Free An Unexpected Attraction (Love Unexpected Book 3) by Delaney Diamond Page B

lungs. The glass in front of her became the center of her attention for a long time. Silence hovered over the table like a gloomy specter.
    “Jay…” She risked a look at him, and the intensity in his eyes burned into her soul. This was why they couldn’t be alone together, not even in a public place, apparently. “That’s the wine talking,” she croaked.
    His lips firmed, rebellious in the dismissal of her words. “It’s the truth.”
    “You can’t say something like that and just…”
    “Just what?”
    “Not expect me to react.” Anger swelled inside of her. Anger that he’d dared say something so intimate, so wrong . “You and I can’t happen. You know we can’t. It wouldn’t feel right.”
    “It would feel right,” he said in a measured tone. His gaze raked over her, mentally stripping her naked, violating her with the blatant hunger in his eyes. “It would feel fucking incredible.”
    She squeezed her thighs together. “Stop it, Jay.”
    “Why?” he asked harshly. He leaned forward, staring her right in the eyes. “So we can continue to act like there’s nothing between us?”
    “There is nothing between us. It’s not an act.”
    Angry color tinged his cheeks. “Dammit, Brenda, it’s been twelve years. Whatever sense of honor or guilt you feel is misplaced.”
    “Why?” she whispered fiercely. Her eyes shot to the table beside them. Certain the couple wasn’t paying them any attention, she continued. “Why did you ask me to come here? So you could harass me? So you could bombard me with your despicable thoughts? Jenna is my friend. I’m not going to betray her because it’s convenient for you.”
    “Jenna and I have been divorced for ten years.”
    “That doesn’t make it right. I don’t want to have this conversation with you.”
    “Tell me you feel nothing.”
    “Stop it.” What they’d done was wrong. He’d had a girlfriend. His girlfriend was her friend.
    “Tell me you feel nothing. You can’t, because you do. That night—”
    “ No .” She stiffened. The fist in her lap tightened. “We agreed nothing happened. And please, please stop looking at me like that.” His eyes said it all. What he wanted to do to her. How he’d do it.
    “How long are you going to keep this up?” he asked.
    “I’m ready to go,” she said, holding his gaze. “You can leave with me or I can leave without you. Whichever you prefer.” She picked up the goblet from the table and downed the last of the wine. Her hands shook. Erratic breaths sputtered from her chest.
    A stretch of silence hung between them like angry live wire. After a moment’s hesitation, Jay also finished off his wine. He called over the waiter and very rudely demanded the check. The poor waiter hadn’t done anything wrong but had become a casualty of their tense conversation.
    When the bill was paid, Brenda quickly stood and stalked ahead of Jay, not even pausing when he stopped to chat with Joel. She hurried down the street, brushing past the many pedestrians congregated on the city’s sidewalks this time of night.
    The pleasant evening she’d hoped to enjoy was over. Done. This was her punishment for wanting to spend time with him. Her punishment for enjoying his company too much.
    Brenda banked the corner toward the lot where she’d parked her car. She didn’t know how close he was until his voice came from behind her.
    “Do you plan to keep on running forever?”
    She pivoted and faced his angry glare. He loomed over her, appearing even larger than usual because of the street’s downward slope.
    “It was a kiss. Only a kiss, and a very long time ago. What do you want from me?”
    “Honesty. It was more than a kiss,” he said, halfway yelling. “Did you forget you were straddling me?”
    “Lower your voice.” Her eyes darted around the almost empty side street. A man rode by on a bike and a car horn blared, prompting a woman to hustle across the street. “You pulled me on top of your lap. You forced