Fool for Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

with her, she cringed. He'd said no. He'd offered her anything but
that. And it wasn't like she didn't know why he'd been reluctant. But what had
she done? Worked on him until he couldn't possibly say no and then had the very
best sex of her life.
    How was that even possible? In all her
years with David, he'd never rocked her world the way Joe had. What was she to
make of that? What did it mean?
    She sighed and spun the dazzling,
two-carat engagement ring around on her finger until it dawned on her that she
should probably take it off—if for no other reason than Joe hardly needed the
reminder that she was technically still committed to someone else.
    Not that her fiancé had bothered to
call for their anniversary. Heck, he probably didn't even remember that they'd
had their first date thirteen years ago yesterday, the summer before their
sophomore year. Janey remembered every detail of every minute she'd spent with
David. She knew the date of their first kiss, the date they finally had sex
during their senior year, and the date of every momentous occasion over
thirteen years together.
    If pressed, David probably wouldn't even
be able to recall the date they got engaged. Whereas Janey would never forget
August 18 nearly two years ago, when he surprised her by proposing when they
were sailing off Gansett.
    She had to stop thinking about him. It was
over. All the waiting and sacrificing and preparing had been for nothing. The
life she'd thought she would have wasn't going to happen now. She laughed
softly to herself, caught up in the fact that he didn't even know it was over
between them. After what she'd witnessed in his apartment yesterday, she
wondered if he would care.
    Glancing down at the ring she'd loved so
much, she braced herself for the onslaught of pain and slid it from her finger,
then zipped it into the inside compartment of the tote she'd brought outside
with her. She would give the ring back to him when she told him he had ruined everything
and they were over. Or maybe she'd hold on to it and sell it. Why should she
emerge with nothing after all the time and energy she'd invested in him?
    The pealing ring of her cell phone sent
her stomach plunging with nerves. She wasn't prepared to speak to David. Not
yet. A glance at the caller ID showed Mac's number, so she took the call.
    "Hey." She made an effort to
sound breezy and fine, as if her whole world hadn't been upended since she last
saw her big brother yesterday afternoon.
    "How ya doing, brat?"
    Janey heard the concern in his voice and
realized she should've known Joe would call him. "I'm fine. You?"
    "Janey."
    "What do you want me to say, Mac? I
caught him in bed with another woman. I ran out of there, my car broke down, I
called Joe, and I'm staying with him for a couple of days until I get my head
together."
    "Saying I'm sorry doesn't seem
sufficient. Am I allowed to beat the shit out of him?"
    Janey laughed softly. Some things in her
life were so predictable, and the oldest of her four big brothers was the most
predictable of all. "As satisfying as that would be for both of us, it
wouldn't change anything."
    "It'd make me feel a whole lot
better."
    "Don't say anything to Mom and Dad.
Please?"
    "I won't. When are you coming
home?"
    "Tomorrow night. Probably the last
boat."
    "I'll meet you."
    "You don't have to do that, Mac. I'm
a big girl."
    "You'll always be my baby sister, and
don't forget it."
    Her eyes filled for the first time that
day. "How can I forget when you won't let me?"
    He snickered. "How's Joe?"
    A stab of something lodged in her belly.
Guilt? Lust? Regret? All of the above? "Fine. Why?"
    "Just wondering."
    "He took the day off to babysit me,
so you don't have to worry."
    Silence.
    "Mac? Are you still there?"
    "Joe took a day off on Fourth of July
week?"
    Janey squirmed in her seat. Perhaps she
should have kept that tidbit to herself. "Yeah? So?"
    "It's just … unusual. That's
all."
    Janey couldn't help but wonder what Mac
would think if he