"Richard's been round to Sophie's"
"Is she okay?"
"Sophie would dismantle him limb from limb before he ever hurt her," I said, dialing her number. "He was looking for me."
"Vanessa," Sophie said as she answered. "What possessed you to ever go out with that dickhead in the first place?"
"I don't know," I said. I'd been asking myself that same question for more than a year. "What did he want and are you okay?"
"I'm fine. He wanted to lament on how you were screwing him over. He no longer has that viewpoint. I put him straight on several matters. On a positive note, he was sober and ended up taking full responsibility for his night spent in the nick." There was a pause. "And then I phoned his dad."
Holy shitting baby moles. "Why in the name of chocolate would you do that?"
"You're that mad you can't swear?"
"Sophie!"
Jackson looked concerned. "Is she okay?" he said quietly. "I can send Max round to check on her."
"She's fine. And she'd most likely end your brother's dry spell if you sent him round," I said, knowing full well she could hear me.
"That would be a great way to say thank you if he's anything like your man toy," Sophie said, her tone of voice lightning. "Look, I did the right thing. Richard's father had no idea about you having split up. He was going to find out sometime and I called under the pretense I was concerned about Richard. He said he would speak to Richard about agreeing on terms quickly over the business and apartment to avoid any further scandal and he apologized for his son's behavior. It won't make any difference to negotiations, Van, but it may speed things up."
I felt frozen, lingering doubt pushing out of the box where I'd kept it like a serpent trying to choke me. "Did he say anything about me, how I was out of my league..." The words stuck in my throat and I saw Jackson's glare.
Sophie laughed. "He said: 'I'm surprised she's stuck with him that long, she had too many brains for him.' From what I've gathered, Richard's cocked up a lot of business deals recently, and his father has reigned in a lot of the responsibility and passed it over to his cousin to firefight. I'm totally ignoring your attempt to belittle yourself, by the way."
I inhaled deeply. "Thanks, Soph. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Van, I eat men like Richard for a snack before breakfast. I'll see you tomorrow – actually, make it Monday or Tuesday and I hope you're walking like you've been riding a horse non-stop for days. I'm going shopping with the ex's new piece. I'll send you a selfie." She hung up, leaving me listening to silence and Jackson's muffled laughter.
"Sophie's got more balls than all my brothers combined. We should introduce her to Max," he said, standing behind me and putting his arms around my waist.
"You clearly don't value your brother's manliness," I said, leaning into him. "She'd chew him up and spit him into the Thames. Sophie had a part-time job as a Domme at a BDSM club once."
This time he doesn't muffle his laughter. "Why doesn't that surprise me? She seems to have dealt with your ex okay and she was right, as was his dad."
"I know," I said, and I did. "It's just – I was the poor girl from the country and being with Richard did give me a lift up into circles it would've taken me years to breach."
Jackson shrugged. "But you had to have the skills for those people to take you seriously and the knowledge and talent to keep them with you, which you did. I think you need to move on from that doubt and stop thinking you're in a world where you don't belong." He took my hand and we started walking, the conversation changing onto lighter matters until we reach our destination.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Chapter Fourteen
Jackson
"Look what the diseased rat's dragged in!" I was greeted as soon as I walked through the doors of the pub I chose to bring Vanessa to for lunch. It's busy, as it would be on a Saturday afternoon. A few tourists sat at the tables, while the bar was surrounded by locals, including Tommy Longden, my childhood friend and someone I didn't envisage introducing Vanessa to while I was still trying to ingrain a good impression. "Although your guest is a damn sight prettier."
Vanessa smiled. "I'm assuming you actually know each other," she said, looking at me for an introduction.
"Van, this is Tommy, my old friend from primary school. Tommy, this is Vanessa. Keep your hands off." I glared at him. He was well and truly married to his childhood sweetheart but had always thoroughly enjoyed flirting harmlessly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Vanessa. I was beginning to think that Jacks might have given women up for good." A tall, willowy woman walked up beside him and slapped his backside. "This is my wife, Addy. Of course, you can see she got the better end of the deal."
Vanessa laughed, thankfully and I placed a hand on the small of her back, marking my territory. In fact, I had the urge to pick her up and put her over my shoulder, taking her back to the house and spend the rest of the day buried inside her.
"It's nice to meet you," she said before two slightly mud-covered children ran over to us.
