different issue.”
But he isn’t listening. He scrubs his hands over his face and shakes his head. “Fucking things up is what I do best. My parents got that right about me.”
A screech startles us both. I glance up to see Makayla and Max in the doorway. Makayla’s thick auburn hair is tied up in a ponytail and her hazel eyes are dark with concern. Tall, dark, and chiseled, Max has an arm around her curvy body. They are the perfect picture of an overprotective alpha male and a daredevil woman hell-bent on keeping him on his toes.
Jake pushes himself out of his chair and gives Max and Makayla a nod as he heads out the door. “Take care of yourself, Amanda.”
My heart sinks. If that wasn’t a “good-bye forever,” I don’t know what is.
“So.” Makayla takes a seat beside me as Max follows Jake into the hall. “Jake called me last night and told me what happened. Why didn’t you phone me?” She gives me her best Makayla glare, which just makes me laugh. Anger isn’t Makayla’s style.
“Look what happened last time I asked you to accompany me on an ill-fated adventure to a dangerous place.”
Makayla pales. She doesn’t like to be reminded of the night we were kidnapped and she thought she’d lost Max forever.
“I was on the graveyard shift and couldn’t get off work, so I called Drake and ordered him to get down here pronto. Did he make it?”
“Don’t worry,” I say. “I was in good hands. After the police left, he was here for an hour checking me over like he knows all about head injuries, scolding me for not waiting for him to come to my place last night…”
She frowns. “I thought you were done with him months ago. Are you guys still—?”
“Not for a long time.” I lower my voice to a hushed whisper. “I kept meaning to tell him, but I never got the chance. The friends with benefits thing was fun for a bit, but it left me kinda empty inside.”
Makayla glances out the door where Max and Jake are engaged in a heated discussion in the hallway and leans toward me. “What about Jake? I thought you said he didn’t want to have anything to do with you after he saw you at the office last week. And yet, he was the one who called, and here he is now.”
My heart squeezes in my chest. “I guess he feels responsible for what happened, although it’s totally ridiculous. He’s here because he’s just…you know…a nice guy.” Too nice for someone like me.
“And you’re a nice girl.” Makayla pats my arm. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be my best friend. Nice girls and nice guys belong together. Maybe he’s forgiven you and wants to try again. People have a great capacity for forgiveness. Look at me and Max. After everything that happened, we worked things out.”
Tears well up in my eyes. “You guys were meant to be together. I knew that when I saw you—the girl who can’t stomach violence—sitting on the bleachers in Redemption, watching him fight the first day you met. It’s not the same with me and Jake. I hurt him, and in the worst possible way. He’ll never forgive me for that.”
Makayla’s eyes flick to the doorway and then back to me. She jerks her chin ever so slightly in the direction of the hallway. Max is gone, but Jake is leaning against the doorjamb. He studies me for the longest time, his blue eyes boring deep into my soul, and then he turns and walks away.
Chapter 4
’MANDA, ’MANDA, ’MANDA
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The incessant knocking at my front door wakes me from a deep sleep. For a moment, I consider ignoring the irritating tapper and returning to oblivion, but only Makayla and Drake know I’ve moved into my grandmother’s Tudor-style house in Oakland’s sleepy Montclair Village, and if I don’t answer the door, whichever of the two it is will have no qualms about breaking it down.
With a sleepy sigh, I brush the matted hair off my face, pad through the house, and pull open the heavy front door.
My blurred vision makes out a non-Makayla,
But he isn’t listening. He scrubs his hands over his face and shakes his head. “Fucking things up is what I do best. My parents got that right about me.”
A screech startles us both. I glance up to see Makayla and Max in the doorway. Makayla’s thick auburn hair is tied up in a ponytail and her hazel eyes are dark with concern. Tall, dark, and chiseled, Max has an arm around her curvy body. They are the perfect picture of an overprotective alpha male and a daredevil woman hell-bent on keeping him on his toes.
Jake pushes himself out of his chair and gives Max and Makayla a nod as he heads out the door. “Take care of yourself, Amanda.”
My heart sinks. If that wasn’t a “good-bye forever,” I don’t know what is.
“So.” Makayla takes a seat beside me as Max follows Jake into the hall. “Jake called me last night and told me what happened. Why didn’t you phone me?” She gives me her best Makayla glare, which just makes me laugh. Anger isn’t Makayla’s style.
“Look what happened last time I asked you to accompany me on an ill-fated adventure to a dangerous place.”
Makayla pales. She doesn’t like to be reminded of the night we were kidnapped and she thought she’d lost Max forever.
“I was on the graveyard shift and couldn’t get off work, so I called Drake and ordered him to get down here pronto. Did he make it?”
“Don’t worry,” I say. “I was in good hands. After the police left, he was here for an hour checking me over like he knows all about head injuries, scolding me for not waiting for him to come to my place last night…”
She frowns. “I thought you were done with him months ago. Are you guys still—?”
“Not for a long time.” I lower my voice to a hushed whisper. “I kept meaning to tell him, but I never got the chance. The friends with benefits thing was fun for a bit, but it left me kinda empty inside.”
Makayla glances out the door where Max and Jake are engaged in a heated discussion in the hallway and leans toward me. “What about Jake? I thought you said he didn’t want to have anything to do with you after he saw you at the office last week. And yet, he was the one who called, and here he is now.”
My heart squeezes in my chest. “I guess he feels responsible for what happened, although it’s totally ridiculous. He’s here because he’s just…you know…a nice guy.” Too nice for someone like me.
“And you’re a nice girl.” Makayla pats my arm. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be my best friend. Nice girls and nice guys belong together. Maybe he’s forgiven you and wants to try again. People have a great capacity for forgiveness. Look at me and Max. After everything that happened, we worked things out.”
Tears well up in my eyes. “You guys were meant to be together. I knew that when I saw you—the girl who can’t stomach violence—sitting on the bleachers in Redemption, watching him fight the first day you met. It’s not the same with me and Jake. I hurt him, and in the worst possible way. He’ll never forgive me for that.”
Makayla’s eyes flick to the doorway and then back to me. She jerks her chin ever so slightly in the direction of the hallway. Max is gone, but Jake is leaning against the doorjamb. He studies me for the longest time, his blue eyes boring deep into my soul, and then he turns and walks away.
Chapter 4
’MANDA, ’MANDA, ’MANDA
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The incessant knocking at my front door wakes me from a deep sleep. For a moment, I consider ignoring the irritating tapper and returning to oblivion, but only Makayla and Drake know I’ve moved into my grandmother’s Tudor-style house in Oakland’s sleepy Montclair Village, and if I don’t answer the door, whichever of the two it is will have no qualms about breaking it down.
With a sleepy sigh, I brush the matted hair off my face, pad through the house, and pull open the heavy front door.
My blurred vision makes out a non-Makayla,
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