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“Excellent! Will you invite the two girls from the ball? What are their names?”
“Olivia and Pepper,” Lourde said, and something stirred within me hearing Pepper’s name.
“Pepper? Like the spice?” Francesca teased, flicking her blonde hair off her shoulder. There was something about the way Pepper’s name sounded on her lips that churned up my stomach. I couldn’t place it nor comprehend it, but I didn’t like Francesca speaking about her at all.
I straightened my posture, stiffening. “Exactly like the spice.”
12
Pepper
Isat across from Jake, finishing the last mouthful of my katsu roll and losing interest in how he stood in on a triple-bypass operation at the hospital he was rotated in.
After spending an hour at a sushi restaurant we used to frequent when we were dating, my interest waned. Possibly, because Jake was talking about anything and everything medical at the hospital he trained at to be a doctor. Or because my thoughts were invaded by another.
Imagining Connor between my thighs with his magical tongue darting inside me and making my skin burn with his touch was way more gripping than medicine. I willed myself to focus on the man in front of me, the man I’d spent a year with before he threw it all away. Surely, that was more important than a fleeting fuck-fest, regardless of how earth-shatteringly compatible Connor and I were between the sheets.
Jake brushed his hair to the side, and I wondered if he wore his blue-checkered shirt because he knew it was my favorite. Running my hands through his hair was second nature when we were together, but tonight, I didn’t. And I wasn’t inclined to do it again.
“My treat,” he said, pulling out his wallet and handing the server his credit card. “Shall we get dessert at the new Turkish place on the corner?”
“Thanks, but not tonight.”
He shrugged, then stood and smiled at the server before leading the way out. Surprised and slightly relieved he didn’t ask me again, I followed behind him, stopping on the sidewalk to wait for a cab.
He pulled me in, and I placed my hands on his chest, creating space between us. Jake lowered his head and kissed me on the lips, then hovered there. He opened his lips wider, inviting me to reciprocate.
This doesn’t feel right.
I pulled away, not ready to kiss him back.
Surprise etched on his features. “Okay, I deserve that.”
I tucked a wayward curl behind my ear. “I’m not ready for anything like that yet, Jake. I need time. Time for me to rebuild trust.”
“You know I didn’t sleep with her, angel, and I told you at dinner, Honey Jones was a TikTok influencer admitted to the hospital, and we became friends.”
“I don’t care about Honey Jones. But you crossed the line when you kissed that nurse. That’s enough to break my trust.”
He huffed out. “Okay.” His hand stroked my cheek, and sincerity bloomed in his blue eyes. But I didn’t feel anywhere near the depth of feeling I did when Connor’s hooded eyes stared back at me.
Why did I crave the dark, dirty, and taken man and not the man in front of me? I shook away the lingering thought and the heat climbing my chest and neck.
“You okay?” he asked.
I cleared my throat. “Fine, why?”
“You seemed distracted tonight.”
“Just thinking about Lourde and Barrett and the wedding.”
Liar.
“I can’t believe those two went behind Connor’s back like that!”
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “He’s fine with it… now,” I added as an afterthought.
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I bet, now.”
