“I don’t think so…” I muttered.
Nana smiled back at me, completely unfazed, like she wasn’t getting it. Like I’d told her some romantic story from a rom-com meet-cute when I was clearly avoiding the simple thought of him.
“Maybe you should invite him to lunch tomorrow,” she suggested casually.
“I’m busy tomorrow,” I shot back quickly.
“Not at lunchtime, you’re not,” she countered as fast. She stood up and smoothed her skirt.
“Where are you going?” I blinked at her, in shock.
“Oh, I’ve got plenty to do. You’re not the only busy one, you know. I’m a very important old lady,” she joked and laughed.I loved that laugh.
I watched as she grabbed her purse and made her way out. When the door clicked shut, I exhaled, like I didn’t have to carry the heavy mask anymore. I could go back to being miserable. And looking like it.
My eyes drifted back to my phone, the messages still sitting there, like they were daring me to look. There was nothing he could’ve said to make things better, so what was the point of reading them? Make me feel worse? No, thank you. Whatever this thing was between us, it didn’t belong in real life.
Chris Jones and I were a glitch in the universe. Some cosmic joke that I’d been too foolish to entertain. In the real world, we would never work. I swiped to delete the messages. It was easier to ignore. To forget. To convince myself that none of it mattered.
16
JULES
The sun had clocked out for the day by the time I pulled into my driveway, but apparently,I hadn’tbecause I was still on the phone withfuckingDavid, the copywriter. I was running on fumes after a night of barely any sleep and a full day of battling my own brain, trying to avoid the memories of the night before. All I wanted was a quiet night with the kids and, if the universe was in a good mood, an early bedtime.
I noticed a sleek, black car parked out front. This thing looked like it had starred in a James Bond movie. It was definitely not our average driveway guest. Carol’s little white Beetle sat next to it, looking downright goofy in comparison.
“I can do Tuesday if you’ve got the presentation ready,” I mumbled into my phone, balancing it between my ear and shoulder as I stepped out of the car. David was droning on about something, but I wasn’t really listening. My focus was locked on that car, debating if this was one of those moments where I should be worried.
Should I? Probably. Did I have the strength for it? Absolutely not. Curiosity won over caution, and I moved towardthe car. When the driver’s side window rolled down without warning, I nearly jumped out of my skin and almost dropped my phone.
“Shit!”
And then I saw him.
Chris.
“David, I’ll have to call you back,” I said, cutting David off mid-sentence as I hung up. I shoved my phone into my bag and crossed my arms, trying to hide the ridiculous pounding in my chest. “What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped.
Chris leaned one arm on the window frame with that movie star smirk tugging at his lips. I didn’t know if I wanted to slap it off his face or just… kiss it. Toss a coin. Right now, slapping was in the lead.
“Are you playing hard to get to keep me interested?” he asked, and I could feel my blood pressure spiking.
Oh, slapping it is.
“Because if you are,” he added and stepped out of the car like he owned the damn driveway, “it’s working.” He moved closer, crashing into my personal space. I stood my ground, crossing my arms tighter. And didn’t say a word. “I’m not really engaged. You know that, right?” He softened his voice before continuing. “I need you to know that.”
“It’s none of my business, really,” I shot back. As if that was the only reason I’d deliberately ignored his texts today. It was a big part of it, sure, but he had to know it was more than that. Maybe being a jerk was second nature to him, and he couldn’t see how it could hurtme, the person on the other end of that shit show this morning.
“Come on, Jules…” He took another step toward me, and now I was backed up against Carol’s car. No distance between us left. I could feel his body heat, making the cool night feel a lot warmer than it had a second ago.
My brain was screaming at me to shove him, send himaway, or at least scream some profanities. But my body had a totally different idea, after starving it for so long, having the connection it shared with him yesterday had completely unlocked this horny, crazy version of me. My pulse quickened, and that stupid warmth spread like wildfire.
“I’m not the kind of person who gets between a marriage, fake or not. And that Vanessa person? I?—”
“I’ll fire her tomorrow,” he cut me off with a straight face that almost made me believe him. Almost.
“Don’t,” I replied, shaking my head like I could shake off the ridiculousness of this entire situation. There was no way I was going to be the reason someone lost their job, even if that someone was the devil in expensive heels. “I just… I don’t fit into all of this.”
