He scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ah. We’re back to English. That’s great.
“Okay,” I said. “Naturally, the more logical explanation is that Hubert packed up his own shit while you were packing yours and decided to leave all by himself, huh?”
When he didn’t respond, I leaned in closer until I saw the flash of discomfort in his eyes. I smiled again. “Here’s the thing. I’m not really asking for me. I’m asking because Jacqueline deserves better than whatever the hell you pulled andI’min a position to make your life inconvenient if you decide to keep playing dumb.”
He scoffed, but it was weaker now. “Is that a threat?”
I tilted my head, pretending to think about it until I finally shrugged. “Nah. It’s more of a friendly heads-up.”
Straightening to my full height, I slipped my hands back into my pockets and decided to let the name do the work for me. “I’m a Westwood, which means I have people in high places all over the world. Lawyers. Investors. People who either make problems go away or create them, depending on the day.”
His expression hardened, but at least he was listening now. I patted him on the shoulder. “So here’s what’s going to happen if you don’t want them to create problems for you. You’re going to think very carefully about whether or not you want to keep a dog that isn’t yours, and the next time you see me, because youwillbe seeing me again unless Hubert is returned to his rightful owner, it won’t be nearly as pretty.”
The truth was that I didn’t really like intimidating people or threatening them. I even almost felt bad about it, but then I remembered Jaq’s face last night, so crumpled and shaken, and whatever sympathy I might’ve had evaporated.
When I clapped him on the shoulder again, it was hard enough to jolt him forward half a step. “Great chat, buddy. I look forward to seeing you soon.”
Incapable of leaving well enough alone, I headed back to his table, reached over, grabbed the croissant off his plate, and tooka bite. He stared at me like I’d just committed a war crime, but I shot him another smile in return.
“You know, this is better than the coffee.” On that note, I picked up the cup that belonged to him too, taking a long sip before setting it back down. I knew I’d just violated every social boundary known to man, but I kept smiling when I turned back to him. “Have a good rest of your morning. I know I will.”
As I spun and walked away, I could feel eyes on me, but I didn’t care. I’d finally used my powers for good, and hopefully, Jacqueline wouldn’t kill me when she found out because she’d be getting Hubert back.
When I glanced back at them over my shoulder, I saw them all still watching me, Thomas clearly fuming, and then I decided that I might as well add insult to injury.
“You really fumbled the ball by breaking up with her, you know!” I called out, loud enough that the entire breakfast area heard it. “Thanks for that.”
A couple of heads snapped in his direction and one of his colleagues choked on his coffee, but I shot him a wink and finally left. For real this time.
Honestly, the guy really had made a mistake of epic proportions when he’d left her, but now, I was going to go get my girlfriend, fake or real, and spend the day with her. All the while knowing that Thomas was going to spend the rest of the day seething.
Serves you right, bro. Seriously. Who ends aneight-yearrelationship without so much as a goodbye? Who ends a relationship with a woman like that at all?
CHAPTER 26
JACQUELINE
Itried to stay present during the afternoon out in the city with Jesse. Chicago in early autumn was objectively stunning. The air had a perfect crisp edge to it, the trees were just starting to turn, the lake looked like something out of a postcard, and I had a very attractive man beside me who, for all intents and purposes, was mine for the day.
In theory, I should’ve been thriving on all this, but in reality, I kept catching camera flashes. Little glints of light from across the street, from behind parked cars, and from reflections in windows, and every time it happened, it reminded me we weren’t just two normal people, wandering around like we didn’t care about tomorrow’s headlines.
Jesse, on the other hand, seemed completely immune. He had his sunglasses on and he was walking like he had all the time in the world, occasionally glancing down at me with that easy, infuriating grin.
“How do you not care?” I asked at one point, ducking slightly when I thought I saw another flash.
He didn’t even look around. “What don’t I care about?”
“The people capturing our every move like we’re part of a nature documentary,” I muttered.
He laughed and nudged my shoulder with his. “It’s not so bad. Give it another week and you’ll be waving.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“You’ll see,” he said confidently. “By this time next week, you’ll be singing a whole different tune.”
I rolled my eyes, but there was something about the way he moved through it all so completely unaffected that made it easier to breathe. People around here were obviously pretty taken with the Westwoods, or perhaps just with Jesse, but that also made me wonder if he could possibly be as bad as my mom seemed to think.
