Chapter 21
JESSE
Jacque knew the man who had approached her. That much was obvious. The shock on her face wasn’t polite surprise or mild recognition, but rather a sharp scowl, almost painful looking as it settled on her features.
She took an immediate step back, which was all I needed to know that she didn’t want to talk to him. I started moving faster, sidestepping through the crowd and muttering apologies I didn’t mean, my eyes glued to her.
She said something to him, and while I couldn’t hear it over the noise, it didn’t go down well.
He flinched but then reached for her like he had the right to touch her.
Protective heat flared to life in my chest. She twisted away before he could grab her properly, already turning to get the hell out of there like her instincts were screaming at her to run.
I pushed harder through the crowd, finally catching a clear look at the guy when he turned to watch her go. Recognition flashed through me as soon as I saw his face. Thomas Germain. I’d seen his picture in the event pamphlets.
If memory served, he was some big shot archaeologist and the keynote speaker this evening. I was only here because my family gave a whole lot of money to the arts, which included this museum, and I’d honestly always liked to poke around here when I had time.
I’d never really shed my childhood fascination with dinosaurs, but right now, the dinosaurs would have to wait. I was half walking, half jogging in the opposite direction of the exhibit, going instead toward the main entrance where she’d disappeared.
By the time I got there, she was already outside, running down to the street. I shoved through the doors, but a taxi pulled up like it had been waiting for her. I called her name, but she’d already slipped inside, the door slamming shut before I could close the distance.
“Hey, Jacque!” I started, but it was useless.
The car was already pulling away. I sprinted down the stairs anyway, hoping she would see me and tell him to stop. No such luck, though.
Rain started to spit against the sidewalk when I stopped, realizing there was no point in trying to run after a taxi.
Now, however, I was suddenly torn between two very different options.
I could either go back inside, find Thomas Germain, and wrap my hands around his neck to squeeze until he understood exactly what kind of mistake he’d just made.
Or I could go after Jacqueline and make sure she was okay.
Without too much thought, I chose Jacqueline. Making a beeline for the valet, I was barking at him before I’d even reached his stand. “I need my car. Now.”
He frowned at me, but even the expression was way too slow. “I, uh. Just a moment, sir—”
“Yeah, no,” I muttered, already turning away and taking off on foot.
I didn’t have a moment—or however long it was really going to take him to get my car. Logically, I knew it was insane to be running across Chicago in dress shoes and a suit, but adrenaline was doing funny things to me tonight.
This whole week had been a clusterfuck of epic proportions. I’d barely gotten any work done despite the fact that I’d spent most of my time at the office, trying to bury myself in paperwork rather than memories.
When I’d decided to come tonight, I’d figured I’d poke around the dinosaur exhibit for a bit and then go home.
Under different circumstances, I might have found a nice girl to take home with me.
Or a bad girl to take to a closet with me.
But I had no interest in any of that. I still had the fake relationship thing going on with Jacqueline, for one, and Alex would legitimately cut off my balls if he thought I was cheating on her.
More importantly, I didn’t actually want anyone else.
Jacqueline had been dominating my thoughts all week, and there was no room for thoughts of any other women.
It was unfortunate because, obviously, I couldn’t have her.
But as I ran to her apartment, knowing there was nowhere else she’d really go, none of that mattered anymore.
The only thing I could think about was the look on her face when she’d seen her ex and the way she’d literally cut and run when he’d tried to touch her.
About a block before her street, the rain started picking up until it was a full-on downpour. It drenched me within seconds, plastering my hair to my forehead and making my shirt cling to my back, but even that didn’t matter.
Nothing was going to stop me now. Not even ruining a brand new, very expensive pair of shoes. I just kept running until I reached her building. Breathing hard, I stopped and hit the buzzer for her apartment. My chest was tight and my lungs were burning, but I pressed the button again and again.
Come on, come on.
Finally, there was a click and her voice came through. “What?”
“Jacque,” I managed, still trying to catch my breath. “It’s Jesse. Let me in.”
There was a brief pause, but then the door buzzed and I pushed it open. The two brain cells I normally had fighting for dominance had officially clocked out for the night, leaving me running purely on instinct as I took the stairs two at a time, not even bothering to wait for the elevator.
Her door cracked open just a fraction as I stormed down the hallway, but that was enough for me to see her. And yeah. That does it.
Her face was crumpled, unhappy, and shocked. Like a wound had been ripped open and she wasn’t ready to deal with it.
Somehow, for some fucking reason, as soon as I realized that, I felt it too. Something in my chest folded in on itself, that heated flare of protectiveness turning into an inferno.
“Hey,” I said. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head, but didn’t say anything.
I took a step forward, making sure to keep my voice soft and gentle. “Can I come in?”
For a long minute, she ran her gaze up and down the length of my body, doing a slow double-take when she realized I was dripping water all over the floor. Finally, that seemed to be what made her take a step back and open the door fully.
I followed her inside and shut the door behind me, not even caring that there was a puddle forming around my feet. “Who was that back there?”
She lifted those honey-gold brown eyes to mine slowly, like she wasn’t really sure she wanted to do it, but after staring at me for a beat, she finally responded. “Thomas. My ex fiancé.”
Aw fuck. “The same one who stole your dog?”
She nodded. “I only have the one.”
For a second, she looked exactly like she had that night in the bar when she’d first told me about it, seeming hurt, frustrated, and a little bit lost, but then her features hardened and she took a big step back.
She still seemed heartbroken, but she was also suddenly giving me a look that made me want to cower, which was new for me.
“What is your fucking problem?” she demanded, coming right out with it after dragging in a deep breath.
“What do you mean?” I asked, still slightly winded and dripping onto her floor. “I saw that whole thing go down at the museum and—”
“Don’t do that,” she snapped. “Don’t act like you’re confused and don’t know what I’m talking about.
Why haven’t you called? Why haven’t you ended this fake relationship thing if you’re not even going to talk to me?
You flew me home and then just disappeared, and you haven’t said a single word me to since. ”
“Since?” I said slowly. “Since the kiss, right?”
Her jaw tightened, but she nodded and I sighed, that same sense of profound shame creeping through me.
I opened my mouth to explain, but honestly, what the fuck did she want me to say?
I’d kissed her, and it wasn’t just a regular kiss.
It had resonated deep inside me in a way I had never felt before.
“I knew it,” she said. Her voice had changed again, a raw, fresh kind of hurt slipping through the cracks now. “I knew I wasn’t your type. I’m sorry if I grossed you out, or—”
“What?” I cut in, completely thrown. “No. Noooo. It wasn’t that. Oh my God, Jacque, it’s the opposite. I liked it too much, and this is supposed to be a business arrangement. My family always says I’m a screw-up and I can’t help but feel I proved them right by crossing that line with you.”
Jacqueline looked stunned by my response, like it had never occurred to her the issue was the arrangement, not her somehow being unworthy. If anything, she was too good for a guy like me.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have kissed you. It’s my fault and it won’t happen again.”
A deep crease formed between her eyebrows as she stared up at me, and there was something so strange in that stare that I started frowning too.
There was no shame in her eyes. No embarrassment, disgust, or understanding either.
In fact, she just seemed confused for a minute before she suddenly started laughing.
Like, real, extremely surprised-sounding laughter.
“What?” I asked. “What’s so hilarious about this? I’m worried about being the family fuck-up and you’re laughing.”
“I’m not laughing at you,” she managed between laughs. “I’m laughing at me.”
My frown deepened. “Well, I don’t understand what’s funny. And I have a great sense of humor.”
She looked up at me again, finally recovering from her laughing fit for long enough to meet my gaze. “Of all the reasons I thought you ran away, it never once occurred to me you were worried about disappointing your family.”
“Oh,” I said, still not sure I understood.
“I was laughing at myself for all the terrible doubts running through my head,” she said. “My past relationship shook me pretty badly, and I guess I’m also just kind of relieved my worst fears aren’t true.”
“Well, that’s great,” I said. “But my fears are still very much in play.”
I shrugged out of my wet jacket and draped it over a stool at her kitchen island.
I kicked off my shoes too, in a terrible mood as I peeled off my drenched socks for good measure.
In a minute, I’d text my driver to come pick me up, but right now, I was soaked, pissed off that her douchebag ex that had appeared, and even more pissed off that she was laughing like there was any humor to be found in this situation.
Jacqueline put her hand on my shoulder. “Hey, I don’t think you’re a screw-up. And that kiss was just—”
I didn’t let her finish. Fuck, I didn’t even think about it.
I just closed the space between us and kissed her so hard that it felt like a dam was breaking deep down inside.
Everything I’d been holding back, every thought I’d shoved down, and every second of restraint I’d forced on myself for weeks was suddenly gone without a trace.
Her lips were warm and soft, somehow even better than I remembered, and for a second, my brain evaporated.
I didn’t give a shit right now about anything except her lips pressed against mine and the taste of her on my tongue, but then I pulled back, my chest heaving slightly as reality tried to catch up with what I’d just done.
Minutes ago, I’d promised I wouldn’t kiss her again and here I was, already obliterating that promise. So yeah, we should probably talk.
Jacqueline’s eyes met mine, wide and searching, but then she grabbed me by the front of my shirt and dragged me right back down into another kiss. Okay then, I guess we we’re done talking.