Page 77 of Twice as Tempting

“He’s on a business trip,” Amanda said. She looked just as uncomfortable as the rest of them, but it was as if they were all actors in a play, and the scene wasn’t over yet.

“Ahh…I see. So, you married some rich guy who’s at work more than he’s at home. But hey, at least he can provide you with the lifestyle that you always wanted.”

Kelly reached out and placed a hand on Damian’s arm, but he didn’t even glance her way. “Don’t,” she hissed.

Amanda’s discomfort had morphed into anger, and she placed her hands on her hips and said, “He makes good money, but that’s not why I married him.”

“Oh, so you married him for love? Yeah, right!”

“Damian, I think we should leave,” Zack piped up, but his suggestion fell on deaf ears.

“What do you know about love anyway? You’ve never truly loved anyone other than yourself,” Amanda accused, her voice rising with each word.

Kelly had been so focused on Amanda and Damian, that she had failed to notice the small crowd that had gathered near the entrance to the kitchen. She noticed now, and she wanted to scream at them to go away and mind their own business. Beth’s face stuck out of the crowd, and she wore an expression of consternation mixed with amusement, which made Kelly want to slap her.

“I think you have that the wrong way around, sweetheart,” Damian hissed.

“Damian, we’re leaving. NOW!” Zack said, and he moved to stand alongside his brother.

“So, this is your girlfriend? Kelly?” Amanda spat. When Damian nodded, she took a step toward Kelly and said, “Good luck with him. You’re going to need it!” And with that, she turned on her red heels and stomped out of the kitchen. The people crowded around the doorway were forced to separate as she shoved her way through.

Zack locked his hands on Damian’s shoulders and forcibly turned him toward the door. “We’ll wait for you ladies outside,” he muttered as he led Damian away.

Kelly and Emma had set their purses down in the den, which meant that they would have to traverse the crowded living room to retrieve them.

“Stay right here,” Emma demanded. “I’ll get our purses.”

Kelly didn’t think that she could move even if she had wanted to. She forced herself to take several deep breaths before she would have to face Damian, and as she was doing so, Beth came into the kitchen.

“I’m so sorry, Kelly. I had no idea that Amanda used to be engaged to your boyfriend. If I’d have known, I wouldn’t have invited her.”

For some reason, Kelly doubted Beth’s sincerity. It seemed like she was more interested in gossiping than worrying about Kelly’s feelings. Before she could respond, Emma rushed back into the room and handed Kelly her purse.

“It’s not your fault, Beth. How would you have known? Anyway, we’re the ones who are sorry. We didn’t mean to disrupt your party.”

Leave it to Emma to smooth things over, Kelly thought gratefully. A minute later, Kelly and Emma were outside, and Kelly welcomed the crisp fall air into her lungs. As they walked down the driveway toward their vehicles, Kelly noticed that Zack and Damian were sitting inside Damian’s truck, but Zack was behind the wheel. Emma held her hand tightly as they approached the driver’s side.

“I’m going to drive Damian home. Emma, you can take Kelly and meet me in the parking lot of their apartment complex,” Zack said, leaving no room for argument.

Kelly sought out Damian’s face, but he was turned the other way, and the set of his shoulders told her that he was in no mood to talk. On the drive home, Emma attempted to make Kelly feel better, but it didn’t work. The ugly scene kept replaying in her head, and the soundtrack was stuck on Amanda snarling, “Good luck with him.” As Kelly thought about it, she realized that she and Damian had what could be described as a tumultuous relationship, and she wondered if, or when, things would smooth out. She wanted to believe it was because they were two passionate people who felt strongly and loved deeply, but was that really the case? It disturbed Kelly that Amanda had accused Damian of being incapable of love. He may not have said the words yet, but Kelly felt his love in so many ways and saw it there in his eyes even when he was trying to hide it. She knew how much he loved his nieces and his family, maybe not so much by his words, but by his actions, and that was what was important to her. Still, it would be nice to hear the words someday…

“Kell, do you want to stay over at our house tonight?” Emma said, breaking through her tangled-up thoughts.

“No. I’ll be fine once I get over the shock. When Damian told me that his ex went to MSU, I thought it was a possibility that I might know her, but he never told me her name, and I didn’t ask. Even if he would have, I obviously didn’t remember her.”

“Me neither. She must not have made a big impression on us,” Emma said and reached over to squeeze Kelly’s hand.

“It was just so ugly, wasn’t it? The words they flung at each other and everyone staring. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to show my face in front of those people again.”

“It was probably a bigger deal to us than to them. I bet everyone will forget about it after tonight.”

“Maybe, but I won’t, and Damian won’t either. Do you think that he’s still in love with her?”

“Absolutely not. From what Zack said, Amanda broke up with Damian over the phone, and they never really had it out. He’s probably carried that anger with him all this time, and when he saw her tonight, he lashed out. It probably didn’t help that he had been drinking too.”

Kelly hadn’t kept track of how many beers Damian had had, but she doubted that he was drunk. Besides, she had seen him intoxicated before, and he had never acted like that. “Well, I’m going to ask him about it when he decides to talk to me.”

“Just give him some time, Kelly. I’m sure he’ll explain everything once he simmers down.”

When they pulled into the apartment complex, Zack was leaned against Damian’s truck waiting for them—alone. Emma pulled into the space next to him, and Kelly got out.

Zack immediately pulled her in for a hug and said, “I apologize on my brother’s behalf. I’m sure he’ll apologize himself once he gets his shit together.”

“Yeah, I might have heard that once or twice before,” she said and sighed.

“Do you want me to walk you up to your apartment?” Zack asked.

“No. I’m fine, but thank you,” Kelly replied, grateful for how calmly Zack had handled the situation.

Emma and Zack waited in the car until she made it safely inside her apartment, and as they drove off, she couldn’t help but feel envious. They were going home together, happily in love, while she and Damian lived across the street from each other, yet it felt like they were a million miles apart.