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Thirteen
Jayson exited the downstairs bathroom and wandered into the kitchen. He’d fallen asleep in his former house. Being here this early in the morning, and stumbling into the kitchen in search of coffee, was so familiar it was bizarre.
He didn’t know if he was more surprised he’d slept through the night or that Gia had let him stay.
He could hear her moving around upstairs, but evidently she’d been in here earlier. Coffee was made, most of the pot gone. He poured what was left into a mug and took a long draw.
“Morning.” Gia breezed into the kitchen dressed in a bright pair of shorts and a shimmery shirt. Her shoes were tall. Her toenails painted the same color pink as her shorts.
“You look nice,” he said, unable to keep from running his eyes over those tanned, smooth legs. Her hair was wavy and draped over her shoulders, the way he liked it.
“Thanks,” she replied.
“I’m making more coffee,” he told her as she gathered her purse and stuck a pair of sunglasses on top of her head. “Sorry I crashed on the couch. I was beat.”
“No big deal.” She flashed him a quick smile.
“Where are you off to?” Apparently, he was going to have to ask.
“Oh, I have a thing.” She waved a hand like she wasn’t going to say more but then she did. “A date.”
“A date.” What the hell?
“Yes. It’s a casual day on a yacht.”
“With who?”
“Jayson. This isn’t any of your business.”
He knew that. He forced a smile, hoping it’d gain him an inch. “Just curious if you and Pip ended up working everything out.”
“No.” She said it with enough finality that he believed her. “I met today’s date on the same app where I met Denver, though. His name is Elias Hill.”
“You’re still on the dating app?” He blinked down at his coffee, wondering if he was still asleep. Or hallucinating. After what had happened between them at the wedding, he hadn’t expected her to be dating.
She started for the front door and he chased after her, careful not to spill his coffee. “Is that safe?”
“Is what safe?” she asked, grabbing her keys.
“Going on a boat with a guy who could be a serial killer.”
“Jay.” She gave him a bland look. “Elias Hill is the CEO of a billion-dollar yacht company. I doubt he has murder on the high seas at the front of his mind.”
Jealousy roared to life inside him at the same time he had the realization that even though this setup felt familiar—them waking up in the same house and chatting over coffee—there was one big difference.
They were no longer married.
If she wanted to go on a date, she could. Still, he couldn’t help saying, “I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to.” She patted his cheek with one hand.
Then she was out the door, leaving him in need of a shower, a second cup of coffee and an excuse to stick around. Any good friend would make sure she returned home safely from her date.
Elias Hill had been perfectly nice. Perfectly casual. Perfectly polite and perfectly suited for someone like her. He liked talking business but knew when to relax. He didn’t have any dumb come-on lines and he didn’t call her “baby” or “Jee-ahh” the way Denver Pippen had.
Elias was...well, perfect.
He was also perfectly boring.
