Can't Get Enough of You (25 page)

She hummed as she waited for the car to warm. She would have to stop at the gas station, since Leah had forgotten to fill the tank. It was a clear, cloudless day. In less than a week, Lincoln and his family would arrive for the holidays. Soon her dream of her family being united would finally come true. Jenna backed out of her drive knowing she had a great deal to be thankful for and even more to look forward to.

S
leeping soundly, Scott didn't immediately respond to the caressing hand on his chest, but the seductive lure of her nails teasing his flat nipple slowly roused him. Despite his mind being clouded with sleep, his body began to harden with desire.

“Jenna . . . my sweet love.” He groaned groggily at the provocative feel of her breasts against him and the warmth of her lips at the base of his throat.

He'd wanted to make love to her last night, but he'd been too tired to do anything about it. With his eyes closed, he wrapped an arm around her and dropped his head to kiss from her temple down her cheeks to her throat. As his mouth opened to cover hers, he inhaled.

Suddenly, Scott realized that her scent wasn't quite right and her mouth tasted like stale wine. Confused, but before his sleepy brain could sort it out, he heard a loud scream and the crash of china hitting the hardwood floor.

J
enna, pleased with her culinary effort, used only one hand to balance the heavy tray braced against a hip as she opened her bedroom door. Her eyes widened as she realized that Scott was in her bed but he wasn't alone. Leah was wrapped around him and they were kissing. Shocked, Jenna wasn't conscious of making a sound or letting go of the tray.

Her hands went up to cover her face while she stared in horrified disbelief. No! It couldn't be true! Her sister couldn't be in bed with her man!

For an endless moment, no one said or did anything. Scott was the first to react. He swore heatedly as he roughly pushed Leah away from him, giving her a hard glare before turning his attention to Jenna.

“Jenna, sweetheart! I don't know what's going on here, but it's not what you think. You have to believe me!” he insisted. “I was asleep! I thought it was you in my arms,” he said, urgently swinging his feet down to the floor. The bed linens covered his nudity.

Leah rushed to say, “I came in here, looking to borrow a dress. He asked me—”

“Shut up! Both of you, just shut up!” Jenna yelled. Her hands were balled into taut fists on her hips. “I don't want to hear a thing from either one of you.” She sent her twin a furious glare. “You have no business being in my room! Whether he invited you in here or not. None! Get out! ” Jenna raged, taking a threatening step forward.

“It was a mistake!”

“Get your things! I want you out of my house! Now!”

Leah sent her twin an angry glare before she stamped out on bare feet, wearing nothing but a short gown. She slammed the door so hard that it rattled.

When Scott opened his mouth to speak, Jenna shouted as she pointed her finger at him. “No, damn it! I'm not interested in anything you have to say. I want you out now!”

On his feet, Scott began shoving his legs into his jeans. “You can't mean it. You have to let me explain.”

“I don't have to do a blasted thing!” Shaking from the force of her emotions, she yelled, “I want you gone. Out of my house . . . out of my life for good! I should never have taken you back. It was a terrible mistake to give you another chance to hurt me.”

“Jenna . . .”

“I said no!” Gesturing wildly, Jenna touched the engagement ring he'd placed on the fine chain around her neck. She grabbed it, yanking until the chain broke, then flung it at him. She hissed, “Get out and take this with you. I don't want to see it or you ever again!”

She turned her back to him, waiting for the sound of his retreating footsteps. It wasn't until he slammed her front door that she could breathe easily. Jenna couldn't bear to look at the bed or the mess on the floor.

She was hurting. How she hurt. Yet she didn't dare give in to the agony raging inside her. Instead she went into her office and sank into the chair behind the desk, to wait for her sister. She fought back tears, determined not to give in to the incredible anguish ravishing her heart. She had to wait until she was alone to give in to the crushing weight of their betrayal and her keen disappointment. First things first: she still had to get Leah out of her house.

When her twin appeared on the threshold of the room, Leah hesitated. Jenna motioned for her to come into the room, noting that though Leah's chin was up, she avoided eye contact.

“Jenna, I know it looked bad, but you have to let me ex . . .” Leah stopped when Jenna raised her palm for silence.

“I've told you, I'm not interested in anything you have to say. It's over. And I want you gone from my sight. Although I'd like you gone for good, I can't do that, especially not with Lincoln and his family arriving next week.”

Unlocking her desk drawer, Jenna quickly wrote out a check. After tearing it off, she placed it on top of the desk. “That should be enough for you to stay in a motel. When Lincoln comes, you can stay here only as long as he and his family are here. The minute he leaves, I expect you to do the same. We may be twins, but as far as I'm concerned, we're no longer sisters.”

“You brought me here and now you're just going to leave me—”

“Not another word! You crawled in bed with my man! That means I don't have to listen to any excuse you can come up with. There is no justification for what I walked in on. Don't you get it? I no longer care about anything you have to say or what you do. Hand over my house key.”

Jenna didn't so much as glance Leah's way as she tossed down the key, snatched up the check, and hurried out of the room. Jenna lifted her legs until she could wrap her arms around them. She leaned forward, resting her chin on upraised knees. Unshed tears burned her eyes, but she held them back.

She waited until she heard the sound of a taxi's horn blaring outside, then Leah slamming the front door behind her. Finally, Jenna was able to let go of the tight hold she'd kept on her emotions. Anguish-filled sobs tore at her. She was bombarded with despair, grief, and an excruciating sense of disappointment.

It was hours later before she was able to call her foster sisters, confessing that she needed them.

Despite the mess she had left on her bedroom floor, Jenna couldn't deal with it. She simply didn't care. She remained curled in a pain-filled ball. She couldn't make her way past the despair and the heaviness in her heart.

S
he thought she'd gotten rid of the worst of it, but when she tried to explain what happened, she realized she'd been wrong. Huddled on the sofa between Sherri Ann and Laura, Jenna felt her tears return full force. It wasn't until she finished speaking that the tears slowed to a trickle.

“It's going to be alright, honey. Even though it doesn't seem like it now, you will get through this.” Sherri Ann squeezed her hand.

Laura nodded. “She's right. It won't be easy, but one day you'll look back on all this and wonder why you shed a single tear over either of those two losers. They certainly don't deserve you. They're the ones who will be left without you in their lives. It's their loss.”

Jenna appreciated her best friends' love and support. Even though her foster sisters did their utmost to console her, they all knew words couldn't erase the horror of finding her twin sister in bed with the man she loved.

“It could be worse,” Sherri Ann put in. “At least you know that Scott was asleep and thought he was with you, not Leah.”

Laura demanded, “And how does she know that? Because Scott said so? He's a man, Sherri Ann! When their male thingy takes over, who knows who's calling the shots. Besides, he's not a complete fool. He wasn't about to admit he lost control and for that moment didn't care which twin he had in bed with him.”

“Laura Murdock, you are not helping! Jenna needs your support, not you throwing what Scott did in her face!”

“Jenna has to face the truth. Regardless of the reasons why, you tell me how's she going to get past walking in on the two of them in her bed?”

Twenty-four

“I
wish I knew,” Sherri Ann confessed. “If only there was a way to salvage her relationship with Scott.”

“It's not possible!” Laura insisted.

“Forget about it! And there's no point in going over it yet again,” Jenna hissed. “Right this minute, I really don't care ‘why' he was kissing her. None of that matters, because it doesn't change what I saw. That image feels as if it's burned into my brain. Unfortunately, it's not going away anytime soon.”

Her foster sisters weren't ready to let it go. They went over every detail, trying to figure out what had gone wrong, what could have been done to prevent it, and why they hadn't suspected a thing. Had Leah planned it? Had she been after him from the first but had waited for the first opportunity to strike? Or had Scott secretly been attracted to Leah?

“Enough! I don't want to hear another word about it. I'm exhausted. All I want to do is sleep and forget,” Jenna sighed. “I can't do that considering the food I left on the bedroom floor. The thought of getting into a bed that smells like the two of them turns my stomach.”

“Don't worry about it. Don't worry about anything. Laura and I will take care of it.”

Laura asked, “Have you even eaten today?”

Jenna thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I wasn't hungry. I'm not even sure I can eat now, especially when I think of how stupid I was leaving them alone while I went to make a special breakfast for them. I feel like an utter fool.”

“This isn't your fault. Stop berating yourself. You, sister-girl, sit back and relax while Sherri Ann and I clean up.”

“You don't have to,” Jenna protested.

Sherri Ann persisted, “We want to, so just rest. I'll make you some hot sweet tea. Mrs. Green swore by the soothing powers of sweet tea.”

Her foster sisters cleaned the floor in her bedroom, stripped both beds, and replaced them with fresh sheets. They also cleaned the kitchen, doing their best to eliminate all traces of the special breakfast Jenna had made. They prepared a light supper of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, complete with sweet tea.

Jenna managed to eat some of the meal. Later, she swore she was okay and they'd done enough for one day. But the ladies insisted they weren't going anywhere.

It was very late when the three of them climbed into Jenna's bed to sleep, Sherri Ann and Laura wearing borrowed pajamas. Sharing a bed was something they'd done growing up when one of them had had a bad dream, or they'd seen a scary movie and had been afraid to sleep alone.

Jenna was glad they were there. It helped. Years ago, her foster sisters had spent the first night with her after she'd broken up with Scott. This time was vastly different. She and Scott could never fix this mess. It was finally over.

“This too shall pass,” Sherri Ann assured her.

“Tomorrow will be a better day,” Laura encouraged her.

Jenna squeezed each foster sister's hand, acutely aware that in an effort to spare her further hurt and disappointment, they'd gone out of their way not to badly berate her twin. Although Jenna appreciated the sentiment, unfortunately it couldn't ease the incredible sadness that had taken root in her heart.

What hurt the most was that Leah had set out to hurt her. Jenna hoped she was pleased with herself, because Leah had succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. She had shattered Jenna's happiness.

Jenna couldn't fully understand why. As she closed her eyes in an attempt to block from her mind that hated image of the two of them, she accepted that the reason didn't matter. The knowing couldn't erase what had happened. The end results remained the same.

Jenna's hopes and dreams for a future with Scott were gone, buried beneath the crushing weight of her twin sister's high heels. Sherri Ann was wrong. There was nothing to salvage. Regardless of which twin Scott had believed himself to be in bed with, his male sexual needs had kicked into high gear. There was no mistake. He had been aroused. That realization was a blow to Jenna's battered heart. She felt wretched, her self-esteem and confidence hanging by a slender thread. How was she supposed to get beyond this?

Scott had been at her side when she'd found both her siblings. He'd supported her every step of the way. Having him there had meant the world to her. He'd said he loved her . . . claimed it had never stopped. He'd even asked her to be his bride and the mother of his children. And he'd given her the most beautiful engagement ring.

Jenna wiped away tears as she fully accepted the fact that the two people she loved the most had indeed betrayed her. The worst part was that she hadn't even seen it coming. She'd left this morning without realizing that she had given them the means to destroy her. How could they have done such a thing? If she'd live to be a very old lady, she would never forget it or get over it.

Just then, something Mrs. Green had often said when she'd been troubled flashed into Jenna's mind. She fell asleep silently mouthing the words, “Bad times don't last forever,” again and again.

S
cott had driven aimlessly for hours, unaware of the time as he'd struggled to come up with a valid reason for leaving town so close to the holidays. Fresh out of ideas, he'd settled on a version of the truth—he was tired and needed a few days away.

“What do you mean that you won't be here for the holidays?” Taylor nearly shouted at her brother. “You can't go to Aspen. Christmas is in a few days! Why are you doing this? Scott, what's wrong?”

Stalling for time, he carried several shopping bags full of gift-wrapped packages into her large family room, where the tree had been set up.

Startled by the agitation in his wife's voice, Donald looked up from the newspaper.

“Scott?” Taylor demanded, trailing after him.

Donald soothed, “Taylor, honey, if you give the man a chance, he'll answer your questions.” He bumped fists with his brother-in-law in greeting. “We haven't seen much of you recently. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Naw, I'm straight.” Scott wiped an unsteady hand over his damp forehead.

He was sweating, but it had nothing to do with the warmth coming from the heating system. He didn't remove his down-filled jacket. He didn't intend to stay.

His gaze darted from the logs burning in the grate to the large, flat-screen television mounted over the mantel. It came to rest on the grandfather clock ticking in the corner of the room. Was it really after eleven? Recognizing the late-night newscaster on the screen, Scott muttered a swear word. No wonder his sister had looked surprised when she'd let him inside.

Emotionally raw and fresh out of excuses, he was unable to meet his family's concerned gaze. Honesty wasn't an option. Hell, he still couldn't believe what had happened on Saturday morning, and he'd been there. He wasn't about to pour out his heartache in the hope his big sister could make it better, the way she'd done when he was a kid. No one could fix the hellhole he'd fallen into. He was in over his head and knew it.

A week in Aspen wouldn't take his mind off his troubles, but it was better than staying in Detroit and trying to suffer through the holidays with the help of the alcohol he'd been drinking the past few days to numb the pain, in order to sleep and forget for a few hours.

Nothing had made sense since he'd left Jenna's place that morning. He'd been so out of it that he'd run a red light and come close to hitting another car. He shouldn't have been behind the wheel, not when his thoughts had been so chaotic. He'd been forced to pull over to the side of the road until his hands had stopped shaking and he'd been calm enough to complete the drive home without injuring anyone else or himself.

There was no question about it. Leah had set him up. She'd gone after him in the hope of taking Jenna's place in his life. To make matters worse, he'd seen it coming. He'd known she'd been up to something. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't figured out how to put a stop to it in time.

He was shocked when he realized that for the first time in his life he was furious enough to want to do bodily harm to a female—a thought no man in his family had ever entertained. It was easier to blame her than admit that the true blame rested with him.

Sure, he'd been exhausted. And he'd ignored his instincts! He'd given in during a weak moment . . . given in to the need to be with his lady and spend the night with her in his arms. He'd let his hunger to be close to Jenna overshadow his common sense. He should have gone home.

That error in judgment had cost him what he valued the most. As yet another day had passed without word from his love, Scott's hopes of repairing the damage had dwindled a bit more. Unaware of the way his hands were balled into fists, he silently acknowledged that he might as well accept it. Jenna hadn't called, nor would she—not ever.

“Don't just stand there glaring into the fire. Scott Hendricks, you better start talking. Have you spoken to Mama about this? What about Jenna? I'm sure she isn't pleased, considering her brother and his family will be arriving on Christmas Eve.”

His heart ached at the mention of her name. He snapped in a voice raw with emotion, “I'm a grown man. I don't need to clear my travel plans with anyone. I'm going. I'll see you after the holidays.”

Before he could walk past her, Taylor caught his arm and held on. “Don't go. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry. I could see something was very wrong when I said Jenna's name. Did you two have a fight? Is that why you're leaving town?”

“Sis, believe me. Jenna has no objections to my leaving town. She'd like nothing better than to see me burn in Hell.” In disgust, he added, “After what happened on Saturday, I can't blame her.”

“What happened?” Taylor asked anxiously.

“Should I give you two some privacy?” Donald asked.

Scott shook his head, sighing dejectedly. “You might as well stay and hear the triple X-rated details.” Yanking off his jacket, he tossed it over an armchair before he turned to face them. “Jenna threw me out of her house Saturday morning because she found me in bed with her twin sister.”

“That's not funny, Scott. There is no way I'm going to believe you slept with Leah!” Taylor shook her head vehemently. “Don't get me wrong. You're no angel, but you're a long way from being that low-down.”

“Man, that's nothing to joke about,” Donald said.

“It's no joke. I didn't say I slept with Leah. I was asleep when she crawled in bed with me after Jenna had left to pick up some food. The little hussy has been after me since the day she arrived. My mistake was not seeing her as a genuine predator. I thought I could handle her. Thought I had her all figured out.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I messed up royally when I underestimated Jenna's selfish twin.”

A wealth of bitterness and resentment poured out in the single swear word used to describe Jenna's twin. Taylor gasped, but she didn't scold him as he paced back and forth between the fireplace and the decorated Christmas tree. Instead, Donald and Taylor sat quietly on the sofa and waited for him to elaborate.

“Jenna and I went to a tree-trimming party at Laura's, but we left early because we were both beat from the stress of finishing the semester. At first I turned down Jenna's invitation to spend the night at her place. Then I let her convince me to stay, knowing full well that Leah was not to be trusted.

“Not too long ago, she pulled a trick on me, pretending to be Jenna. She was dressed in one of Jenna's outfits. She somehow convinced Jenna it was a good trick to play on me, so Jenna went along with Leah. Leah had changed her hair and makeup and met me at the door. She rushed into my arms.”

Donald asked, “Did you say Jenna went along with this?”

Scott nodded. “Jenna didn't see the harm. She said it was something they'd done when they were kids to fool their mother. Jenna teased me when I didn't recognize Leah immediately. I'd hugged Leah thinking it was Jenna and touched my mouth to hers. But the instant I looked into her eyes and smelled her perfume, I knew it wasn't Jenna. I got very angry, certain no good would come from it.” He paused before he admitted, “It really bothered me. Frankly, I didn't trust Leah, but I knew Jenna wouldn't listen to criticism about Leah. How could I tell her I thought Leah was taking advantage of her? I could see that Leah resented Jenna's success and was jealous of her, but I didn't tell her. Jenna adores her sister, especially after waiting years to find her and have her back in her life.”

“I can see why you kept silent,” Taylor said.

“Even though it went against my better judgment, I kept quiet. I was more concerned with upsetting Jenna when I should have been figuring out a way to protect her. I would have put an end to it if I'd known Leah was capable of such deceit.” He seethed with anger.

“Oh, Scott,” Taylor sighed. “What exactly did Jenna see when she walked in?”

There was no easy way of saying it. He said through clenched teeth, “Like I said earlier, I was asleep. I felt Jenna's caress. She was stroking my chest, her breasts against me, and her lips on my throat. Naturally, I responded to her. I pulled her close even though I must have sensed something wasn't quite right. Hell, my eyes weren't even opened. I was just beginning to wake up when I recognized that she didn't smell the same. The scent was all wrong. Jenna doesn't use heavy perfumes. We kissed. That's when I knew something was definitely wrong. Her mouth tasted like stale wine. That's when I heard Jenna scream and dishes crashing to the floor. She'd brought in a breakfast tray.” Scott let out a frustrated oath, rubbing an unsteady hand over his unshaven cheeks and bare scalp.