Zane. Brenda Jackson
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leaned back against a table and kept his gaze fixed on hers. “Didn’t it bother you that Mack was checking out other women with you right by his side? And don’t say you weren’t aware of it, because you’re too astute not to have been.”
She shrugged. “All men check out other women. Big deal. Are you saying you never looked twice at another woman while we were together?”
He sputtered out a harsh laugh. “Hell, yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I might be an ass when it comes to some things, Channing, but I would never have disrespected you that way. While we were together, I never once looked at another woman. You were everything I needed.”
The next words were out of her mouth before she could call them back. “Evidently not, Zane. Had I been everything you needed then I wouldn’t be engaged to marry another man.”
She saw the anger that flared in his eyes and knew she’d made a direct hit. She might have been everything he needed in the bedroom, but she hadn’t been in all the ways that mattered.
“Goodbye, Zane.” She walked around him as she headed for the door.
A few days later, Zane stood on the porch of his cousin Dillon’s home. It was Friday night chow-down, when all the Westmorelands in Denver got together. The women cooked, and the men came hungry. Although they all lived in what was considered Westmoreland Country, they didn’t get to see each other every day. The chow-down was a way to bring everyone up to date on what was happening with each family member.
Seldom was anyone outside of family invited, but Zane hadn’t thought twice about making Channing a regular during the nine months they’d dated. His family liked her, and she’d gotten along with everyone—especially the womenfolk. After a while, they’d begun to consider her one of them. That was when his troubles began.
Channing had gotten ideas about them sharing a future. Somewhere along the way, she’d figured he had fallen in love and was rethinking his position on marriage. She’d found out the hard way that Zane Westmoreland didn’t change easily.
“You’ve been pretty quiet all evening.”
Zane glanced over his shoulder as his brother Ramsey stepped outside to join him. After dinner, the women retired to the family room to watch a chick flick, and, like usual after such a delicious meal, the men gathered in the game room for drinks and poker. But Zane hadn’t been in the mood. He had come out to get a breath of fresh air.
“I’ve had a rough week with the horses,” he said, knowing that was only part of the reason for his mood. “Sugar Plum had to be transported to Casey, Visa Girl got loose and ran wild for a few hours, and Born Free had a difficult delivery.”
Ramsey chuckled as he came to stand beside Zane. “That’s all?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
Ramsey didn’t say anything for a minute and then, “Not for Zane Westmoreland, who thrives on challenges and difficulties. Why don’t you tell me the real reason for your surly mood?”
Zane didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Channing’s back in town.”
“So I heard.”
Zane flashed an accusing gaze at his brother. “And you didn’t tell me, either?”
“I only heard she was back this morning. Chloe mentioned it over breakfast. I understand she was invited to dinner tonight but declined.”
“Nobody told me she was back. I should have been prepared,” Zane muttered.
Ramsey lifted a brow. “Prepared? Why? You saw her last month at Megan’s wedding.”
“That was then. This is now.”
“What makes ‘now’ different, Zane?” Ramsey asked. “I assumed you’d pretty much made up your mind two years ago when you let her go. You said you didn’t want Channing in your life.”
“That’s not true,” Zane snapped.
Ramsey lifted a brow, not anticipating such a strong response. “Then what is true?”
Zane paused and then said, “She wanted more than I could give.”
Ramsey frowned. “Did she want more than you could give, or was it that you refused to give her more?”
Zane heaved out a deep, frustrated breath. “Channing knew the score, Ram. Love is not in my vocabulary. She knew that and accepted my terms. Then, months later, she tried changing the game, but there was no way I was going along with it.”
“So, in other words, you wanted her as your lover but had no intention of ever allowing her to be more than that. You would have been satisfied to keep a casual arrangement for another two, three, possibly four years? Forever? Damn it, Zane, how would you feel if Rico would have wanted that kind of relationship with Megan, or Callum with Gemma? Yet you had no problem wanting one with Channing.”
“I don’t love her like Rico loves Megan and Callum loves Gemma,” Zane said, narrowing his eyes. “And I wasn’t going to lie to her and say I did.”
Ramsey shook his head. “Then I don’t blame Channing for leaving. You let her know she was nothing more than another notch on your bedpost.”
“She accepted my terms like all my other lovers,” Zane snapped. “She knew the score. We couldn’t have the kind of future she wanted because I didn’t love her.”
“If you really didn’t have feelings for her, you wouldn’t have moped around for months after she left, and you wouldn’t be all tied up in knots about her being in Denver now,” Ramsey muttered. He shook his head and added, “Well, it doesn’t matter now since she’s engaged.”
“He doesn’t deserve her,” Zane said in a voice sparked with anger.
“At least the man is willing to give her something you wouldn’t—to make her a permanent part of his life.”
“Damn it, Ramsey. You saw how he was looking at other women at Megan’s wedding. He’s going to end up hurting her.”
“And you didn’t?” When Zane didn’t respond, Ramsey didn’t say anything else for a minute and then said, “I wasn’t going to mention this to you because it’s really none of my business, but …”
Zane raised a brow. “What’s none of your business?”
“I overheard a conversation between Megan and Chloe yesterday.”
“About what?”
“Channing’s fiancé. Tara called from Atlanta and told Megan she saw the man last week and remembered him from the wedding as Channing’s fiancé. He was out on the town with women in intimate settings on two separate occasions.” Tara was married to their cousin Thorn and they lived in Atlanta.
Zane swore through gritted teeth. In a way, he wasn’t surprised about what Tara had seen. But what did surprise him was the fact that Channing refused to accept that her fiancé was a womanizer.
“Like I said, he doesn’t deserve her,” Zane said. “I might not have loved her, but I would never have betrayed her the way he’s doing.”
Ramsey nodded. “I’m going back inside. Are you coming?”
Zane shook his head. “No, I’m calling it a night. Think I might even sleep in late tomorrow. I haven’t done that on a Saturday in a long time.”
“All right. But you’ll be joining us for Sunday’s dinner, right? Susan’s going to be upset if she doesn’t see her uncle Zane there,” Ramsey said, smiling.
Zane thought about his niece, who would be turning four soon. The niece he adored. “I won’t disappoint her. I’ll be there,” he said, moving down the steps. “Tell the others good-night for me.”
“Hey, babe, are you missing me? All you have to do is say the