AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Acid coats my throat as I watch Bernard fucking Franco take another step toward Jen. My hand grips the car door, but I hold myself back. Jen’s mother appears, with that awful, pinched expression on her pretentious face.
I should go over there. With my low-class upbringing and my criminal record, I should barge right in and claim Jen’s lips in front of everyone.
But Jen looks at Bernard and she doesn’t push him away. She lets him take her hand—lets him touch her, and says nothing.
Watching Jen and Bernard together is like watching a precious jewel fall through the grates of a storm drain only to get swept away. She showed me just how happy I could be, but I can never have her.
Mr. Newbank’s words echo in my head. You’re not the man for her.
All the fight leaves my body when the truth of those words rings through me like a bell.
Because someone who is the type of man who should be with Jen? Bernard Franco. He’s worldly and successful and educated. I’ve heard him bragging about his house in the south of France, about his dozens of restaurants and his cachet in the pastry world.
He is Jen’s equal. Not some ex-con kitchen grub like me.
Coming to this afterparty was a mistake. I should have just thrown my packed bags in the back of my Jeep and left town again. I’ve done it once, and it didn’t stick—but second time’s the charm. This time, I’ll leave and I’ll stay gone—but as I turn the key in the ignition, my phone rings.
Nora's name lights up the screen and I swipe to answer. “Yeah?”
“Well, good evening to you too, Grumpy.”
“What do you want, Nora?”
“Wow, what bee got in your bonnet?” There’s a rustling sound behind her.
“Nora,” I growl, “I’m not in the mood.”
“Did Jen come to her senses and break up with you?”
Stunned, I say nothing. Even my own damn sister knows Jen is too good for me.
Nora inhales. “Oh, Fallon, I didn’t mean it.” The rustling stops. “Shit. Fallon, I thought she was in love with you. I was expecting wedding bells. I was just teasing you. I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you calling, Nora? I thought you’d be at the Four Cups party.”
“I came home instead to pack up my things. Have to be out of here by the morning so Jen can have her apartment back.” She inhales. “But, Fallon…I’ve decided to stay.”
I frown, eyes darting back down the street, where Jen is now surrounded by both her parents and Bernard. They’re crowding her up against the wall. “You’re staying at Jen’s place?”
“No. I’m staying in Heart’s Cove.”
I tear my eyes away from Jen. “You…”
“I like it here,” my sister says quietly. “I have friends for the first time in years. I feel like I might actually have a future.”
“This place has that effect on people,” I answer neutrally. Once upon a time, I felt that way too. It was right around the time Jen was coming in early to work in the café by herself. Around the time I noticed she drank masala chai and had an unhealthy obsession with kitchen scales.
I’d come to work for an extra unpaid hour just to be next to her, and she never even gave me a second glance.
Thinking about it now, I should have known. I’ve wasted more than three years of my life on that woman.
“Fallon,” my sister continues, “I was hoping you could come with me to Reno to pack up the rest of my stuff. Your Jeep is bigger, and plus…I’m worried Slim will be there, and…I know it’s a lot to ask, but…”
“Of course,” I answer. “We can leave first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll talk to him and make sure he leaves you alone. Leaves all of us alone.”
She exhales. “Thank you.”
We say our goodbyes and hang up, and by the time I glance down the street again, Jen has disappeared.
