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23
“Are you excited, Jess?”
Hearing Matt use the shortened version of her name caused some kind of reaction in her that she wasn’t expecting. Lots of people called her Jess. Spencer used to call her Jess, but Matt had never used it until now. It was weird enough for her to be called “wife” earlier that morning by Matt, but the sound of her own nickname resonated with something inside her. She couldn’t help but notice that it sounded nice coming from his mouth and that maybe she liked the sound of it.
Momentarily caught off guard by these sudden thoughts, she blinked a few times before answering Matt. If she was being honest with herself, she was more than thrilled to be in that private jet. It wasn’t because it was expensive or a rare thing people can afford, but it was more about the beauty of it all. Jessica had always been that person who loved window seats in planes so she could look at the earth below. She seldom slept during flights, preferring to gaze out at the sky and watch the clouds go by. Every time she did get the window seat though, it was usually half obstructed by the plane wing, or the window was too small. Most times, she didn’t even get window seats.
Come to think of it, I don’t even need to fly that often. I probably have had like three or four flights in my whole life.
This private jet was different. The seat was so comfortable, and it felt firm. She felt safe, and the best thing was that the window was large. It allowed a magnificent view of the world passing by her, and she just couldn’t get enough of it. She spent a lot of time watching outside, forgetting that she had a cup of juice in her hands or that Matt was beside her.
However, she was aware of his presence now, with him calling her name like that. There was something almost intimate about it. She felt confused about her feelings toward Matt. So far, they had been a sense of dislike and annoyance.
No, it’s more like he gets on my nerves, and I have to shake off the thought of him.
Despite that, she couldn’t help but be curious about her new husband. Within the few days of meeting him, she had got to know bits and pieces about him from one source to another, but that wasn’t enough. She wanted to know more about this man. So far, she collected an idea in her head that he was mysterious, but he was also sweet to those he cared about, he was an excellent speaker who can convince you to do anything, and he was a diplomat who used skills very generously in his gambling business.
I guess I could admire him for that. After all, it is, in fact, a quality very few possess.
But what confused and bothered Jessica was his connection to Spencer. She had been so shocked when she saw that picture of the two of them together in Matt’s casino. They knew each other well enough for Matt to post pictures with him on his Instagram, and after Spencer had left her, what were the chances that Matt would be the one to propose to her out of nowhere?
I guess the selection of this very specific hotel makes sense now, as Spencer knew him so naturally, he booked our honeymoon here.
Was it just a mere coincidence? Or was Spencer still somehow controlling his role in her life through Matt? Trying to play with Jessica’s feelings even further than he had done by manipulating her through Matt? She felt distressed by all these thoughts.
“Penny for your thoughts?” asked Matt, breaking into her disheartening ideas.
Jessica chewed her lower lip for a few seconds. She noticed Matt’s eyes go down to her lips unwittingly, then return to her eyes. She tried to ignore the electric tingling she felt when his eyes landed on her lips and continued speaking, “Matt, if I ask you a question, would you answer me honestly?”
“Hmm… that depends on the question,” he said in a rough voice.
“Please, I’m serious.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“How exactly do you know, Spencer?” asked Jessica. Matt was silent for a moment. She wasn’t sure he was going to answer her at all, but then he let out a breath and answered her question.
“He was a gambler here at my hotel,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Wh-what? A gambler? Spencer?!” Jessica stammered out.
“Uhh… yes. He was a regular at my casino in Atlantic City,” Matt said after initially hesitating. “Though, sometimes we would meet in Vegas or even Shreveport.”
Jessica touched her forehead and rubbed it. This could not be real. Surely, there must be a misunderstanding. In all the years she had been with Spencer, and even before then when they were just friends, she had never known him to be into gambling. Not that she would be bothered by it since she was also into some occasional gambling herself, but the fact that she had no idea about it despite being in a relationship with him surprised her. It shocked her.
“Did you know him for a long time?” she asked in a small voice.
“You could say that. He started coming in about a couple of years ago. At first, he didn’t know anything about gambling, just tried his luck and stuck to it. When I met him, he asked me how it was all done. I was not interested in his requests at first, but he was persistent. He started spending more time here and we got friendly, and you could say his enthusiasm won me over, you know? I taught him a lot of tricks and cheats in the game, showed him how it’s done to win, and he was a quick learner. Pretty soon, he was cashing in lots of money and winning over almost all my other customers.” Matt had a look of remembering on his face as if he was looking back to a long time ago, which Jessica supposed it was.
“Two years ago would mean when we were already dating. We dated for about four years before he proposed,” Jessica said, mostly to herself than Matt. She couldn’t understand his sudden want for gambling. Was he struggling financially? But it didn’t look like that to her. He was still spending lavishly as he always did on himself.
“That would seem so. He did mention he had a girlfriend,” Matt said distantly.
“So youdidknow about me before.”
“Yes and no. He did mention you and told me a lot of things. Spencer was heavy on the details; I’ll give him that.” Matt flashed her with a wink. Jessica felt heat shoot up her cheeks but Matt continued, “Having said that, he didn’t show me any pictures. Only told me stuff all guys tell their other guy friends about their girlfriend.”
“How did you find out that I was Spencer’s fiancé when you saw me at the hotel, though?” Jessica asked.
