Free Sinners On Tour 02 Rock Hard by Olivia Cunning Page A

again, and then she slid the door open. She had her head ducked down as she tried to brush past him. He poked her in the ribs and she glared up at him. Just as he’d suspected. Her eyes and nose were red and puffy.
    “You were so crying.”
    “Just leave me alone, Sed. You’re the last person on Earth I want to see right now.”
    She was the only person on Earth he wanted to see. Ever.
    He let her pass and entered the bathroom, closing the door quietly. He didn’t really need to use the bathroom. He’d just wanted to be near her. Even if she did spout her hatred at him. Hatred was better than nothing. Hatred he could deal with. He couldn’t deal with nothing. He’d tried to deal with nothing for two years. It never went away. Just sat there inside his chest as a big empty hole.
    Sed flushed the unused toilet and washed his hands. He opened the door and stood in the doorway. Jessica’s shoulder dominated his attention as she sat at the dining room table booting up Myrna’s laptop. He needed an excuse to be in the dining area. Any excuse. His stomach rumbled on cue.
    He found some shrimp scampi and pasta primavera in the refrigerator. Leftovers from the feast Myrna had made for Trey the same day she’d agreed to marry Brian. Had it really only been three days ago?
    Sed glanced over his shoulder and caught Jessica staring at his naked back reflectively.
    When her eyes met his, she jerked and rapidly keyed several numbers into her spreadsheet.
    “Are you hungry?”
    “A little,” she admitted quietly.
    When he placed a plate of warmed-over food on the table beside the computer, she glanced up from her work and smiled. His heart skipped a beat.
    “Thanks,” she murmured.
    Her gaze dropped to his bare chest. Her tongue darted out between her lips. She shook her head slightly and then focused her attention on her food.
    “This smells awesome,” she said. “Did you make it?”
    “If by make it, you mean heat it up, yeah. But Myrna cooked it. She has a soft spot for Trey’s stomach.” He chuckled. “All our stomachs benefit from that helpless puppy look of his.”
    She laughed. “I don’t think there’s a woman on Earth who can say no to that look.”
    “Quite a few men can’t say no to it either.”
    She smiled. A genuine smile that softened her features and lit her eyes. Sed’s breath caught. God, he’d missed that smile. And those lips. Against his.
    “Is Trey still batting for both teams?” she asked.
    “Unless something’s changed since yesterday.”
    He dug a couple of forks out of a drawer, handed one to Jessica, and settled into the booth across from her with his plate.
    She took a cautious bite. “Delicious!” Jessica slurped noodles into her mouth and shoveled in several shrimp. She gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.
    He chuckled. “Are you hungry?” Typically, she was the slowest eater on the planet. Or she used to be. Maybe she’d changed. The idea unsettled him.
    “I forgot to eat today.”
    “How do you forget to eat?”
    “Between getting fired, evicted, cussed out by a cop, and then hunting you down, it sort of slipped my mind. Which reminds me.” She heaved her massive purse from the table and pulled out a familiar stack of cash. “I don’t want this.”
    When he didn’t accept the money, she dropped it on the table.
    “You’d rather be evicted than take money from me?”
    “Yes.”
    He would never understand her. Never. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford to take care of her. He wanted to do it. It gave him satisfaction to provide for the people important to him, but she’d never allow him that simple pleasure. The things he gave her—his ring, his money, his heart—obviously weren’t good enough for her.
    As soon as the cash was out of her possession, the tension left her expression and she sat up straighter. She took a deep breath and said, “Myrna said I should tell you that I felt insulted by your gift.”
    She met his eyes briefly, her cheeks