Chapter 3 #2
“You know me well.” Her gaze softened. “He made all these promises about helping me get my career going here, and he never did a single one of them. I had no contacts, I don’t speak the language, and every day he just kept coming up with things he needed help with.”
“That fucker thought he could get you here and make you his puppet,” I grunted, my hands fisting on the table. “So tell me the truth. All of it. I’ll know if you’re holding back, so just put it all out there.”
“It happened pretty quickly.” She exhaled and glanced away for a beat before turning back to look at me.
“Once we arrived in Paris, it bothered him that I wouldn’t move in with him.
I reminded him that at the time, we’d only been dating for six months.
Which, looking back, makes me question myself.
Who gives up their job and their life for a six-month relationship? That’s on me.”
“You were in love, or at least you thought you were,” I said, my voice tight even to my own ears.
“He made all these promises about helping you build your own company. Paris is a beautiful place, and you’ve always been inspired by French design.
So you looked at this as the opportunity of a lifetime.
I understood why you wanted this—even though I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was full of shit.
Part of me thought maybe I was just being overly protective, and maybe I was reading him wrong.
He never seemed genuine to me. I just hate that he hurt you, and I hate that I couldn’t do anything to stop it. ”
Her gaze was wet with emotion. “Always my knight in shining armor.”
I cursed to myself.
Not this time.
A woman with short blonde hair who was probably a few years older than us approached the table. “Bonjour, Gracie, and who do we have here?”
“Bonjour, Collette.” Gracie moved to her feet and hugged her, and I stood up as well. “This is Cutler.”
“Ahhh… We’ve heard so much about her American bestie. The teddy bear, right?” Her voice was teasing as she extended a hand to me. “You came to help her pack and take her home?”
Gracie and I both returned to our seats.
“Yes, happy to be getting my girl back home.” I winked at Gracie.
“I clearly talk about you a lot,” she said with a laugh.
Collette raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “She talked about you daily. I’m just glad she ended things with the turd.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “You and I are on the same page, Collette.”
“I’m glad she’s going back with you. She needs to be surrounded by good people, because she’s the best.” Collette placed a hand on Gracie’s shoulder. “I’m sad you’re leaving, ma chérie, but this isn’t the right time for you and Paris. You’ll be back when the timing is right.”
Gracie smiled and nodded. It was clear that she’d been suffering here in Paris, without letting me or her family know what was going on.
I wasn’t completely shocked. I mean, I was surprised she hadn’t told me.
But she was a proud person.
A perfectionist and an overachiever.
We’d always balanced one another.
I’d lightened things for her, and she’d taught me how to look forward, how to plan and dream and all of those things.
I’d always known I was a lucky man to call Gracie Reynolds my best friend.
My girl.
She’d brought far more to my life than I’d brought to hers.
“I wish I could have come here under different circumstances, but I’ll definitely be back,” Gracie promised.
“I’ll miss you. And your Bear sure did show up for you when you needed him, didn’t he?” She winked before taking our orders and walking away.
“I still can’t believe what a mess I’ve made of everything.” Gracie shook her head and shrugged.
“None of this is on you. You haven’t done anything wrong. You recognized things weren’t right and ended it with that asshole, and that’s all that matters.” I reached for my water and took a sip.
“I’m done with relationships, Bear. I think I need to try something different. Nothing serious. You know, sort of like what you do.”
I barked out a laugh. “And what is it that I do, Jeege?”
“You don’t get that invested in people. I’ve never really just dated.
I always seem to be in a long-term relationship.
And look at where that’s gotten me. I’m not investing in anyone other than myself for a while.
All relationships are off-limits. So, teach me how to date casually, please. ” She chuckled.
This was not a conversation I ever expected to be having with Gracie. I didn’t like the way she was now questioning herself. None of this shit was on her.
“Listen, we just have different ideas about relationships,” I said, reaching for my wine glass as Collette set down our drinks and a charcuterie board between us. “There’s no right or wrong way.”
“My way is definitely flawed. I’m seriously done with it.
I’ve been thinking about it, and I really want to try your way for a while.
I’ve had three serious relationships, and they were all kind of a bust.” She covered a cracker in apricot jam, placed some salami and cheese on it, and handed it to me, which made me laugh, because she always knew what I needed.
“There’s nothing wrong with your way, Jeege.”
“Gabriel hated that you called me Jeege, by the way,” she said as she took a sip of her wine. My gaze tracked the movement, lingering on her mouth.
On her plump pink lips.
I forced myself to look away and rubbed my eyes. Maybe I could chalk it up to jet lag.
Okay, here’s the deal.
Gracie Reynolds is my best friend.
We’ve never crossed the line.
But I’m human, and she’s sexy as fuck.
And…she doesn’t have a clue.
“I know,” I said. “He asked me not to call you that, which I completely ignored.”
“He did?”
“Yep. I think he just hated our relationship, and that was another red flag. And what was his fucking deal with the name? Why did he care? We have a history. You were always my Gracie girl.” I chuckled.
“And then I started calling you ‘GG’ for short, which just turned into ‘Jeege.’ The dude acted like I was calling you ‘lover.’”
Her head fell back with a laugh. “He was very threatened by our relationship. I think he was happy that it was more challenging to talk to you with the time difference when I was living here. But I made it clear that we’re a package deal.”
“Well, we always make it work, don’t we? But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was a little worried about this one.” I shifted in my chair, looking away for a second at the thought.
“How so?” she asked, popping a grape in her mouth.
“I figured if you married the dude, I’d slowly be cut out.” I rubbed a hand down the back of my neck as two plates of pasta were set down in front of us.
“Never going to happen, Cutler Heart.” She smiled as she forked her rigatoni, then looked up at me before she ate it. “Everything is always better when you’re here.”
“Of course it is. That’s my job. So, we’ll head home in a few days, and you’ll stay there until you move to New York at the end of September. That’ll give us the whole summer together.”
“Yes. It’ll be great. And you’re going to teach me your dating ways.
” She wriggled her brows and reached for her wine glass.
I watched her hand hover over the glass, taking in the way her fingers curled around it.
A faint scar on her wrist, from when she fell out of a tree we were climbing when we were kids, caught the light, and I noted it instantly.
Like some mental checklist of our shared history.
The way I’d jumped down when I saw her fall, breaking my own ankle in the process. We’d been through so much together.
Keep it together, Cutler. She’s your best friend.
Your best fucking friend in the world.
“I’ll teach you whatever you want me to, Jeege,” I said, careful to keep my tone casual.
“Good. I mean, we’ve always been able to talk about everything, right?” Her eyes had that spark again—the one that always made me notice details that I shouldn’t. Just like the tiny crease at the corner of her mouth when she smiled.
“Absolutely. Why do you think I’m here? We don’t keep secrets. We can always tell each other anything. That’s the deal we made years ago. There’s nothing you can’t say to me.”
She sighed and sat back in her chair, chewing on her lip, deep in thought. I sipped my wine, noting the way her shoulder shifted, and how her hair fell slightly over her collarbone.
Then she leaned forward, glancing around, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Okay. There’s something I want.”
I set my glass down and straightened in my chair, giving her my full attention. “Tell me.”
“I want to be a better lover.” Her gaze locked with mine.
Boom.
Mic drop.
I felt it immediately, a rush I wasn’t supposed to feel, blood pulsing in my ears, pounding to…other parts of my body. My imagination was spinning, but I held myself rigid, forcing my face into a neutral mask.
“Really?” I said, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.
“Yes. I think that’s step one of my fresh start. I’m definitely lacking in that area. And, according to every woman who’s ever slept with you and then cried to me when things ended—you’re quite talented in the bedroom.”
There was a time when I’d enjoyed that lifestyle, casually dating and having a good time, but that hadn’t been the case for a while.
I had a feeling it had a lot to do with Gracie.
Her leaving.
Her coming back home.
Things were about to get interesting.