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I turned and those hopes crashed down so hard they penetrated the crust of the earth, fell straight through the mantel and buried themselves in the core.
Jacob stopped in front of me, hands tucked in the pockets of his chinos, and that oh-so-smug Jacob-smile ensconced on his lips.
The one I’d fallen for. The same one he’d shown me two days ago during that epic breakup speech.
“There you are,” he said. “Glad to see you’re doing okay.”
“Doing okay?” I stiffened.
“Yeah, you know, after what happened.” He tilted his head to one side. “I heard that you skipped out on the bachelor party last night. Carly was really worried about you.”
Carly happened to be one of Jacob’s best friends. It was the reason her groom had taken him on as the best man. Worst man in my opinion, not least because he’d dumped me but because he’d alluded to the fact that there was definitely someone else during the gut-wrenching conversation.
You were a way to pass time. Why do you think I never took you to meet my family? We weren’t even living together, Hazel. Get real.
His words rang through my head, but I didn’t tear up this time. I shrugged. “Jacob, what do you care what I do? It’s over between us, remember? You’re the one who ended it.”
He blinked chestnut brown eyes at me, and didn’t say a word. Likely, because he’d expected me to grovel at his feet. Or at least cry.
Not today. Today, I wasn’t just Hazel the plain Jane who’d been lucky enough to be with him. I was Hazel, the woman who’d had a one-night stand and couldn’t bring herself to regret it.
Bain. The stripper. I forced away the flicker of doubt. “Is there anything else you want to talk about?” I asked, then lifted my camera. “I’m trying to snap some pictures for the wedding portfolio and you’re in my shot.”
“You’re different,” Jacob said, brow wrinkling up like crepe paper. “You take a Xanax this morning or something?”
“Charming as ever.” I sidestepped to move past him and he followed me, blocked my path.
“Hazel, I know you’re putting up this front because you’re hurting and that’s okay. I just wanted you to know that this is an important weekend for Carly, okay?”
“Yeah, it’s her wedding. I’m aware of that.” I fiddled with the dial on my camera, flicking it from photo mode to playback mode again and again. “What are you insinuating?”
“That you’re not stable, right now,” he replied and brushed fingers through his wavy brown locks. The front of his white button down rippled in the ocean breeze. “I don’t want Carly’s weekend ruined by what you’ve got going on.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?”
“No. You left her at the bachelorette party last night, and she got super drunk and things could’ve gone badly for her. You should’ve been there to help her. You’re her bridesmaid,” he said.
But I wasn’t the Maid of Honor, and he had no right to lecture me about my duties to my friend. I opened my mouth to tell him as much, but the words wouldn’t come out. A mixture of anger and shame swirled through me.
He’d always had this effect on me. He managed to make me feel like I was in the wrong, all the time. I’d be so confident of my convictions, ready to defend my decisions, and he’d waltz in and twist everything on its head and make me look like the bad guy.
“I’ve got to go,” I said and spun on my heel, tracking across the sands as fast as my feet would carry me. Not exactly a mic drop, but at least I wouldn’t have to deal with him right now.
Jacob didn’t call out for me, didn’t follow, and I didn’t look back.
He wouldn’t be standing there if I did.
Tears blurred the sand into a long fuzzy white strip, bordered by a fluffy blue ocean. I blinked and lowered my gaze, focusing on my bare feet and pink painted toenails.
For a second there, I’d almost been confident enough to tell him to get bent, but he’d done it again. Reduced me to the weepy annoying chick I despised, and he did, too. Ugh!
I passed a line of palm trees, and a shadow moved toward me; a hand took hold of mine and flooded me with warmth.
“There you are.” The voice, that same rumble, slid through my ears and sent a shiver down my spine. “Are you all right?”
“Fine,” I said and scrubbed the tears from my cheeks. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
Bain drew me into his arms and squeezed me against his chest, enveloping me in light, citrusy cologne. “I’ve been looking for you all morning. You ran out on me.”
“I didn’t want to overstay my welcome,” I said and cleared my throat. This was ridiculous. I wasn’t some weepy wretch who couldn’t keep it together. Except, right now, you are. And who can blame you?
