Chapter 24
Jackson
Zara’s blushingredder than a beetroot as we exit her bedroom about 20 minutes later. Elise and Lila are both gawking at me from the couch, but the kids are playing on the ground. Zara brushes past me and heads to the kitchen. I look around her apartment. It”s cute, lived in, but it looks like a home. The entire apartment is smaller than my master bedroom. ”Do you want some coffee?” Zara asks, looking over her shoulder at me. There is still a pink hue on her beautiful face.
”Yeah, thank you,” I say as I head over to the couch and have a seat. Elise is gazing at me and I stare back at her. I want to tell her off. I want to tell her she needs to stop using Zara, that she needs to get a life, but I don”t. It”s not my place, and I can tell from the way that Elise interacts that she won”t take it kindly if I say anything negative to her.
”So did you guys have a good discussion?” Elise says to me, wiggling her eyebrows. “Because I had to hang up on mom.”
”I think we did,” I say nodding. ”Is your mother fine with staying at my parents” house?”
”Yes in fact, mom wants to know if you guys can have the wedding in Fiji,” she calls out to Zara.
Zara looks back at her. ”Huh? Why Fiji?”
”Because she wants a free trip to Fiji,” she says, laughing and then she looks back at me. ”I mean, he”s super rich, right? You”re going to pay for the wedding, right? And everyone”s flights?”
I stare at her for a couple of seconds and nod. ”Sure, I”ll pay for all the flights.”
”Good. Oh yeah, my dad also wants to know if you would like to buy a 2020 Honda CRV that only has 50,000 miles on it.” She stares at me and for a couple of seconds, I think she”s joking. ”I can call him now if you want more information.”
”Um, I-”
”Oh my God, Elise, really?” Zara comes rushing out of the kitchen and glares at her sister. ”You are not going to ask my fiance to buy a car from dad.”
”I”m not the one asking. Dad wants him to buy it. I”m just the messenger. He”s got plenty of money. He can afford to buy a fricking Honda CRV and dad needs the commission.”
I stare at Elise for a couple of seconds.
”You can tell him that I”ll buy it and he can donate it to a family in need in his community.”
”No,” Zara says, looking at me. ”You cannot do that.”
”I think I can do whatever I want with my money,” I say.
”Our money,” she says, glaring at me and my lips twitch.
”Oh, so it”s our money, is it?”
”If I”m your fiance and we”re going to get married...” she says with a sweet smile. ”Then, I expect it”s our money and I don”t think that you should make any decisions in regards to our money without asking me.”
”So darling, can I buy a car from your dad so he can get a commission and donate it to a family in need?”
She blinks at me for a couple of seconds.
”Look, I just don”t want you to think that this relationship is about what you can do for me and my family.” She glares at Elise. ”And I don”t want my sister to think that she can get whatever she wants out of you.”
”What? He”s about to become my brother-in-law. Doesn”t he want to spoil his favorite sister-in-law?” She gives me a sweet smile. ”And also introduce me to any hot-ass friends you have because you have hot friends, right? Rich hot friends?” She gives me a knowing look.
I chuckle slightly. I don”t know that I like Elise, but I love that she”s direct. She”s quite a character. I can see that Zara is annoyed though.
”Elise,” she says through gritted teeth and Elise shrugs.
”I mean, I would love to get a daddy for Charlotte and Luke, but maybe you think it”s fine for me to be a single mother for the rest of my life.” She stares at Zara and Zara just shakes her head.
”I mean, you literally just got back from being with Brian.” Zara stares her sister down and I”m surprised to see that Elise blushes.
”Okay, guys,” Lila says, clapping her hands for attention. I can tell that she”s the peacemaker between the two sisters. ”Why don”t we let Zara and Jackson talk about the plans for the weekend and maybe we can all start packing for the trip?” She says diplomatically. I smile at her. I like Lila. She”s a good friend and she”s a good person, and I can tell that she”s genuinely excited for Zara. I know that she actually believes this farce. I feel guilty. I understand why Zara was hesitant. I understand why she didn”t want to lie. Lila believes that we”re in love and she seems the sort of girl that is hopeful that something similar will happen for her as well. I try to dismiss my thoughts and concerns. I can”t take on the dreams and hopes of someone I barely know.
”So I was thinking I would give you guys a credit card and you can go shopping for clothes and whatever you need for the trip.”
”Oh my gosh, yes,” Elise sounds giddy. ”What”s the limit on the card?”
”Elise.” Zara glares at her. ”We”re not going to spend the limit on his card.”
”You can”t spend the limit on my card.”
”What do you mean she can”t?” Zara says. ”You don”t know my sister. She will spend every last penny that you have available.”
”There is no limit,” I say grinning.
”You have a credit card with no limit.” Elise”s jaw dropped. ”Shit. How rich are you?”
”Very rich,” I say, smiling at her. ”But I think you already knew that.”
”No. I didn”t know you were that rich. I thought you were going to say like you had a $50,000 limit or something on your card. I”ve never heard of a credit card with no limit.”
”You”ve never heard of a Black Amex?”
”Isn”t that invitation only?” She asks.
”Yes. It is invitation only, and I guess I was one of the lucky people to get an invite.”
”Whoa,” Elise gawks. ”I mean I was just joking. I”m not going to spend that much money, but how much can we spend?” I stare at her and then I stare at Zara who”s shaking her head.
”Buy whatever you want,” I say. ”It”s my treat.”
”No, Jackson. What did I just say?” Zara’s pissed.
I look at her for a couple of moments. ”Let me do this for you and your family,” I say. ”Please.”
”Fine,” she says, letting out a sigh. I grin at her. I kind of like being around her sister and her friend and her niece and nephew. It”s way more dramatic and crazier than I”m normally used to, but it”s kind of nice. I walk over to Zara and grab her hand and give her a big kiss. She blinks up at me in surprise. ”What was that for?”
”For being you,” I say. There”s a knock on the door and we all pause.
”Who”s that?” Lila asks.
”I don”t know,” Zara says, and I watch as she heads to the front door. She opens it and I see a guy standing there with a dopey grin on her face.
”Hey, there you are.” He gives Zara a quick hug and I frown. Who the fuck is this douche bag?
”Oh, Lenny. Good to see you. Come in.” She beams at him. ”I have to make the cupcakes this afternoon. It”s been so crazy the last couple of days and-”
”It”s okay,” he says. ”I know you”ll get them to me when you can.” He hands her a wad of hundred dollar notes. ”I wanted to give this to you.”
”What?” She says. ”What for?”
”Just in case you needed the money to buy the ingredients before you made them.”
”Oh my. You didn”t have to.” She gives him a big hug. ”Thank you. Thank you so much.”
”You”re welcome,” he grins as he continues beaming at her. He finally notices that there are other people in the room and he lifts his hands up in a wave. Then he looks back at Zara. ”So I was wondering, what are you up to on Friday night? Do you-”
”She”s with me all night long,” I say, heading over to her and grabbing her around the waist. She looks up at me and glares. Lenny looks at me in surprise.
”Sorry. And you are?”
”I am Jackson.” I glare at him.
”What? Who?” He frowns. “Who”s this Zara?”
”He”s-” She bites on her lower lip and I glare at her. She blushes.
”That”s her fiance,” Elise says, and I can tell she’s living for this drama. ”They”re in love and they literally just banged like 20 minutes ago in her bedroom. So you”re outta luck, Lenny.” She walks over towards us and practically cackles.
”Elise,” Zara looks back at her sister. She sounds furious.
”What? It”s true. I don”t know if you guys thought you were being quiet, but we all heard, and I have kids who are now likely scarred.” We all look back at Luke and Charlotte, but they’re not paying any attention to us or the conversation.
Lenny looks at Zara and shakes his head. ”You”re engaged? I didn”t even know you were seeing anyone.”
”It”s a long story,” she says, reaching out to grab his hand. I glare at her and she pulls it back quickly. ”Can we talk later?”
”I guess,” he says, shrugging. He looks up at me and I can see the scorn in his eyes. ”I”ve got to go,” he says, as he walks out the door. He stops, and gives her a forlorn look. “I was going to invite you to dinner.”
I look over at Zara and she looks upset, but she doesn’t answer. He sighs and finally leaves and I can feel my blood boiling.
”What the fuck was that?” I whisper down at her and she just shakes her head. ”Tell me you were not seeing that guy.” I growl, wondering if they’d gone on dates or kissed.
”Well, if I was, you just ruined it.” She sounds pissed.
My jaw drops and I can feel myself growing angry.
”Do you like him?” I ask. There”s a feeling akin to jealousy in my stomach. She blinks at me.
”What do you care? He”s a great guy. He”s-”
”Zara, do you have feelings for him?” I”m pissed.
”No,” she says. ”Anyway, I think you should go now. We”re all going to go shopping in a few minutes.” I stare at her for a couple of seconds, grab her hands and pull her into me. I press my lips against hers and run my fingers through her hair.
”You”re mine, Zara.” I say reaching down to squeeze her ass. ”And everyone in this room knows it.” Her jaw drops as she gazes up at me and I look over and I can see Elise clapping and Lila staring at us in shock.
”Whoa. He loves you bad bad,” Elise flicks her hair back. ”Man, I need a man like that.”
”I think you should leave,” Zara is glaring at me as my hands continue to cup her ass.
”I”ll leave now,” I say. ”But I”ll be back this afternoon.” I stare at all of them. ”The plan”s changed. We”re going to the Hamptons tomorrow morning.”
”But-” Zara says, shaking her head.
I just stare at her. ”This evening.”
”Fine,” she says, glaring at me. ”You are infuriating.”
”I know,” I say as I give her another kiss. ”I love you darling.” She stares back at me, her eyes wide and unsure and I kiss her again, my hand on her lower back, pushing her into my hardness. ”I said, I love you.” I kiss up her neck and suck on her earlobe before whispering in her ear. “Tell me you love me.” I shift so that my hardness is now pressed against her stomach, my fingers move up the side of her body and gently graze the side of her breasts.
”I love you too,” she mutters and I feel my heart flutter. There’s a fire in her eyes as she stands there and if Elise, Lila, and the kids weren’t all in the room, I’d have her on the ground in seconds, with her clothes off and legs up in the air.