Moisture splashes onto the black ink, but the words barely discolor. “How could he do this to me? Again.” More water falls, and I stupidly look up at the ceiling to see if it’s leaking. Tears run from the corners of my eyes, hot and numerous.

The front door opens and closes again. “Rowan?” Seth rushes to me, taking me in his arms. “Shit. You’re crying. Look, I’m sorry. I only wanted to prove a point and took things too far.”

“Like to Hawaii far?” I hear myself ask.

“Fuck,” he mutters, trying to take the papers from me, but I refuse to give them up. I need proof of his betrayal. “It’s not what you think.”

I smile at him, but even I know it’s stiff and brittle, just like me at this moment. “It’s never what I think.”

Seth

Rowan looks so vulnerable, kneeling on the floor like she is. I lean back, trying to catch her eye, but it’s no use, she won’t look at me. She’s too busy staring at my old orders. Orders I had to refuse again today because there was a mix-up in my paperwork. I asked for another hard copy for my files. There is no way I’m going to have the Marines come arrest my ass for being AWOL over a damn filing error.

“I don’t believe you,” Rowan says.

Had I said all that out loud? “I’m serious. Why in the hell would I spend so much time with you if all I planned is to leave in the end?”

“To get back at me,” she says flatly.

“How much sense does that make, Rowan?”

“How much sense did it make for you to blame me for going to jail?”

I groan, letting go of her. “I was seventeen, damn it. Barely a man.”

Her blue eyes finally meet mine. “Now you’re a man of twenty-four and ready to leave me. Again. And to make things easier on your conscience, you deeded me this house and are totally willing to sell the business to me if I want it.” Her beautiful eyes narrowed. “Do you feel better now?”

“Hell, no, I don’t feel better,” I roar. I stand up and begin to pace. “I’ve told you the truth and given you what you wanted so you could feel secure in your future, not like you’re hanging out in the wind, waiting for a big gust to blow you away.

“I did that, not your brother, not your parents, not anyone but me. The man who loves you,” I add.

“So you say,” she says.

“So I say,” I repeat with a laugh. “So I do. So I did. Without me you wouldn’t have shit.”

“Get out,” Rowan snaps, jumping to her feet. She shoves at my chest, but I won’t budge. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

“Make me.”

Her hand snaps back, like she’s going to slap me. I brace for it, but it never comes. Instead, she shoves my duffel bag into my chest and runs into her bedroom, slamming the door and locking it.

“That went well.” I take a few deep breaths to clear my head. “I’m heading to Jase’s to stay,” I call out. “If you need anything, I’ll be there.” I have no idea why I’m telling her this. She already believes the worst about me.

“Good for you. He’s having a party tonight, so I’m sure you’ll find plenty of sloppy seconds,” she shouts.

Reluctantly, I leave the house, get in my truck, and call Jase. He answers on the second ring.

“Seth.”

I hear a breathy moan in the background.

“Mind if I crash at your place?” I ask, trying to ignore the woman who’s practically panting into the phone.

“Nah.” Something scrapes across the phone, and then I hear Jase whispering to the woman. “Like that, all the way down…fuck, that’s good.”

“Okay. I’ll knock real loud when I get there.”

“Yeah. See you.”

When it comes to Jase Simmons, texting is your friend, I remind myself. The dude had no shame, although at least he tried to be discreet. A little.

Since there’s a party at his place, I get out of my truck and walk the couple of blocks between the houses. My vehicle is safer at Rowan’s than at any throwdown at Jase’s. Some of his friends have no clue what private property actually means, or they don’t care.

Just as I walk up the driveway, Piper comes bursting out the side entrance, her face all flushed. Oh, fuck. Surely that’s not the girl who was on the phone. Rowan’s going to kill Jase if he’s just used Piper and then sent the poor girl on her way. Hell, I’ll help her.

“Piper,” I call out. “Need a ride?”

Her eyes grow wide. “No. I…um…parked down the street, but you might not want to go inside right now. Jase has company.”

Jase chooses that moment to appear, his jeans barely on him and a murderous expression on his face. “Piper Ross, get your ass back here so we can talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” she says primly and then steps behind me.

“Move it, O’Connor.” He walks toward me, trying to reach around to grab her.

“Nope.” I grab his arm. “The lady says no. Maybe you should go back inside.”

His blue eyes are bloodshot and he doesn’t look like he’s slept in days. There’s whiskey on his breath and his jaw is covered with what Piper would probably refer to as golden stubble. The girl has always had a thing for fairy tales, though I did appreciate the shoes she gave to Rowan. My ass and thighs did not appreciate the scratches from them, though.

“I just want to apologize,” he says.

Piper peeks around the other side. “You have nothing to apologize for. I should have called before visiting.”

“Wouldn’t have been any different,” I mutter, and Jase’s jaw works.

“Not helping,” he points out and takes a step back. He holds up his hand. “Not going to touch you.”

“I don’t have a problem with you touching me,” she says and I want to cover her mouth. “We’re friends, Jase, and I only wanted to check on you and bring you something to eat.”

His dark blue gaze roams over her. “You brought me something very delicious.”

Oh Jesus. Yeah, he’s smooth, but I do not have time for this. I’m tired as fuck from extra PT, dealing with Rowan, and getting my ass chewed out by my commander before he realized his mistake.

Piper’s hazel gaze drops, her cheeks flushing. “Your date is looking for you.”

“My what?” he says and then glances behind him. I look, too, only to see the face responsible for the panting. She’s nice to look at if you like that fake-tit shit. I don’t. “Oh. Go back inside, Angel.”

Piper sucks in a breath. “She’s your angel?”

“It’s her stripper name,” I reply.

“It is?”

Jase glares at me. “There’s no shame in working for a living.”

“Of course not. I didn’t mean to imply there was,” Piper says. She starts edging away and I take a look at what she’s wearing. Oh, hell. No wonder Jase is so hell-bent on changing her mind. Piper looks like a winter pinup girl, wearing a sweater dress that clings to every lush curve and fur-topped high-heeled boots. But the kicker is the pearls in her ears and around her neck. They scream class and innocence on her.

Hell, even I approve of her outfit, though I’d rather see Rowan wearing it. That is, if we were on better terms and she didn’t hate me right now.

“You really want to take that,” I nod at Piper, “and dirty her up with Angel?”

For a minute, he considers it, I can see it with my own eyes. Then he shakes his head. “No.” He turns to Piper again. “Thanks for the casserole, kitten.”

She frowns. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to call me that anymore. I’m not fourteen anymore.”

He’d been calling her that since she was fourteen? How in the hell had I missed—oh, right. Rowan.

Jase holds out his hands, clearly insulted by her reprimand. “Excuse me, Ms. Ross. Or is it Princess Piper?” He points to her. “I like the sound of that. Go home, Princess, your kingdom misses you.

“And I’m the damn fool who can’t have you,” he mutters as she speed walks to her sport coup.