Chapter 8
Maggie
One month later - August
Slamming my car door, I glance around the street. The summer dusk casts a magical hue over the sky. My friend, Ella, is staying with her new boyfriend at his house. I don’t think she moved in permanently, but she told me she would explain tonight why she has to stay here instead of at her condo.
I wince at the flash of pain in my chest when I think about living with someone.
A certain dark-eyed, muscular man of my dreams materializes in my mind.
I chastise myself as I round the front of my car.
We may run into each other around town at some point, given Nashville is big, but it isn’t that big.
But more than likely, I won’t ever see him again.
I need to let it go. I need to let him go. I did what I needed to do.
I don’t know how Ian is doing, but I’m just as heartbroken today as I was that day.
Pressing the doorbell, I take a small step back and push my glasses back up the bridge of my nose. I usually prefer my contacts, but my eyes have been bothering me.
The door swings open, and my eyebrows jump in surprise.
No wonder Ella didn’t hesitate to stay here.
The man standing in front of me is a little over six feet, with buzzed hair, and a short, dark beard covering his jaw. His shoulders are broad, and his waist is narrow. He is, for lack of a better word, hot.
Not as hot as Ian.
I shake myself internally, and as I look him up and down one last time, I say, “You must be Jack.”
“That I am. Maggie, I presume?” he asks as he steps to the side to let me enter.
With a nod, I walk past him, wandering into the main area of the house. It’s nicely remodeled with high-end finishes and expensive-looking furniture. The kitchen, dining room, and living room are all open, but the way the furniture is laid out, each room still has a cozy, inviting feel.
“Gisella is changing. Would you like a glass of wine? Or water? I also have diet soda.”
“Wine would be great,” I reply with a smile.
I follow him into the kitchen. He grabs both bottles off the counter and puts one in the fridge. Pouring two glasses, he slides one to me. I take a sip, watching Jack over the rim of the glass as he puts what appears to be take-out Italian food in the oven.
I go to ask him some questions about himself when the doorbell rings again.
“Excuse me, I have to get that. One of my coworkers is coming over.”
When I give him a smile and a nod, he leaves me standing at his island. As I’m taking another sip of wine, heavy footsteps sound from behind me, and I turn to see if Jack’s coworker is as handsome as he is.
My eyes meet a familiar pair, and my heart stutters. Suddenly, my muscles ache with the effort I’m putting into not reacting the way my mind is telling me to.
I want to cry. I want to run to him and feel his arms around me again. I want to apologize and tell him I didn’t mean any of what I said and that he’s perfect just the way he is. I want to beg him to give me another chance.
But I don’t. I breathe out a shocked, “You!”
Ian stands up straighter and points at himself, then at me. “Me? What about you? What the hell are you doing here?”
There’s so much anger and hurt in his words that it shakes me from my spiral. I have to play the part, one more time.
I steel my voice and spit back, “I’m here to see Ella, you schmuck.” Every word tastes bitter in my mouth.
Movement to my right catches my eye. Ella’s standing in the hallway entrance, having come back from changing, her confused gaze shifting between me and Ian.
Jack speaks up as he gestures for us to hold on. “Wait, you two know each other?”
Ian scoffs before rubbing his eyes with his fingers. “It’s complicated.”
I huff out a humorless laugh and mumble, “Complicated. That’s one word for it.”
Ian puts his hands on his hips in frustration. “Well, what would you call it, Mags?”
Hearing him use my nickname has my stomach dipping.
Not being able to take this interaction anymore without breaking down, I turn away from him and grab both my and Ella’s glasses of wine from the counter.
I walk past Ella, willing my legs not to give out, and move into the living room.
Pain weighs me down as I drop onto the couch.
I’m shocked by how steady my voice is when I say, “I got your wine, Ella.”
“Oh, uh, okay. Great,” Ella replies as her eyes jump between me and Ian.
Jack slaps Ian on the shoulder, still looking perplexed. “Come on, man. Let’s go in my office.”
Ian doesn’t say a word as he heads down the hallway.
I watch him walk away until Ella settles on the couch next to me, breaking my fixation on his retreating back.
Her stare shifts from confused to concerned, and I know I’ve let too much of my emotions show.
I clear my face as best I can and force a smile back in place.
“I can see why you didn’t have a problem moving in here.
This house is gorgeous, and Jack isn’t too bad himself. ”
Ella gives me a grim smile. “It’s a little more complicated than that. Even if I am really happy to be here with Jack.”
I curl up on the couch and take another sip of wine. Her tone suggests that I’m not going to like what she has to say. “What’s going on?”
She proceeds to tell me about how someone’s been stalking her for the last ten months or so and how it escalated to a point that Jack felt it was necessary to have her move in with him.
Ella’s also recently been fired from the company we both worked at for reasons that I think were fabricated.
From what she’s told me and the way the CFO, Craig, has been acting since she left, it seems there may be something more going on than what we were told by upper management.
I’ve already started looking for a new job because it felt like things were getting weird there, but this confirms I made the right decision.
The last thing I need is to be caught up in a news story about the company I work for being involved in a scandal while trying to literally hide like my life depends on it.
Because it does.
Reaching over, I grasp my friend’s hand. “Ella, that sounds terrifying. I’m so sorry that’s happening. I liked Jack before because he clearly makes you happy, but I’m even more glad you have him now.”
Ella gives me a weak smile. “Thanks, Maggie. How are things at work since I left?”
I sigh. Besides her being my only friend there and now being gone, it’s been awful.
And I tell her as much. “It hasn’t been great.
Everyone’s weirded out by you being fired.
Craig has been an even bigger asshole than before, while the rest of the C-Suite is trying to calm everyone else down.
I’m already looking for something else. I don’t want to stay there. ”
She gives me a sympathetic nod. “I’m glad you’re getting out of there.” Like she has an idea, she glances over her shoulder toward the hallway. “You know, Jack’s front desk lady is retiring, and I don’t think they’ve found anyone else. I can see if he’ll interview you?”
As nice as her offer is, the thought of working there and seeing Ian every day makes me nauseous. Besides, there’s no way he would let Jack hire me, even if I thought I could do it. I mumble into my wineglass as I take another drink. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Ella chews on her bottom lip while studying me intently.
I drop my head to the back of the couch and squeeze my eyes shut tight. “Go ahead and ask me what you want to ask me.”
“I don’t want to pry, but I do have to admit that I’m curious.”
Opening my eyes, I stare at the ceiling. “I met Ian a couple of months ago.” I lick my suddenly dry lips. “To put it simply, it didn’t end well.”
“But what happened?”
I don’t lift my head when I shake it. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
When she doesn’t say anything, I look up.
“You seem like it bothers you,” she comments.
Understatement of the year.
I attempt to explain the best I can without giving too much away. “I don’t like the way it ended. And it’s bothered me ever since it happened. I wish I could change it. But I can’t.”
My words do nothing to quell her curiosity, but I didn’t want to lie to my friend. But I’m also not ready to tell her anything.
Both of us turn toward the hall as footsteps get louder as they approach.
I school my features once again and get ready to play the part.
Ian emerges from the dim hall and heads straight to the door.
I don’t even have to fake the glare I throw his way.
It hurts that he’s treated me so coldly, even if I deserve it.
And now he acts like I’m not sitting right here, watching him pass me without even a glance in my direction.
I don’t look back at Ella until the front door closes and Jack returns to the kitchen alone.
“Maggie, you have to tell me at some point.” Ella’s voice is soft with sympathy.
My heart cracks a little bit more. As much as it’ll hurt, I don’t lie when I say, “I will. Just not right now.”