“Are you sure?” I pressed, pushing wet hair out of my face as I treaded water. “You look like you’ve just seen aghost, and unless there’s another giant bug lurking around here somewhere, I’m going to assume it’s concussion related.”
“I’m fine,” he ground out, but he was already moving away from me, putting distance between us at an astonishing pace.
As soon as he reached the edge of the pool, he climbed out of the water and turned to offer me his hand. I took it, letting him pull me up, but the second my feet hit the deck, he let go.
Like contact itself is the problem.
“What—”
“Goodnight,” he said, not even looking at me as he cut off the question I hadn’t gotten around to asking.
With that, he spun on his heels, dripping water all over the floor as he hurried inside. Disappearing into the house like I’d just told him I was contagious, he was gone before my head had even stopped spinning.
I glanced down at myself, at the water still clinging to my skin and sliding down my arms. My heart was still beating just a little too fast and he was already gone. Personally, I’d liked that kiss. A lot. So much that I would have kept kissing him. I would have happily stayed right there in that pool until we’d both forgotten how to form coherent sentences, but he was acting like I’d made him sick to his stomach.
As soon as that thought hit, I felt the blood drain from my own face in turn. There were towels hanging on hooks near the door and I marched over, grabbing one and drying off before following Jesse into the house.
He was nowhere to be seen, though. Probably in his room. Maybe that was for the best.
Confusion raced through me, so thick that it made me feel like I was moving in a daze. I finally made it to my room, showered, and changed into dry clothes, but even as I tugged on an oversized shirt and shorts, my brain kept replaying the last ten minutes whether I wanted it to or not.
The wayhe’dkissedmeand then just…stopped.
I stared at myself in the mirror for a second, tilting my head as I took note of my flushed cheeks and slightly swollen lips. What the hell was wrong with me? Jesse was known for being impulsive and chasing women, but I never let myself lose control like that.
This was Jesse Westwood, for heaven’s sake. The guy didn’t date. He grazed, moving from woman to woman whenever he got bored. It should have been no surprise he made a move on me. The surprise was how I had reacted to his kiss. I had leaned into it, wanting more. So much more.
But that was totally out of character for me, kissing him in a pool like I’d lost all sense of reason. I had no interest in a casual fling with Jesse. My heart didn’t do casual. But when it came to Jesse, casual was all he did.
The way he’d kissed me certainlyfeltlike there was more behind it than his desire for a quick roll in bed with me. God, the man had devoured me like it was the only thing he’d ever wanted to do, but he’d always had a way of making me special. It was probably just a by-product of his apparent addiction to flirting.
“Brilliant,” I muttered, spinning and heading out of my room to go give him a piece of my mind.
One didn’t just kiss another person like that and then suddenly act like you were allergic to them. It was rude, to say the least, but it was also offensive. I might not be a model or a socialite, but I wasn’t bad looking. I knew that for a fact.
Objectively, I was perfectly attractive enough, and hell, I’dseenhim checking me out on occasion. He certainly hadn’t been put off by me then.
I only made it halfway down the hall before stopping, however. A very loud, very bold part of me wanted to knock on his door and demand an explanation. I deserved to know what the hell that had been, but the part that had been quietlycollecting rejections, almosts, and what-ifs for years stopped me from going through with it.
Don’t. You don’t need another man playing with your emotions.I exhaled slowly, instantly knowing that part was right. Thomas’s betrayal had left a serious mark. After years of being too busy to plan our wedding. Years of me sitting in our flat alone for months at a time, wondering why he’d ever popped the question if he so obviously didn’t want to commit to me.
All of which crashed together and made me ignore that bold voice deep in my subconscious that was still trying to urge me on. I turned away instead, heading back to my room and climbing into bed.
Even now though, I could still feel the ghost of him against me, and it kept me up for hours before sleep finally dragged me under.
When I woke up, sunlight was streaming through the windows, but the house was quiet. I knew before I’d even opened my eyes that Jesse wasn’t here. I didn’t know how, but I just… became conscious with that knowledge fully settled in my mind.
Pushing myself up slowly on my elbows, I blinked a few times to adjust to the light, then spotted a note on the nightstand when I turned to reach for my phone. My extremities turned to ice. I reached for the folded piece of paper, but I already suspected what it might say.
And I wasn’t wrong.
Written in an unfamiliar but elegant script was yet another short note bearing yet another bit of unwelcome news.
Good morning.
I was forced to go golfing with the client. We’re signing the contract today, so it’ll be our last day here.
See you later.
