AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I spin in my chair and look out the window. He really has no idea what seeing her again has done to me. Each photo sends me back to that apartment in Paris. Where I stood, my hand resting on my stomach, and read that article about Jonathan Hanson and his new girlfriend.
The woman my brother is now infatuated with. The woman who took my place in Jay’s heart. No, that’s not possible, because I never held that spot to begin with. And the sight of her is like salt in that wound.
“I don’t,” I bite back, keeping my attention trained on the horizon.
“Can we talk?” he murmurs. He’s closer now.
Finally, I turn back to him and steel my spine. “No” is all I can choke out. I stand and grab my purse from my desk, but Jay grabs for me before I can get by him. With one hand on my arm, he holds me in place.
He angles close so his breath is warm against my ear. “I’m not sure what you want from me. Do you want me to leave you alone? Are you—are you happy with Frank?” he grits out. “Because fuck, Cat, right now, it seems like you’re jealous of something you say you don’t want.”
I huff out an annoyed laugh and pull back. “I’m not jealous.”
He scowls and shakes his head like he doesn’t believe me. “Give me one hour to explain everything. In one hour, I can clear everything up.”
“In an hour,” I scoff.
“It’s not what you think, Cat.”
Piercing blue eyes the same color as our daughter’s implore me to listen. Beg me to give him the time to make us right. Something itches at my brain, scratching until I can’t ignore it. The way my grandfather looked at me all those years ago, as if he was trying to convey a message. Just like Jay is now.
The way he spoke, as if he didn’t really believe the words he was saying when he said Jay had betrayed me. And for a moment, I second-guess everything over the last thirteen years.
It never felt right.
But just as quickly, those devastating blue eyes bring me back to reality.
And the ice settles back around my heart.
Chloe.
Even if things aren’t exactly as they seemed, even if Jay could somehow explain himself, would it matter?
No.
My main focus has to be Chloe. No matter what. Jay doesn’t matter. The past doesn’t matter. My feelingsdon’tmatter.
“I’m not jealous. Date Grace, don’t date Grace. Do whatever the fuck you want. None of it matters to me,” I say as forcefully as I can. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some research to get to.”
“Research?” he says softly, his brows pulling together.
Why do I always do this? Just as I get a conversation all but wrapped up, I give him one more tidbit to grasp on to. I sigh. “Yes, I’m going to the club tonight.”
Jay growls, and his irises go a steely blue. “That’s not safe.”
“Frank is coming with me.” I lift my chin in defiance. It’s not true, but it’s enough to keep him from following me.
Lightning quick, Jay’s hand drops from my arm. The twinge of desperation I feel to reach out to him makes me want to stab myself in the eye.
Looking past me, he straightens and turns to the door. “Right,” he says over his shoulder. “I hope you two have a good night.”
Like a fool, all I want to do is holler that I’m kidding. That I didn’t mean it. Tell him that nothing but a series of meaningless hookups connects me to Frank, but why do I care what Jay believes? And why would I want to console him with that truth?
* * *
“It’s beena while since the last time I did this kind of thing. What exactly does one wear to a sex club?” I ask Sophie as we sort through a rack of clothes in Dex’s workroom.
Dex shakes his head and cocks a brow at his wife. “You told her,” he mutters.
