McKenzie leaned back after he left. Her life was far from perfect, but she knew this was the last time she would see that man. He was weak and pathetic, and the second she’d shown him some real backbone, it was obvious that the scumbag would go away.
If only she could show so much backbone with Byron. If only she could tell him she wanted to be with him. That just wasn’t going to happen. It was over between them, and the sooner she accepted that, the quicker she would be able to heal.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Byron watched McKenzie leave her place of business, and before he could call out to her, she was around the corner. He followed, planning to talk to her. But before he was able to do so, she stepped into the small put he’d ate at with her and Jewell and sat down. He followed close behind, but his plans were thwarted when he ran into Tyler.
“What in the world are you doing here?” his brother said. “This is so not your kind of place.”
“I’m meeting someone,” Byron replied, watching McKenzie seat herself at the same table he’d joined her and his sister-in-law at.
“Well, have a drink with your little brother first. I haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks,” Tyler said.
“I don’t have time right now.”
“You don’t have time for your brother?” Tyler raised an eyebrow.
“Let’s meet tomorrow,” Byron told him, still staring over at McKenzie’s table. That’s when he watched a man approach and sit down. Fury flooded over him. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t known she was a slut, but to see it firsthand made his stomach turn. “On second thought, I have time for a drink,” he said, and he took a bar stool next to Tyler. But he kept staring over at McKenzie’s table.
“What in the hell are you looking at so intently?” Tyler asked.
Before his brother could focus in on McKenzie, Byron distracted him. “I heard you’re seeing a new woman,” he said, and Tyler whipped his head around.
“Where did you hear that?” his brother asked.
“I have my sources,” Byron said. Then fury overmastered him all over again when the man sitting with McKenzie took her hand.
He wanted to go over there and stake his claim, tell this man, whoever he was, that McKenzie was his, and that he’d better keep his filthy hands off her if he knew what was good for him. But he turned away and focused on his brother instead.
It was better for him that he’d seen this, better for him to accept what she really was. He’d forced himself not to talk to her all last week, tried to tell himself he didn’t need or want her. But then, against his will, he’d found himself approaching her office building. He wanted her. It was as simple as that. If wanting anything, especially a woman, could be called simple.
“Did Blake say something to you?” Tyler asked him.
That caught Byron’s attention.
“What? So you can confide in Blake but not in me?” Byron was surprisingly hurt by this revelation.
“No, Byron, it’s not that. It’s just that Blake and I have talked some. He’s…I don’t know, he’s just so in love. Don’t you ever want that?” Tyler asked.
Byron’s gaze turned involuntarily back to McKenzie, who was still holding hands with the mystery man, and his heart flared. “No.” He said the word curtly at best.
“I think you’re lying,” Tyler told him. “I think you want it, but you’re afraid.” He sounded so sad.
“Don’t feel sorry for me,” Byron growled. “I can have anything I want. And if it were love I wanted, I would have it. In a heartbeat.”
“I don’t think so, brother. I think you’re afraid. Afraid because of what our mother was. But not all women are her.”
Before Byron could reply, someone approached. “I’m sorry I’m so late,” she said, stepping close to Tyler, a clear sign of possession.
“It’s not a problem,” Tyler replied. “I was talking to my brother here.”
“Oh, your brother!” she exclaimed, and she turned shockingly bright blue eyes toward Byron. “I’m Elena. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Before he could stop her, she leaned in and gave him a hug.
“What ever happened to handshakes?” Byron commented, and he watched a flare of hurt enter her eyes before she smiled through it.
“Sorry. I’m impulsive,” Elena told him.
“We’ll leave you to brood, big brother,” Tyler said. He stood up and put his arm around Elena, and they walked away.
So Byron had ticked off his little brother. That was nothing new.
He almost missed it, but the man who was sitting with McKenzie pushed back his chair, and that’s when he noticed the stress on her face. What in the world was going on? Was the man breaking up with her? Okay, she was going from one guy to the next, but Byron wasn’t satisfied to leave it at that. Things were over with him and McKenzie, but he still needed answers. As he watched the man walk out of the pub, he decided to follow him.
The guy didn’t make it far. About a block down the street he entered another bar and sat down. He ordered a cheap beer, piquing Byron’s curiosity even more. Byron sat down next to him and ordered a whiskey, noticing the guy looking at it like it was gold.
“Hey there,” Byron said in greeting as he downed his shot, and the man he’d targeted practically drooled over the drink.
“Hey,” he grumbled as he sipped on his cheap beer. The man didn’t look so good. What was McKenzie doing with a guy like him? He obviously had no money, so what good would the guy be to her?
“Looks like you’ve had one hell of a day. Let me get you a whiskey,” Byron said as he ordered another one for himself and one for the piece of crap next to him.
“Sounds great,” the man said, instantly perking up as the bartender set the glasses in front of them. Byron decided he needed to stay sober for this conversation, and he wanted the man drunk.
So he ordered a few more rounds, quickly dumping his own in the potted plant sitting conveniently there next to him at the end of the bar. The guy didn’t even notice, he was so focused on his own drinking. And after about fifteen minutes, the man was thinking that Byron was his new best friend.
“My name’s Nathan,” he slurred.
“Great to meet you, Nathan. What has you in here before five?” Byron asked, as he held his hand up to order another round.
“Women!” the man grumbled.