The guest room was tastefully decorated in an array of neutrals.

It looked like it could be in an interior design magazine and I felt out of place in my dripping wet clothes.

My father spent money as fast as he made it and usually at a bar or at the races.

“The bathroom is right here.” Jayden opened one of the two doors against the far wall. “There are towels under the sink and I’ll get you some sweats to change into.” He avoided looking at me and I hugged myself. Was he having regrets about answering my call?

When the door closed behind him, I forced myself to get moving. The faster I showered and got out of these wet clothes, the faster I could get out of his hair. Maybe the past should just stay buried.