Leaving him waiting in the car, I headed inside Rosa’s. There was no sign of Jett. That surprised me, since I was a couple of minutes late and assumed he’d be waiting. I was pretty sure Wes had taken his sweet time getting here on purpose in order to make me late. Hopefully, Jett wouldn’t be too much longer. I hated when dates were late. It showed apathy, although I couldn’t be sure he hadn’t hit LA traffic. That would be the only acceptable excuse.
More than ten minutes passed before I spotted Jett walking in the door. He ran a hand through his hair, looking flustered, but his mouth curved into a smile once he noticed me.
Grinning, I waved him over to the table.
“Sorry I’m late.” He sat down across from me. “Traffic.”
At least he had a good excuse. “I figured.”
He placed his napkin in his lap, leaned back in the chair, and grinned. “You look absolutely stunning, Juliette,” he said, seeming a little out of breath. “Yellow ismost definitely your color. It accentuates your dark hair beautifully.”
“Thank you.” I felt my cheeks heat.
Jett and I ordered drinks, and it seemed like things were going well, the conversation flowing easily. But then the tide shifted as I looked over at the entrance and found Wes stalking toward our table. My pulse raced.What the hell is he doing? Anger raced through me, leaving a trail of heat. I couldn’t believe he’d gone against his word.
“Hey, friend!” He flashed a fake smile as he approached the table. “Didn’t expect to run into you tonight!”
“What are you doing here?” I gritted my teeth.
“Well, I was in the area and decided to come in for a bite.” He pulled out a chair and made himself comfortable. “You don’t mind if I join, do you?”
I opened my mouth, and then closed it. What could I possibly say? The nerve of him after he’d specifically promised he’d wait in the car. I wanted to tell him to beat it, but Jett thoughtWes was a family friend, so my reaction needed to be in accordance with that story. I had to suck it up, as it would’ve seemed rude to kick him to the curb.
Wes leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin as he perused the menu. Jett stared at him incredulously.
After Wes ordered a drink, I did my best to turn my attention back to Jett. We talked shop for a while, basically ignoring Wes, until my trusty bodyguard finally spoke.
“Do you mind if I interrupt?” Wes cleared his throat.
My stomach sank.I’m seriously going to kill him. It was bad enough that I had to deal with having a bodyguard, but had I given Wes the impression that my life was a toy he could play with? Had I been too nice tohim, and he thought he could do whatever he wanted now? He would be getting the biggest piece of my mind later.
Jett narrowed his eyes. “Something tells me you’re going to interrupt regardless of my answer, so go right ahead.”
Wes leveled him with an incendiary stare. “I have a question for you, Jett…”
Jett took a sip of his drink and crossed his arms. “Okay…”
“Do you always suck face with one woman right before going out on a date with another?”
I immediately looked up.
Jett’s face went white. His mouth opened and closed a few times.
Wes continued, “Like, literally a minute before your date with someone else?”
Jett remained silent as Wes took out his phone. He slammed it down on the table so that both Jett and I could see. It was, indeed, an image of Jett kissing a woman. He was wearing the same shirt he had on now, and the photo had been taken just outside on Sunset Boulevard.
Holy crap. Wes wasn’t joking.
“Juliette,” Jett finally said. “I’m not sure what to say. I’m certainly not going to deny what’s obvious. I was with a date before I came here.” He shook his head. “But it’s not serious. So technically, I don’t owe her, or anyone else, an explanation for meeting you after. But I can understand why this would be upsetting.”
I just sat there, my mouth agape.
No, Jett wasn’t my boyfriend. We weren’t exclusive. We were just on a casual date. But kissing someone aliteral minute before coming in to meet me? I was certain he’d probably told that woman he had a business meeting or something. He’d likely be going back to her or someone else later. This was a giant red flag. Jett was now someone I didn’t feel deserved my time.
“You know what?” I stood. “I’ve had a rough week. Rather than sit here and try to figure out whether this is right or wrong or how to respond to you, I’m gonna protect my peace.” I nodded once. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m leaving. Have a good rest of your evening. Hope it’s as exciting as your afternoon seemed to be.”
I lifted my chin high and walked straight toward the entrance without looking back.
