Oh, eesh!
Then, I couldn’t be bothered. Because walking straight toward me was none other than Jensen Wright himself. He looked…unbelievable. I might be mad at him, but he was undeniably attractive. He was in a tailored charcoal suit that fit him like a glove. He had on a red patterned shirt and a dark tie. His cheekbones were sharp, and his eyes were even fiercer. But I could see underneath it. He looked like he’d lost weight…and definitely sleep. There were dark circles under his eyes, like he’d been living off of caffeine and power naps.
He caught my eye, and I stopped breathing for a second. In that second, I just wanted to forget the last week. I wanted everything to be right. I wanted Wright to be right even though it felt so wrong.
But then that moment passed, and I knew what I had to do.
I marched straight over to Jensen and blocked his path before he could get inside. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Language, Emery,” he said, his voice clipped.
“Don’t do that,” I ground out. “Just answer the damn question.”
“I’ve been in New York.”
“Why haven’t you answered any of my calls or messages?”
“I’ve been busy,” he said simply.
I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out of the way of the entrance. “I’m missing something here. What the hell happened? Is it because I didn’t answer your calls that night? My phone died, and I didn’t see you’d called until I got home. I called you back as soon as I charged it,” I rambled on.
“Not as soon as.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I asked, not following him.
“I really don’t want to get into this with you, Emery.”
He moved to brush past me, but I latched on to his arm. “Was it Vanessa?”
Jensen turned back to face me with confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Do you still love her? Is that why you were in New York?” I knew I sounded desperate and jealous, but I cared very little at this point. If it was going to end, then I just wanted him to do it.
“You ask me that after last week?”
“Why shouldn’t I?” I demanded. He wasn’t making any sense.
He took a step toward me, towering over me. “I saw you with Landon. I saw the way you were all over him that night. Landon is still in love with you, and it sure looked like you felt the same.”
Landon was in love with me? Ha! That was a riot. And Jensen thought I was still in love with Landon? That was equally laughable.
“That is not what you saw!” I told him.
“Save it, Emery.”
Then, he turned and walked into the church, leaving me sputtering in shock. He thought I loved Landon. He thought that I had somehow chosen Landon over him. And I didn’t even know how he could think that.
Where had he seen me with Landon? At Flips? I definitely had not been all over him then. I’d never even touched him, except when he’d helped me to the door so that I wouldn’t fall over.
I stumbled back a step. Oh, shit.
Kimber had said Jensen had come by. Maybe he’d seen Landon help me. Maybe he thought something had been there that wasn’t. Because nothing was there. And it was preposterous to presume something like that. It was even worse to assume it, not have a conversation about it, and then run.
Twenty-Seven
Jensen
Emery’s gaze burned me like a brand throughout the service.
Luckily, the Christmas Eve service was almost entirely comprised of singing, and there was never a point where she could talk to me.
I’d been prepared for her to be here tonight. I’d figured, after the way I’d left things—or hadn’t left things—that she would want a confrontation. She was that kind of girl. But she’d made her choice that night, and then I’d made mine when I hopped on that plane and flew to New York.
What I did regret was that things were still tense with Landon. I should have fixed things with him before leaving. He was my brother. He would always be in my life, and if I had to endure his love for Emery, then I should at least let him know that I would stand down. I knew he was married to Miranda. But I always thought that was a temporary thing and that he’d find someone better in the end.
It had been impossible to get near him when I got back this morning. Miranda never left his side, and I couldn’t be in her vicinity for more than a few minutes before wanting my eardrums to burst.
But I would fix it tonight.
When the service ended, I reached down for my jacket, and when I stood back up, there was Emery, looking pissed as all hell. She was looking up at me with fire in her eyes, and it was impossible not to stare back. She was…stunning. Breathtaking. My chest tightened when I looked at her.