Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jackson
Placing my phone in my pocket, I walked down the street and into my favorite chocolate shop, which was family owned and had the best chocolate I had ever had.
“Hello there, Jackson.” Jacob Small smiled.
“Hi, Jacob.”
“Welcome back to Chicago.”
“Thanks.”
I stood looking through the case of the homemade and handcrafted chocolates his family had been making for over fifty years.
“What can I box up for you?”
“Just give me a two-pound assortment.”
“Two pounds, eh?” He smiled.
“Yeah. I have a friend back in New York who I know will love these.” I grinned.
“Judging by that grin, I’d say she’s pretty special.” He winked.
“She’s a good friend.”
“There you go.” He reached over the counter and handed me the box of chocolates while I handed him my credit card.
“Thanks, Jacob. It was good to see you again.”
“Same here, Jackson. I hope your good friend enjoys.”
“She will.”
When I arrived back at my father’s penthouse, I walked in, only to find Katerina crying on the couch. Shit. I rolled my eyes and sighed.
“Where is he?” I asked as I walked over to her.
“He left. Said he needed to take care of a few things.”
I didn’t know how to console her. Or any woman, to be exact. It was natural for me with Emily, but with Katerina, I didn’t want to make things for her worse.
“Your father is an asshole!” she yelled before blowing her nose.
“Yeah. He is.” I sat down next to her.
“How could he do this to me? Just ask for a divorce out of nowhere?”
“You knew what you were getting yourself into when you married him. You are wife number five.”
“I thought I was different,” she cried.
“And so did wives number two, three, and four. Listen, Katerina, I’m sorry. You’ll come out of this a much stronger person. You’re a beautiful young woman, and any man would be lucky to have you for his wife.”
“You think so?” She sniffled as she looked at me with her tear-filled eyes.
“I know so. You didn’t want to waste the rest of your life with him anyway. He did you a favor.”
“I think he’s seeing someone. When I asked him, he denied it.”
I inhaled a deep breath because I wouldn’t doubt it. It was what he did.
“If he is, then I feel sorry for that poor woman, and you should too.”
“I do, and you know what? She can have him!”
“That’s right. He’s her problem now.” I smiled.
“Thanks, Jackson.” She placed her hand on mine. “You’re a good man. Some woman will be lucky to have someone like you in her life.”
“Thanks, Katerina. I’m going to go. I wasn’t supposed to leave until tomorrow, but I need to get back to New York.”
I hugged her, grabbed my suitcase, and headed out the door. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I dialed my father.
“What’s up, son?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I’m flying back to New York tonight.”
“I thought you weren’t leaving until tomorrow.”
“I have a lot of work to do, Dad.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks. Take care, son.”
“You too, Dad.”
I had too much on my mind to stay in Chicago another night, plus I was starving for sex, and I needed to see Emily. With my father getting another divorce, his moving back to New York, and my mother’s pending divorce, it took a toll on me.
When I arrived back in New York, I stopped by Jules’ place before heading home.
“Hey.” She opened the door and hugged me. “What the hell is going on with our parents?”
Stepping inside, I headed to the bar in the living room corner and poured myself a scotch.
“They’re batshit crazy. That’s what’s going on.”
“Is Dad seriously moving back here?”
“Yes. He’ll be here permanently in two weeks.”
“Jesus Christ, Jackson. I can’t even wrap my mind around all this. Both our parents are getting divorced again, and Dad’s moving back. Should they even be in the same city?”
“I don’t know.” I poured another scotch and downed it in one gulp. “All I know is that I’m staying out of it. I don’t care if they’re both getting divorced, and I don’t care if they’re at each other’s throats. I have my own life and issues, and so do you. Parents or not, they are no longer our problem.”
She stood there with her arms folded lightly, nodding her head. “I agree.”
I set down my glass on the bar and kissed her cheek.
“I have to get going. I love you.”
“I love you too.”