Jackie stands between us, the corners of her mouth downturned. “What were you thinking?”
For half a second, I think she’s scolding him. But no, her icy glare is directed towards me. “You could’ve gotten hypothermia!” she snaps.
“Best I change before lunch,” William says smoothly, before retreating toward the B&B.
After a moment of hesitation, Jackie follows him.
Why am I even surprised?
“Go claim your prize.” Martha elbows me. “That tent over there.”
The grand prize is a dancing lobster T-shirt and a free breakfast coupon for Quinn’s coffee shop.
I’m pulling the T-shirt over my head when Blanca appears out of nowhere, pushing me backward into a corner.
I grind my molars; I’m not above throwing her into the water.
“I told you to leave her alone.” She snarls in that tone of somebody used to getting whatever they want.
“Aren’t you too old for this type of shit?”
Last time I found her waiting outside my office. She told me to stop pestering Jackie, that she was too nice to say something. But Blanca wasn’t. She made it clear that girls like them don’t get serious about someone like me.
“What?” she taunts. “Now that you’ve managed to wiggle your way into polite society, you think you have a chance. Ha!”
I wonder how much money would be enough to erase the sin of being born into a working-class family.
Back then, words like those shattered me. But I’m not the same man. “Maybe that’s something you should let her decide.”
“She didn’t want you back then,” she spits. “She doesn’t want you now.”
“What the fuck, Blanca?” Jackie’s voice cuts in.
She stands in the middle of the tent with a steaming cup and a bag of pastries, shock written all over her face.
Blanca doesn’t seem fazed. “You said he kept calling you in London. I knew you wanted to be left alone.”
“So, you decided to—what?”
Blanca doesn’t say anything.
“To remind me of my place,” I say, all of a sudden sick of this whole conversation.
Jackie’s big blue eyes are round, confused. “What do you mean byyour place?”
I stride past her toward my car, but she follows.
Why does she act like she has no idea? “Please, Jackie. Your fake ignorance is insulting to both of us.”
She bristles at that. “It’d be easier if I knew what you were talking about.”
Over her shoulder, I spot William approaching, Blanca leaning in to whisper something in his ear.
“Your friends are waiting,” I say flatly.
“Jackie!” William calls, holding his Italian shoes in one hand. “We’re heading two towns over for lunch. Blanca found a spot.”
Jackie’s lips move, but nothing comes out. She hesitates, then presses the tea and the pastry bag into my hands. “You looked like you were freezing.”
