Chapter 3
Chapter Three
But luck, as always, is never on my side, and I’ve actually seen Jack again. For the first time in eight years. Just yesterday, and I went off on him and called him a prick. My face flushes red as I think back to the events of the day before.
My best friends—Brielle and Willow—and I had an opportunity to pitch our idea for a bed-and-breakfast we wanted to open to some businessmen friends of Willow’s new husband.
If they liked what they heard, they would invest, and finally, our dream of getting out of Whispering Haven and making something of ourselves would come true.
We were so excited to go into the room, but as soon as we stepped inside, I saw him.
Jack Heathcliff.
He looked as cocky and full of himself as ever. And even more aggravating was the fact that he was now even handsomer, with a couple more tattoos added to the visible parts of his skin.
“Ladies, I’d like you to meet Santiago Diaz, Levi Probst, Flynn Alexander, Nate Howard, and …” Sebastian, Willow’s new husband, introduced his friends to us.
When Jack turned around, I almost had a heart attack. He was wearing a blue pin-striped suit that made him look powerful, and I hated him for having that control over me again, eight years after our first interaction.
I gasped, and Willow whispered, “He’s cute, right?” Like I’d be impressed. I couldn’t believe she didn’t recognize him.
“Jack Heathcliff,” I said, disdain dripping from my mouth like beads of saliva on a hot day.
Jack’s eyes narrowed, and he sauntered over to us casually, like he couldn’t believe his luck. “Katherine …”
“No, no,” I groaned loudly.
He stared at me, then Brielle, and then finally at Sebastian, who looked utterly confused.
“What’s going on here? Is this a … joke?
” I was beside myself with fury. I took a deep breath and turned to my friends.
“Remember my ex? The jackass who broke up with me because his family didn’t approve?
” I pointed at Jack. “Well … that’s the big brother who called me a skank and ruined my relationship.
Mr. Jack Heathcliff. How’s Zac, by the way?
” I didn’t bother adding the fact that I’d been about to end the relationship myself.
“Well, well, well. Katherine, Katherine, Katherine. We meet again.” He looked me up and down with a smug expression on his face. “Still walking those Victoria’s Secret runways?” he asked.
My memory went back to that night and that lie. What had I been thinking? I’d been such a dumb seventeen-year-old.
“I’m not doing this,” I muttered as I headed toward the door. “There’s no way in hell I’m doing a business presentation to that prick.”
And that was that.
“So, what was Jack talking about when he said you were a Victoria’s Secret model?” Brielle asks with an inquisitive look on her face.
My stomach sinks in embarrassment. I hoped to get through the rest of my life without having to tell this story to anyone.
“Is there something I don’t know?” There’s a lilt in her voice that sounds like she wants to laugh.
I just glare at her. Because there are many somethings she doesn’t know, and I’d like to keep it that way.
“I want to know as well,” Willow adds as she puts her wispy blonde hair up in a bun.
She grabs her notepad and settles back on the emerald-green velvet couch that we recently bought for the new apartment we’re all sharing in Manhattan.
Even though Willow is barely here. She likes to say she has her own place though as her wedding happened quickly and the entire relationship was complicated. They were madly in love now though.
We’ve finally made it out of Whispering Haven, even if it’s only temporarily.
“I do not want to talk about Jack Heathcliff …” Anger surges through me as I say his name. “He is the epitome of tall, okay-looking, and jerk.”
“You forgot to add billionaire in there.” Brielle giggles. “Tall, gorgeous billionaire and jerk.”
“I didn’t say he was gorgeous.” I pretend to gag as my mind flickers an image of Jack in front of me. I feel myself flush as I picture his mesmerizing celeste-blue eyes, his dark and silky hair, his muscular six-two body—damn, even my brain knows that I’m lying when I say he’s okay-looking.
“But he totally is,” Willow adds as she looks up at me, her blue eyes teasing. “If I wasn’t totally in love with Sebastian, I totally would have tried to shoot my shot at Jack.”
“You can have him and all his rude ways.” I pretend to puke.
I cannot believe my bad luck. I hadn’t seen or heard of Jack Heathcliff in over eight years, and yet now he was back in my life, by way of being best friends with Willow’s new boyfriend/husband—long story.
“Could you tell I nearly fainted when I saw him yesterday?”
“You weren’t keeping it much of a secret.” Brielle laughs as she and Willow exchange glances.
I suppose I should be thankful that they aren’t angrier at me. I almost ruined our chance of getting funding for our business.
“So, what exactly is going on?”
“Do you remember when we all went to Tropez Dali, that club, on our senior trip in high school? When we stayed at that cheap motel in the city?”
“Yeah.” Willow nods. “When we pretended to know Mona Hilton … who, by the way, did you see she just got a talk show?”
“I didn’t, but, yes, that night.” I groan. “Do you remember me flirting with that one guy?”
“That super-hot guy who was fucking you with his eyes?” Brielle giggled. “But nothing happened ’cause you were too young.”
“Yes.” I give her a look. “The guy that was Zac’s older brother.”
“Wait.” Willow’s jaw drops. “Zac’s older brother is Jack?”
“Yes.” I wrinkle my nose. “The same one who told Zac to dump me. After Zac cheated on me.”
“Oh shit,” Brielle gasps. “No way. I had no clue. Wasn’t he also the guy you were going to lose your virginity to? If he said yes.”
“Girl.” I glare at her. Why did I share that information with them one night when we were divulging secrets?
“Yeah, you said if he hadn’t found out your age, you totally would have banged him.” Willow giggles. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize that it was Sebastian’s friend. What a small world.”
“Unfortunately.” I sigh and then moan loudly. “Why does this shit always happen to me? Out of all the investors and men in the world, why did Jack have to be one of them?” I feel like I could cry.
The fact of the matter is that seeing him again threw me for a loop.
“What do you want us to do?” Willow asks softly. “Sebastian is willing to be our sole investor, if it comes to that.”
She looks away, and my heart drops. I know the last thing Willow wants is for her new man to be backing our business.
She’s determined to show that she’s not with him for the money, and while I understand, it just sucks.
A couple of million would be nothing to Sebastian Laurence, and then we could open the bed-and-breakfast the three of us have been talking about for years.
We ran the Whispering Haven Bed & Breakfast for Charlotte for years. I know we can run our own, even if we don’t have all the details ironed out yet.
“I don’t want us to go through Sebastian,” I say reluctantly.
Even though I hate Jack, my love for Willow is more than my pride.
“I don’t mind us planning a new date to present to Jack, Santiago, Levi, Flynn, and Nate.
” I shrug. “The last four seem like nice guys.” She grins. “And Sebastian as well.”
“Yeah, they do.” Brielle grins, and there’s a light in her eyes. “They are all so hot.”
“Anyone in particular?” I ask her, wondering if she has a crush.
“No, not at all.” She giggles and turns away. “Just saying I appreciated the eye candy of yesterday.”
“Me too—until I saw Jack the Ripper,” I say, and they both laugh. “I know I shouldn’t be mad, but that man made me see red, girls. The gall of him to tell his brother to dump me was the pinnacle of gaslighting. Like I was the one in the wrong.”
“Girl, you still haven’t really told us what happened,” Willow says and gestures towards me on the large couch in the center of the living space. “Settle in, and I’ll pour us all a glass of wine. You girls want white or red?”
“How about I have a bottle to myself so I can drown my sorrows?” I joke as I lean back on the couch and close my eyes. “I just cannot believe this is happening. And to think, he didn’t even apologize. Jackass.”
“You didn’t really give him a chance though.” Brielle plays with her light-brown hair as she sits next to me. Her hazel-green eyes are hesitant as she sizes me up. “Maybe he was going to, but then you stormed off.”
“I sincerely doubt it, girl.” I shake my head in disbelief. “Did Jack Heathcliff look like the sort of man who would apologize for something that had happened almost a decade ago?” I laugh bitterly. “He probably doesn’t even know the definition of sorry.”
“I mean, at least you never slept with him,” Brielle offers as if that was something positive to be garnered from this entire situation. “Imagine if he’d been your first, you would have had that memory for life."
“I guess. Not like I lost my virginity to anyone better.” I groan loudly, and we all laugh. Because it’s true.