The Girl in the Mirror (Sand & Fog #3) (13 page)

Madison rakes me with her eyes as Jacob walks off.

“Nick,” she murmurs firmly, not dropping her gaze from me, “can you give us a few?”

“Sure, Legs. I’ll go get cleaned up, too.”

He drops a kiss on her shoulder, leaving me alone with her. Why didn’t I keep my mouth shut?

She plops down to sit on the sand, taking me with her. “What’s going on, Krystal?”

“Nothing,” I say a little too quickly and defensively.

“He’s a great guy. Don’t treat him badly.”

“Don’t lecture me about Jacob. And since when are you two friends?”

“Since about two hours ago when you were running.” She crinkles her nose. “I was kind of rotten over breakfast. Said some crap about you to see what his reaction would be, and I’m telling you Jake is in deep over you. Defended you like a SWAT team. He really cares about you. He’s a good guy. You shouldn’t be—”

Her voice trails off without finishing that thought.

“Be what?” I ask, though I don’t want to.

Her brows lift. “Shouldn’t be the way you were with Daryl.”

A harsh lump rises in my throat.

“That’s so unfair, Maddy. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m not happy with how things went down with Daryl, but getting to know Jake I’m starting to understand it. I can see how you could fall for him so quickly. What I don’t understand is why you’re trying to wreck it. He’s a good guy. Open your eyes,” she says sadly.

Why am I even trying to win this argument?

I let out a ragged breath. “Fine, Maddy. I’ll try not to be so…overly nitpicky with him.”

Madison makes a face. “The word I was thinking was
hard.
Try not to be so hard on him. The guy’s trying. This weekend can’t be easy for him. You know, with how you started out with Daryl and all, and how Nick is Daryl’s best friend. It’s got to be awkward for him, and I think he’s into you a lot more than you realize. You should hear how he talks about you, Krystal. I have a feeling this guy could be a really good thing for you if you let it be.”

If you let it be
—Madison the peacemaker with a single disarming dose of her father. Five words lifted from Grandpa Jack and I’m feeling terrible for being so snappy with Jacob and everyone else.

“I’ll apologize to Jacob, Maddy. Can we consider this done?”

“Good. This guy is the kind who’s sensitive and easy to break. Don’t break him, OK? Nick and I really like him.”

When I go into my bedroom the shower is running. Thank you, Jacob, for asking if you could use my bathroom.

I sink down on the bed and stare at the partially closed door. I need to stop being petty. The guy needed a shower. What does it matter where he takes one?

Plopping back on the pillow, I try not to listen to him as I wait. My gaze wanders around the room. There’s a duffel on the carpet outside the bathroom door.

When did that get here?

A brown leather case atop it.

A gun?

Scrunching my nose, I shake my head. That’s definitely got to go. Don’t like guns anywhere near me, not ever. The security guys are always strapped, but really, with how they’re built, why do they need them?

Groaning, I cover my face with my hands. Not my type, but I can’t deny Jacob’s a gorgeous guy—a gorgeous guy I’ve got to let stay in my room with me.

My leg starts to jiggle.

Three days of this.

Sharing a room with a guy who looks like
that.

Not good.

I say my mantra in my head:
No time. No want. No need.

Vibration in my pocket and I pull out my phone, read the screen, and then grimace. I didn’t expect to hear from Daryl so soon.

I hit the speaker button and say, “Hi.”

“Is it true?” he accuses harshly.

My scalp tingles then cold prickles run my body. Oh shit, he’s pissed, and by the tone of his voice I can tell either Maddy or Nick told him about my imaginary relationship with Jacob.

“I’m sorry about what happened. Are you all right?”

“No, I’m not all right, and fuck you for asking me that. Is it true? You’ve been seeing someone behind my back and he’s there with you now?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then how is it, Krystal? Explain why some guy used my face as a punching bag, threatened me to stay away from you, and is with you for the rest of the weekend.”

“I didn’t intend any of that. He’s one of the security guys—”

“Security guy, huh? Who happens to be sleeping with you? Stop lying, Krystal. Two years and this is how you end it?”

“I’m not lying.”

Whistling comes from the bathroom and I realize the shower has turned off.

“Is that him? Is he there with you now?”

There’s no way to answer that and not make him angrier. No, never expected that. He’s always bland, such an even temperament. No highs, no lows. But oh, Krystal, that has changed since last night. He’s one jealous and furious male, and I need that to figure out how to defuse this quickly.

“I care about you, Daryl. I always will. But I don’t want to get back together. And I don’t think talking about this will do either of us any good.”

I end the call before he can respond.

A few seconds later there’s a ding.

Text.

Daryl:
Don’t you hang up on me again. We’re talking about this.

Before I can turn off my phone, it rings. There’s no way I can manage Daryl going psycho, Madison watching every move I make, and Jacob in my universe all on the same day.

I hit answer. “It’s over, Daryl. I don’t want to be with you anymore. Stop calling. Stop texting. You’re acting crazy.”

“What’s going on? Are you OK?”

You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.
My life of sane order has become an unending stream of unexpected awful.

“I’m fine, Daddy. It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t sound like nothing to me, and you never call me Daddy unless you’re trying to hide something.”

My muscles grow tauter.

Is that true?

“I’m not trying to hide anything, Dad. Where are you?”

“London. What’s going on, Krystal?”

My hand tightens around the phone. If I don’t get him calmed down, I’ll have Mom on the scene in thirty minutes.

No, can’t let that happen.

How do I make this soon-to-be escalating problem go away before
it blows up?

Partial truth seems the only answer.

“I broke up with my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? You don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Well, I did until last night. Nothing serious, only one of those high school things, which is why I thought I should end it before I leave for New York.”

“Why haven’t we met him?”

“It wasn’t that serious.”

“Krystal…” he says in exaggerated chiding.

“Dad, please can we talk about this later? I’m upset. Can’t you tell? The last thing I want to do is talk about it.”

“Maddy’s still with you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’ll talk about it later. But I expect you to explain to me why you had a boyfriend we know nothing about. The boyfriend—not a problem. The not telling us—big problem.”

Peachy. I’ve got that to look forward to.

“Everything going OK with you?” I ask.

“Yes, just wishing I was home.”

“I wish you’d said goodbye to me before you took off.”

I hear a ragged breath through the phone.

That was a childishly mean thing to say to Alan.

He’s a good dad.

“I don’t like it when I don’t see you before I leave either, Krystal. I need to do better at that. Making sure I touch base with all of you every time I have to travel.”

“It’s OK. I understand. You’re busy. It’s no big deal. I move out next week. Should make it easier. One less kid to remember.”

I laugh, but my dad doesn’t.

“No. It won’t make it easier. I’m going to hate not having you home. And I’m never too busy for you, sunshine.”

I hear the sink shut off in the bathroom. “I’m glad you called, Dad. But I’ve got to go. Maddy’s waiting for me.”

“All right, then. Try to have fun this weekend. Try not to feel down over Daryl.”
God, my dad never misses anything.
“Finding a guy isn’t hard. Finding a good one takes work. If he’s not the one, there’s no use trying to make him the one. Remember that. Trust your instincts. You broke up with him for a reason.”

“I’ll remember, Dad.”

“Cheer up and have fun. There’re lots of guys in this world—”

Lots of guys in this world.

Oh my
—there’s one in my bathroom doorway and he’s naked.

My fingers tighten around the phone as I watch Jacob crouch down over his bag, and I struggle to look at only his arms flexing as he rummages through his things and tosses clothes on the floor beside him.

Damn, I can’t stop.

My gaze moves lower to the package, and my cheeks burn. It suddenly feels like I’m in a sauna.

God, when did I become a pervert?

I’m on the freaking phone with my dad.

I snap out of my trance and whisper, “I’ve gotta go. Talk to you soon, Daddy.”

I tap off the phone.

“Don’t walk around my room without clothes on,” I exclaim loudly.

Jacob jerks up, startled. “Oh shit,” he says, grabbing the towel from the tile floor behind him and clutching it there as he rises. “I didn’t know you were back from the beach.”

Flustered, he struggles to get the towel around his hips without showing anything.

“From now on, assume that I’m here. It’s my bedroom.”

He nods, wordless, and worse, without moving out of my vision. Having the towel around his hips doesn’t help a thing. He looks even sexier, staring at the ground, holding the white cotton with his hand there—
no, don’t look there
—and I shift my gaze back to his face, but my insides grow more jumpy.

“Can you get dressed so we can talk?”

“Sorry,” he mumbles as he snatches up his clothes and disappears back into the bathroom. A few seconds later he returns, wearing clean shorts, leather flip-flops, and a baggy t-shirt. “It won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t.”

He reaches for his gun, lifts his shirt, giving me another fast peek of his abs, and it looks like he’s about to clip it to his back.

“Put that down. No guns. Not around me. Not ever.”

His hazel eyes meet mine evenly. “I’m required to carry a weapon at all times when I’m on the job.”

GI Joe Merrick again. Only this time it doesn’t bother me. It’s helping to kill the naked Jacob effect.

“But you’re not on the job.”

For a moment he looks undecided, then he shoves the holster deep to the bottom of his suitcase and zips it closed.

“Thank you. I don’t like guns. I never have.”

He shrugs. “A gun is only as bad as the person who holds it.”

That sounds like something he’s said before and the kind of thing a guy says to a girl.

“If you want, I can take you to the range,” he adds, crossing the room to settle in a chair a good distance from the bed. “Teach you how to shoot, and then you’ll feel less uneasy around them.”

“I don’t want to feel less uneasy around them.”

He rakes back his damp hair. “You sound like my sister. Hated guns. Didn’t want to shoot. A few lessons and now she carries a Glock in her purse. Every girl should know how to defend herself. That’s my philosophy.”

My eyes widen. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“Why should you? I’m an employee,” he says in a harsh, clipped way that makes me flush.

His jaw tightens and he looks away.

What’s up with that?

Then I remember, belatedly, what went down at the volleyball court and why I was waiting in here for him.

The tension swirling between us is suffocating.

I take in a deep breath. “I think we need to talk about what happened outside.”

His gaze shoots to mine and then he looks away quickly. “No, we don’t,” he says stiffly. “We’re good. My being here this weekend we can consider part of my job responsibilities. No need to talk about anything that happened on the beach.”

Job responsibility?

That was pretty cold and dismissive from a guy who just kissed me. I shake my head, frustrated with my thoughts. No, don’t think about that, Krystal. This is awful enough without going back
there.
Apologize for being rude and move on or the rest of the weekend might feel like this.

“No, Jacob, we’re not good. You’ve been such a nice guy to me—”

“Hey, forget it. I have.” The tic starts in his cheek. He stands up and pulls his cell from his pocket. “No need to say more, Krystal. I’m going to go out to the front patio for a while. I need to make a call. Grab me when you guys figure out what you’re doing next.”

He retreats into the hallway and closes the door between us before I can answer him. I stare at the empty room. That was odd. He was really strange, even for Jacob.

I was only trying to apologize.

Why did he react that way?

* * *

Madison crinkles her nose as she slowly inspects me.

“Krystal, why aren’t you ready yet? Start moving, girl. I want to get out of here.”

I shake my head, annoyed. “I am ready.”

Her golden brows go high on her forehead. “OK. I won’t say another word. Not even that your mother wears sexier clothes than that.”

Oh no, she didn’t.

Did she really play the mother card—jeez, Louise—like that one is going to get me going?

No, not responding to that.

I start shoving things into my simple canvas cross-body bag.

She looks around the room. “Where’s Jake?”

“His name is Jacob. Stop pretending you’re besties to irritate me. I know what you’re doing, Maddy, and it’s not going to work.”

“I’m not doing anything.” She rummages through my open suitcase. “Whoa. This is cute. I wish it was my size. I’d borrow it from you. You always have the most incredible clothes in hiding and you never take them out. What’s the point of having all these beautiful things if you don’t wear them? Is it like in that movie when the girl had that incredible collection of shoes in her closet that she never wore? You just want to know you have them? Why don’t you wear this?”

She tosses something from the bag onto the bed.