Page 59 of Ravaged With You

Red tried again to get a word in, but Renly didn’t give him the chance. “And if she does cut and run? Well, at least you have your answer.”

“And I’ll have lost my best friend.”

Renly smiled, and Red kicked himself for what he’d just revealed. Because his brother had nailed it. The fear wasn’t so much that Jo would bolt, although that possibility did terrify him. The fear was that if she did, then the most solid and best thing in his universe would be ripped from him.

But Renly was right about something else, too. Because by holding back, Red was cheating both himself and Jo out of the chance of finding out.

God, he hated it when his twin was right.

“You know you’re a pain in my ass?”

Renly grinned. “You’re welcome.”

Not that drilling down on his particular neuroses solved his ability to pay attention that night. Despite the fact that they were supposed to be feting his brother before he got married, Red kept having the same damn problem. He couldn’t keep his mind on the conversation.

With effort, he forced himself to tune back in just as Mario was saying, “—ridiculously cool, right? And Renly, my man, I owe you big time.”

“The hell you do,” Simon said. “You should run far and fast.”

“What did I miss?” Red asked. Renly shot him a knowing look, but answered anyway.

“Mario’s singing my praises because I’m sending him to Francesca’s house on Monday to check out her security system. I was going to handle it, but, hey, honeymoon.”

Across the table, Mario beamed. “Seriously, Renly. You are the coolest.”

“Just promise me you won’t drool on her. Very uncool.”

The rest of the table laughed, but Simon only shook his head.

Red considered asking the new guy what his problem with Hollywood was, but decided he had problems enough of his own. Instead, he kicked back and sipped his Coke, half-listening to the others laugh and tell jokes. They teased Renly and praised Abby, and the conversation ebbed and flowed. But Red couldn’t manage to keep his bearings. Instead, his mind drifted, and he found himself looking out over the street, watching the tourists and residents stroll by.

The restaurant boasted doors that folded back, allowing the place to essentially be an open-air restaurant. He imagined himself and Jo strolling along the sidewalk, remembering that they’d done just that in college, coming down here to go walking on the beach or roller skating on the paved path.

He should bring her back here. They could—

He saw her. A flash of dark hair. That slightly crooked smile that on some women would look cute, but on her just seemed evil. The woman.

No.

He blinked. Because it couldn’t be her. He closed his eyes, then looked over again, and sure enough, she was gone.

Fuck.

His damn mind was playing tricks, and it was his own fault. He should never have told Jo about the woman. Talking about her had brought her back into his mind. Had given her life again, even though he knew damn good and well that she was dead. He’d seen the explosion, the rubble. There was no way she survived.

She lived now only in his head, but apparently that was enough to drive him crazy.

He lifted his glass to take a sip of Coke, then realized he was shaking. He tried to stop, but couldn’t seem to manage it. He had to go look; he had to be sure.

He bent over and tapped his brother’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back.” Then, before Renly even had a chance to respond, he stepped out of the restaurant and moved to the middle of the street, ignoring the cars that honked, and the people that shouted for him to get the fuck out of the road.

But he saw no one. Not a single person who looked like her. It had been his imagination. It must have been.

He headed back in, telling himself to chill the fuck out. And for a little bit, he was actually able to take his own damn advice. Half an hour later, he’d relaxed, and was kicked back, grinning as Quincy shared how he and Eliza found each other again, that British accent of his making the undercover-at-a-sex-party mission sound pretty damn classy.

That’s when he saw her again.

Shit.