Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (40 page)

Butch turned and went in search of Regina.
As he headed toward the front door, h
e nodded toward Claire as he walked past Jake and Mike
moving
toward the dance floor. The sooner he got this over with
,
the better for everyone involved. He didn’t need to be dealing with this now with so many potential threats inside. He had planned to stay with her all evening and never leave her side
. A
s it was
,
right now, he was getting an
t
sy with worry not knowing where she was.

Butch found Regina lean
ing
up against her car in the driveway. She was wearing jeans and a sweater
,
and her hair was up in a ponytail. She had her arms crossed over her chest
,
and she looked pissed.
She narrowed her eyes at him
,
and a frown marred her lips. Yep, this was going to be uncomfortable. He walked over to her and placed his own arms across his chest. “Regina,
I told you this was a bad time and I’d call you in a few days. W
hat are you doing here?”

She let her hands fall and took a step
,
invading his personal space. She placed her palms on his chest. “I was worried about you. I’ve called and emailed you
,
and you
keep putting me off. Butch this isn’t going away and I think your little socialite knows it and is keeping you from me
.”

Butch removed her hands from his chest. “I’ve been busy
and I suggest you leave Claire out of this
.
This is between you and me.
”

Regina looked down at her hands and up toward Claire’s house. “
You don’t belong together, Butch. This isn’t your world
.”

Butch felt bad for the woman
,
but she’d known the score when they were together. She should have known that they w
ouldn’t be
together
permanently
even back then. “I told you before I moved that what we had was over.”
Butch looked in the backseat looking for the baby seat and it was empty. “Where’s the baby, Regina?”

Regina looked down at her feet. “I
thought that maybe if you saw me again, you’d realize what we have and want me back.
”

Butch folded his arms across his chest. “Answer me Regina, where’s the baby.”

Regina planted her fist
s
on her hips and raised her eyebrow. “
There isn’t one okay!” Regina screamed her face turning red.

“Why? Why would you lie to me?” Butch let his hands drop to his side. He felt betrayed.

“I wanted you back.”

Butch could feel his blood pressure rising by the heat that threatened to overcome him. She’d done what he’d seen countless other women do, over the course of his career of being a bodyguard. He’d seen women get scorned and turn on the ones they’d loved. He’d just never expected it to be from her. He’d been upfront and honest with her from the beginning. They weren’t an exclusive item, just having fun and he’d made sure she understood when he moved away.

Butch balled his fist and flexed his hands open and closed. Her lies could have torn him and Claire
apart;
it could have put a wall between them, even though they didn’t let it. He tilted his head back and forth released the tension in his shoulders. She’d loved him and he wouldn’t fault her for that. It wasn’t her fault that he didn’t love her back.

Butch took her hand. “I’m sorry Regina. Even though you lied to me, I’m sorry for not being the man that loves you back.”
 

He
’d known
it was coming. He’d seen Regina pissed before
,
and
at this moment
, she looked even worse
than he’d ever seen her.

“I traveled f
our
hours to get here, and all you can tell me is your sorry.” Regina threw her hands up. “I should have known better. I shouldn’t have ever started
seeing you.
”

Butch
k
new he had to put this to rest once and for all. He needed to be hones
t with her so she would truly understand that he would never be coming back. He didn’t want to hurt her, but she deserved the truth. “I love
Claire
.”

Regina stopped in mid rant. Her mouth hung open as she stared at him. Her breathing was heavy. She snapped her mouth closed
,
and he knew what she’d do next. He noticed that she balled her hand into a fist. When she came up swinging, he’d been prepared. He cupped her fist
,
stopping it several inches away from his face. She was
predictable
. Butch kept her fist in his hand. “Regina, I never meant to hurt you
.”

Regina
yanked her fist from his grasp
, j
ammed
her key in the door
,
and unlocked the car. She was about to get in before Butch stopped her
. H
e til
t
ed his head. “How did you know I was here?”

“That
’s none of your business.”
Regina let her eyes slide down the length of Butch’s body and back up. “This
…
” She waved her hand to encompass all of him. “
This i
sn’t who you are. I met you in a fucking strip joint.” Regina tilted her head toward the house. “Does she know the truth about who you really are?
You
r
kind and my kind belong together. You don’t belong in that penguin suit, just like you don’t belong in that fancy house. You can keep fooling yourself, but we both know that’s the truth.
”
Regina
slid into
the
driver
’s
se
at and peeled out from the driveway, flinging rocks and leaving dust in her path.

Butch walked back up to the house,
lost in thought. He knew Regina was just mad, but what if she’d been
right.
Nah.
Butch shrugged and walked back
through the doors on a mission to find Claire
.

He came up short when he reached the dance floor. There were only a few couples gliding around it, and there in the middle was the woman he was looking for. She was in the arms of another man. Butch clenched his fist. He knew nothing was going on between the two of them, but just seeing her with another man was driving him crazy.
Thompson’s
hands
gently held
Claire’s waist and hadn’t meandered any f
a
rther.
She’d draped her arms over
his chest with her fingers clasped around his neck
,
and they were swaying to the soft music. Both of them looked uncomfortable. Butch glanced around the dance floor and spotted Jake and Mike on the other side, watching the same thing he was.

Butch took a few deep breaths and smiled as he walked to the middle of the dance floor and tapped
Thompson
on his shoulder. “Okay, you’ve enjoyed her
long
enough. It’s time to give her back.”

Thompson
and Claire stopped dancing. They exchanged a look before
Thompson
stepped back. He’d seen that look on his old partner
’
s face. He was making sure Claire was okay with him leaving her. Just what the hell had happened while he was gone? Claire no
dded
,
and Thompson
turned, looked at Butch
,
and shook his head.
Damn.
He hadn’t meant for Regina to show up. He could only imagine that Claire was now pissed at him too. She had to understand that he’d had no control over the situation. He needed to smooth things over with her
. I
t w
ould
make it more difficult for him to watch her if she didn’t want to be by his side.
He needed to fix this
,
and he needed to fix it now.

Butch stepped into the spot that
Thompson had vacated
. He
fixed
his arms around the woman he loved and pulled her close. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He teased at the seam until she opened
,
and he
tilted his head deepening
the kiss. His palms slid up and down her back as he kissed her. He refrained from moving them lower like he wanted to. Her hands slid from his chest up around his neck as she pulled him closer. Butch couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted her here and now but knew they were putting on a show for all of her friends and associates.

He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead on hers. “Claire,
there is no baby
.
She’d made it up just to get me back.
”

Claire closed her eyes for a brief second. For that second
,
his heart was in his stomach not knowing whether she would believe he was telling her the truth
or if he’d screwed things up
. “I love
you
,
Claire,
only you
.”

Claire opened her eyes and looked up at him. “I believe you.”

Butch let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He couldn’t lose this woman, ever. She’d become a part of his life that he refused to let go. He pulled back and kissed her forehead. “Thank you,
angel
.”

He pulled her close
,
and they began to sway to the music. She laid her head on his chest
,
and all was rig
ht in his world again. She was in his arms, right where she was meant to be. The song was over far too quick
ly
for Butch. He wasn’t finished cherishing the body pressed
up
against his. Butch took her hand and pulled her through the French doors that led to the courtyard out
back. He hadn’t spent much time outside her house since he
’d
got here. He hadn’t realized the beauty of the place.