“Isn’t it just like Little Miss Helpless to heap her crap on you, the big man who will fix her life for her. The Brody I knew would have steered clear of a woman like that. Is her pu**y magic? What is so appealing about her? She’s got a kid. You can’t go out very often because she’s got a kid! You don’t go to shows anymore. You’ve turned into an old married man and your wife is like a freaking PTA president or something. Don’t you miss exciting women?”

He sighed. “I’ve tried to make allowances for you. You’re Raven, so you get a pass on a lot of shit other people would get called on. I love Elise Sorenson, got that? I love her and I love her kid. She’s strong and smart; she doesn’t rely on me at all. In fact, I beg her to let me do more all the time and she won’t. We get into fights over it because she wants to be self-sufficient. She is exciting. Beautiful, willful and the best mother I know. You’re being f**king petty right now and I don’t like it.”

“Love? Are you f**king kidding me? You can’t love her, Brody. You love puppies and tacos. You love your family. You don’t love a chick like her. As for exciting? Come on! She’s a ballerina. She’s past her pull-by date and she’s loaded down with drama. Is that what attracts you? The drama? Now that Erin is happy and settled, you need to have a chick in your life with issues?”

“I’ve had a chick in my life with issues.” He gave her a pointed look she chose to ignore. “Take a long, hard look at yourself. I’m so beyond tired right now, and I’m hard-pressed to understand what your issue is. We aren’t together. We haven’t been for years now. Long before Elise came into the picture. I love her. I didn’t go into this thing expecting that; we both said we were too busy for it. But it happened anyway and I can’t be anything but happy about that.”

She launched herself at him, her lips landing on his, and for one moment he responded because he always had before. And then, just as quickly, he grabbed her by the waist and set her back from him.

“What the hell was that?” They were standing in his shop; the kiss had happened in full view of everyone.

“You’re still interested. You kissed me back.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked satisfied. He looked at her, still seeing how pretty she was but feeling none of the spark he once had with her. Instead he felt sorry for her. Worse, wary of her.

“No. For a half second I didn’t shove you off me, that’s different. I wasn’t expecting you to throw yourself at me. I told you, I’m not interested.And I’m not.”

“You’d rather have her than me?” Brody could tell she was truly confused, and that annoyed him even more.

He shoved his hands through his hair, frustrated. “Are you high? Where is all this coming from? Before Elise you didn’t want a relationship, and now what? You want to marry me and bear me children?”

She sneered. “Hell no! I don’t want marriage or kids, and neither do you. Why weigh yourself down with either? You don’t want that. Old people want that.”

“I guess I’m old, because I want marriage and kids and I want them with Elise. It’s a good kind of weight.”

“You don’t. You just think you do because Erin went off and did it. You need to be free. We can have what we had before. Don’t you want that?”

He looked at her, wondering if she’d hit her head. “No. No, I don’t want that. I didn’t want it before Elise either. Raven, I don’t want to hurt your feelings or anything, but we never loved each other. You never wanted anything serious with me. Fuck, you cheated on me when we were in a relationship, or I thought we were, and you never bothered to correct my assumption until I found out you were having sex with other people. So whatever, we broke it off and went very casual and that was fine for a while. But it’s not now, because I’m in a relationship with someone. You have to stop with this stuff or I won’t be able to be friends with you.”

“That’s the first step. She’s going to emasculate you. Make you choose her over your friends.”

“There’s no choice. I love her. My friends should support me in this, they certainly shouldn’t come on to me to try and drive a wedge into my relationship.”

“If you just give us another try, I know we can make it. You looked at me like that once, why not again?”

“I never looked at you like that. I’ve never looked at anyone like that before now. She’s special. Took me nearly forty years to find her, to appreciate love, but I have it now and I’m not going to question it. You and I had a fling and we’re better as friends. Don’t ruin that last part.”

“His friends wouldn’t pull this shit in the open where it’ll get back to Elise.” Adrian strolled up and then turned to Brody. “Hey, ass**le, I’ve been sitting at the front watching this whole spectacle unfold along with all these customers and your employees, who happen to know your girlfriend. You don’t think she’s going to hear about this?”

“If she hears, it had better be what happened instead of what anyone’s pervy brain makes up. Now, I have a tattoo to do, and then I’m going to go home so I can have dinner with my girlfriend and her daughter. Because I like to.” He focused back on Raven. “And this better not come up again.”

He motioned for Arvin to send back his next appointment, feeling frustrated and pissed off.