Hooker(29)
I occasionally make eye contact with Theo as I give his men my spiel. I can tell by the smile on his face he’s impressed. Then my words seem to fail me as I watch in disbelief. I swear I sensed her before I even saw her. Am I hallucinating, or is the world just fucking with me?
Like a goddamn apparition, the woman who’s been haunting my dreams and taunting my every waking hour appears out of nowhere, Snickers. The kicker is, she doesn’t even notice me standing here. Her eyes are firmly trained on Theo as her hands wrap around his waist and she looks up at him with admiration.
What the ever-loving fuck?
‘Hey baby,’ Theo says draping his arm over her shoulder and leaning down to plant a loving kiss on her forehead.
‘Get your hands and lips off my girl,’ is what I feel like screaming, but of course I don’t. She’s not my girl.
This can’t be happening. Seeing them together is like a sucker punch to the chest. Now I know why she fled New York. She has a fucking boyfriend, and going on what I’ve heard from Josh, Theo more than likely has a boyfriend as well. Could this get anymore fucked up?
CHAPTER TWELVE
JADE
‘I’m sure you gentlemen remember my girlfriend, Jade. She’s pretty unforgettable,’ Theo says, winking at me. I smile up at him. He’s such a sweetheart. Even if it’s just an act, I can hear the sincerity in his voice. He has terrible luck with boyfriends, but he’ll find Mr Right one day, I’m sure.
I look at the men in front of me and I greet them one by one, until I meet a pair of familiar steely brown eyes. My heart instantly drops, and I swear to God I feel all the colour drain from my face. What is Brock Weston doing here?
‘I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,’ he says, never once taking his gaze off me. I don’t think the others would’ve picked up on it, but I can clearly hear the sarcasm in his voice. The hurt and confusion I see in his beautiful eyes tug at my heart. It brings back all those horrible feelings from the day I ran from him.
‘How rude of me,’ Theo cuts in. I don’t move because I’m frozen. ‘Brock, Jade. Jade, Brock. Brock’s going to be heading up the security at my development sites.’
Theo’s words don’t really register. I’m thrilled to see Brock again, but petrified too. He can’t find out what I’m doing here. He just can’t.
My gaze finally leaves his and lands on his outstretched hand. I pull myself together enough to wrap my fingers around his palm. I get that same electrified feeling I got when he touched me in New York. I need to keep my cool here. I can’t afford to blow this. For Theo’s sake, and for mine.
On the outside, Brock appears to be dealing with this situation a lot better than I am, but when his hand spitefully squeezes mine, I know, like me, it’s all an act for our audience. He’s angry. I guess he has every right to be.
‘It’s nice to meet you,’ he says before dropping my hand. ‘If you gentlemen will excuse me, I need a drink.’ My eyes follow him as he walks away. Everything in me wants to chase after him and explain, but I can’t do that. What am I supposed to say? It’s not like I can tell him the truth.
Trying hard to pull myself together, I turn my attention back to Theo, forcing out a smile.
‘Are you okay?’ he asks, grabbing hold of my arm. ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’ He’s got that one right. Mr Delicious. A handsome, oh-so-fine ghost that I’ve been trying ever so hard to forget.
‘I’m fine. I think I’ve just had a little too much sun. I might go and sit under the cabana, if that’s okay with you?’
‘Of course. Do you want to go inside and lie down?’ I love that he appears to be genuinely concerned, and I feel awful for lying to him.
‘Thank you,’ I say, kissing his cheek. ‘The shade will be enough.’
I don’t even make it to the cabana before Brock grabs hold of my wrist, pulling me around the side of the house and out of sight of the others.
‘So we meet again,’ he says, pushing me up against the wall and caging me in with his arms. Unlike the first time he said that to me in the bar at our hotel, there’s venom in his voice. My eyes lock with his, but words fail me. Having him so close brings all those feelings from New York back. He cocks an eyebrow when I don’t reply. ‘You have nothing to say, Miss Davis? Would you prefer to write it down on a piece of paper before running away? That seems to be more your style.’
His words sting. He’s right. I’m a coward. He deserved so much more than what he got from me. He gave me the best moments of my life, and look how I repaid him. I bow my head in shame.