“That’s true. Though she’s so strikingly beautiful that I’m not sure I’d forget her face. I remember the first time I met her, I was blown away by her beauty.”
“Aren’t you married to her best friend?” I’m irritated by his words. I don’t want him appreciating how good she looks.
“I’m married to her best friend, Jack. It’s not like I want her for myself or anything. You have to admit, she’s cute.”
“I can’t say I ever really looked. She’s ten years younger than me.”
“She’s twenty-five now, Jack. The age gap matters much less now. You didn’t notice her at the meeting?”
“Before or after she yelled at me?” I chuckle, though the fact of the matter is that I very much noticed how she’d filled out and grown even more beautiful.
Her hair was longer, silkier; her breasts were larger, her curves more defined; and her lips … well, her lips were sinful. I still periodically think about the way she sucked my thumb that day, so sensual and hot. If we hadn’t been in my parents’ house, I would have slid her panties to the side and fucked her then and there. She is easily the woman I’ve been the most attracted to in my entire life. Yet she is off-limits to me. For many reasons—she is still much younger than me, she dated my brother, and she hates me. Which serves me well, as I don’t need her fluttering her eyelashes at me and flirting with me again.
I can still remember that night in Tropez Dali, when she practically begged me to give her a chance. But I don’t regret that I didn’t. The age gap meant a lot more eight years ago. I would have violated my own rules and ethics then. Though, now, she is definitely of age. I’ve dated many women in their twenties and thought nothing of it. In fact, I even have a date later tonight with a twenty-six-year-old I met at a party Levi threw a fewweeks ago. Though, for the life of me, I can’t remember her name. I’ll have to scroll through my phone again to find it.
“She was yelling at you for good reason.” Sebastian chuckles. “You ended her relationship.”
“It wasn’t going anywhere, trust me.” I laugh at myself. “And technically I think it was on death's door anyway.”
I don’t want to admit that another reason I told Zac to end it was because I wasn’t sure what else would have gone down between us if she’d stayed that weekend.
“Anyway, I have to go. I have to do some pull-ups, then head home to shower. I have a long day at the office today.”
“Sounds like a plan. You’ll be at the club tomorrow?”
“Of course. I try to never miss a week.” And that’s true.
Every week, the members of the Oxford Six—me, Sebastian, Levi, Santiago, Flynn, and Nate—meet at the exclusive Magnolia Club for drinks and dinner and to hang out. We’ve been best friends since attending boarding school together as teens and all ended up at University of Oxford to get our master’s. They are my best friends in the world, and I trust them all implicitly. Spending time together is the highlight of all of our weeks, and we all make every effort to ensure we never miss a week.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Talk later, Jack,” Sebastian says and then hangs up.
I spend another five minutes running on the treadmill, and then I jog for five minutes and stop. I feel lighter after having spoken to Sebastian, but I’m still annoyed that Katherine hasn’t called nor texted me back. I check my phone again, grimace at seeing no texts, and then scroll to remind myself of the name of my date this evening.
“Pritha,” I mumble to myself as I see her name. “Pritha, Pritha, Pritha.” I repeat it over and over again so I can’t forget it.
I try to picture her face, but all I can see in my mind are Katherine’s stormy brown eyes as she tells me off.
“Focus, Jack.” I lecture myself as I decide to leave the gym early and head to the locker room. “Pritha is perfect for you. She’s an accountant. Went to Wharton for business school. Travels the world frequently. And she’s told you she’s not looking for a relationship.”
She’s perfect.
I try to picture her face again, and instead, I see Katherine, pouting and flirting and telling me to be a good boy.
“Fuck it.” I grimace as I grab my duffel bag and head out of the gym.
I feel bad about lying to Sebastian about my past with Katherine. I feel bad about pretending to not remember Whispering Haven. And I feel bad for not being able to get Katherine out of my mind. I always wondered if I’d ever see her again, but I didn’t expect it would be quite like this. I didn’t expect she’d be quite so mad. And I didn’t expect she’d be so damn sexy.
All I know is that I don’t have time in my schedule to worry about it. She is my past—and not even a big part of it—and I am positive that neither one of us wants her to be in my future.
Chapter Five
“Have you responded to Jack’s text message yet?” Willow asks me as we head toward a café to meet Brielle for a coffee before we go shopping.
“No, I haven’t.” I shake my head and look at my friend innocently. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Are you going to respond before the dinner tonight? Won’t it be awkward if you’re both there at Sebastian’s place and you haven’t responded?”
