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"What?" I asked and glanced to see what she meant, eyeing Eric, the bastard. He had this grin on his face that seemed really gloating. I frowned and glanced down the long table to see the usual suspects – Mr. and Mrs. Blake, Felicia, Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe, my adoptive mother and adoptive father…
And then I saw her.
Jenna.
She was sitting at the far end of the table, her mother sitting beside her.
I felt the blood drain from my face. Adrenaline surged through my body.
What the fuck?
What the hell was she doing here?
How did she gather the nerve to come to the beach house when she knew I would most likely be there – and with a girlfriend?
"Luke, darling, look who showed up unexpectedly? Jenna and Mrs. C. What a surprise, isn’t it?"
"Jenna," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "Mrs. Cornwall. If you'll excuse me, I just wanted to say goodbye to everyone. Alexa and I will be going back to the city."
"Don't leave because of us," Jenna said and frowned at her mother. "We had no idea you'd be here this weekend, did we, mother…"
"Not at all," Mrs. Cornwall said, but I didn't believe her for one single moment. "When we were invited, we didn't expect you'd be here. We thought you’d be holed up in Manhattan negotiating the sale of your company.”
I turned to my mother, who shrugged, her eyebrows raised. "I must have forgotten to mention you were coming."
I turned to my father, who quickly hid his face behind the Saturday Times, shaking the paper and clearing his throat. I knew he had nothing to do with this, but there was no way I believed my adoptive mother failed to tell Mrs. Cornwall that I was going to be here. That was probably the only reason she and Jenna were there.
From the time Jenna and I had split, my mother had been trying to either make amends between us, or match me with Felicia. When I had repeatedly told her Jenna and I could never reconcile, she gave up and pushed poor Felicia at me.
In that moment, I had no doubt that when I had made it clear I wouldn't be hooking up with Felicia, my mother turned back to her original plan to push Jenna and me together once more. She begged me to forgive Jenna. Said that it was a mistake and that if I couldn't forgive someone I loved so much for a mistake, I could never be married.
"That's right," I remembered saying. "I can never be married if it means forgiving a cheating bitch."
"I have to go," I said and turned on my heel, leaving the group to return to the house.
I got a few steps inside and heard footsteps behind me. When I turned, I expected it would be Dana following me to console me, but instead, it was Jenna.
She came over to me where I stood at the kitchen island, dumping my cup of coffee into the sink.
"I'm so sorry," she said and laid her hand on my arm, an expression of sadness on her face. "I had no idea you'd be here. Honestly. I asked and my mother said that you were staying in Manhattan this weekend because of the negotiation. I never would have come out here if I knew you'd be here."
"I'll believe that when pigs fly," I said, barely able to control my anger. "I have a friend with me and there's no way I want her to see you, of all people."
"Don't leave because of me. We'll go. I'll tell my mother that we're leaving. If she wants to stay, I'll go back. I'll take the car and leave. She can stay. I know she was looking forward to spending time with your mother."
"Don't bother," I said and rinsed off my hands in the sink. "I have a bad taste in my mouth now and think it's best if I leave. I know my mother and your mother arranged all this."
"Do you think so?" she asked, frowning. "I don't think—"
"Of course they arranged this accidental meeting. Of course they planned it and then hoped that seeing each other would push us back together again. If you can't see that, you're not as smart as I thought you were."
She sighed and stepped closer. "Seriously, Luke, I never thought you'd be here."
She put her hand on my arm once more, moving even closer like she wanted to hug me. She reached up and touched my cheek, then brushed hair out of my eyes.
I stared at her, unable to believe that she was acting all sad and sorry about what happened. How could she be so deceitful?
Finally, I pulled back, sick to my stomach about the nerve she had to try to cozy up to me after everything that happened between us.
