His expression didn’t even twitch. That calmness made my skin crawl. “No problem. Just wanted to say hi to Mackenzie.”
I leaned back, studying the way they looked at each other. The hair on her arms stood up, and she wouldn’t quite meet his eyes. But when she did, something unspoken passed between them.
Recognition. History.
“How do you know each other?” I asked casually, tearing my sandwich in half, my arm sliding over the back of Mackenzie’s chair until my thumb hovered just above her shoulder. Close enough for him to notice.
His eyes narrowed. He didn’t like it when I touched her.
Interesting.
“Oh, how do we know each other?” Jackson scoffed. “You want to tell him, Mackenzie, or should I?”
My fist curled under the table. I forced myself to breathe,three slow counts, because I could feel the urge to hurt him like it was a living thing.
“I … uh …” Mackenzie stammered. “Jackson and I … We went to school together. We … uh …”
Her cheeks flushed. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out they had hooked up.
He smirked, and it landed like a blade between my ribs.
My jealousy ripped through me, and I couldn’t stop the image that followed. His hands were on her body, where they didn’t belong.
The thought alone made me want to tear him away from the table, put him against the wall, and see what he looked like afraid.
I blinked.
Wow.This was new. Raging psychopath wasn’t a personality trait I generally harbored. I didn’t know how to handle these feelings swirling inside me.
He finished his food. “See you later, Mackenzie,” he said, standing and walking off like he owned the room.
I pulled my arm back, folding my hands in my lap to keep from doing something stupid. I’d known her for years, talked to her almost every day, but suddenly I realized there were entire chapters of her life I’d never read.
I got up and dumped my tray without touching the rest of my food. My appetite was gone. My humor was gone. And the last thing I felt like doing was pretending otherwise.
She came up behind me, tray in hand, her presence soft but impossible to ignore.
“Hey… what’s up?” she asked quietly. There was a hitch in her voice. It was hesitant, like she already knew I wouldn’t like the answer.
“Nothing,” I muttered eventually, my eyes fixed on anything that wasn’t her. The trees, the gravel path, my shoes.
Her hand caught my arm. I looked down into those green eyes that had always been my undoing.
“Forget him, please.” Her voice was pleading, earnest.
My chest felt like it was closing in.
“Whoisthat guy?” The jealousy in my voice was unmistakable. I didn’t even bother to hide it. But I wanted her to tell me that he was no one, and that my suspicions were just paranoia.
“Uh…” She averted her gaze. “We used to date.”
I’d always known she had boyfriends. But hearing it now, seeing her say it, was something else entirely. The unfair part? I’d dated plenty of girls back home. Never serious. Never long. Always disposable. Butthis? This wasn’t disposable to her.
“How long?” The irritation leaked out before I could rein it in. “He’s a dick. I can’t believe you dated that guy.”
We stopped under the shade of a big oak outside the cabin. I hooked my arm around a low branch, holding her gaze. She wouldn’t hold mine back. She was looking everywhere but at me.
“Not very long,” she said, voice clipped. “We dated for eight months.”
