Winter Interlude (53 page)

“I thought you’d go for the more active type
.
She’s obviously not a skier.”

James shrugged
.
“Dinner doesn’t require supreme physical fitness, just a willingness to have fun.”

Paul’s annoyance flared
.
“God, James
,
how could you go so quickly from
Kate
to her
?
”
He couldn’t keep the disgust out of his tone.

“We can’t
all
be saints like you, little brother,” James mocked,
as he opened
the locker.

“Yeah?”
Paul sneered, rising to
the
bait. “It seems to me you could at least show a little sincere regret over breaking up with her.”

Jame
s’
eyes narrowed to slits
.
“Let me give you some advice
.”
There was no mistaking the heat of anger rising off his body
.
“You shouldn’t stick your nose into things that don’t concern you
.
My relationship with
Kate
is my business
.
You know nothing about what went on between us.”

“I know she doesn’t deserve to be treated the way you’ve treated her all those years.”

James slammed the locker door, his expression turning livid
.
“
Point taken
, but who are you to be telling me how to behave
?
You never wasted any time trying to bring her down a peg with your constant haranguing
.
So
,
don’t lecture to me about treating anyone the way they deserve
.
Kate
never deserved your sarcasm and cruelty
.
I should have shut you up back then, because you’re right
.
She deserved better than the two of us
.”
With those words, he snatched his clothes and stalked into the men’s room to change.

Paul stared after him, swearing under his breath
.
He should
ha
ve kept his mouth shut
.
Why had it bothered him that James seemed so cavalier about their breakup
?
It should
ha
ve made him feel better knowing the two were no longer together
.
But the thought of James taking
Kate
so lightly did anger him
.
Jame
s’
reaction
, once Paul thought about it a moment,
made him realize his brother wasn’t as unaffected as he’d portrayed.

He gave J
ames a few minutes to cool off
then
grabbed his stuff to change into and headed for the restroom
.
He spotted James, who was pulling on a pair of faded jeans
.
He walked over to him. “I’m sorry
.
You’re right
.
It is none of my business.”

James
accepted his apology with a nod. “You hit a nerve
.”
He ran a hand through his hair
.
“For what it’s worth, I haven’t slept with anyone
—
including
Kate
—
in months, and I
was
planning on ending things so she could find the right person
.
I do feel bad about letting us go on for so long
.”
Then, he snared Paul’s gaze, his serious
.
“So, what about you and Judith?”

“She and I are friends, period,” Paul replied truthfully, wondering about the question
.
“I should’ve let her go a long time ago too
.”
Sitting on the bench, he leaned over and put his elbow on his knee, cradling his chin with his hand
.
He blew out his breath in a long sigh
.
“Man, how did we get to be so pathetic?”

Laughing, James clapped him on the back
.
“Cheer up
,
we’re getting wiser
. W
ell
,
I am anyway
.
Since I’m the one with the date tonight, it’s obvious I’m moving on
.
I suggest you do the same.”

Paul watched his brother tuck in his shirt, totally cheered by his words
.
Somehow, in the past twenty minutes, James had provided answers to several of his questions without being asked
.
He knew now that James didn’t see
Kate
as his any longer
.
It was completely over between them
.
He also learned his brother still cared about
Kate
, as a friend, not as a lover, and that made all the difference in the world to him
.

But Paul wasn’t stupid
.
James had to have a pretty good idea of Paul’s feelings for
Kate
. His question about Judith confirmed this
.
He was doubly glad that James still cared enough about
Kate
to make certain Paul wasn’t trifling with her.

During the drive back to the house, they each cracked jokes about the day, and both claimed supremacy over the other for their prowess in the snow
.
Neither mentioned
Kate
or the topic of Jame
s’
breakup.

James
eventually
left for his date with
the snow bunny
and
Paul ate dinner by himself
.
Afterward, he pulled out his laptop, determined to put the rest of the night to good use
.
H
e fought
throughout the whole evening
to
avoid thoughts of
Kate
, not wanting to dwell on the jealousy lurking over some guy named Mike
.

There was nothing he could do about it until he confronted her
—
and his plans definitely included confrontation
.
This had gone on long enough
.
It was time she realized the truth
.
They belonged together
.
He’d make sure she understood, so that there’d be no mistaking what they shared.

The next morning Paul was up early
.
By the time James came slowly out of his room
,
he was eating breakfast, having already showered and made coffee
.

His brother padded over to the pot and poured a cup
.
He leaned back against the counter and crossed his legs at the ankles
.
He stood like this for several minutes before finally looking over at Paul and lifting his mug in a silent toast
.
“I should’ve stayed home with you last night
.
Brandie, that’s with an
ie
, not a
y
, got on my nerves after the salad arrived
.”
He rolled his eyes
.
“It’s been a
while since I dated a
b
imbo, and that’s
b
imbo with a capital
B
.
I’d completely forgotten why I steered clear of them in college
.”

Paul grinned
.
“That bad, huh?”

James grunted
.
“Worse
.
She even signs her name with a heart over
the
i
.”
He frowned
.
“God, I hate the dating game
.”
After a long drink, he said, “I realized that’s part of the reason why I stayed with
Kate
so long
.
That and the fact that even after eight years, she never bored me.”

“I hate the dating game too, but I don’t expect I’ll be playing it again, except with one special person,” Paul said in a low voice
.
“But I’m sure you already figured that out.”

James, about to take another sip of coffee, stopped with the cup an inch from his mouth
.
He eyed Paul thoughtfully,
then
offered an exaggerated sigh. “What gave me away
?
I tried to be so careful.”

Paul laughed
.
“Oh
,
you were
.
You had me going for a while
.
Besides, I should be asking you…
w
hat gave me away?”

Grinning, James replied, “You know I can’t tell you because if I did, you’d learn all my secrets
.
Damn, I must be getting rusty
.
But then again, my concern for
Kate
weighed more on my mind than razzing you
.
I just wanted to be sure
—
for
Kate
’s sake
.
She doesn’t deserve another Morrison who can’t commit
.
You do plan to commit, right?
”