12 Feeling Frosty
FEELING FROSTY
Justin
W hat a fucking shit show of a night. That’s the first thought that pops into my mind when I wake up on the final morning of the sentence I’m serving in hell. All I know after last night is that if I were Lucy’s real fiancé, we would’ve been out of there halfway through the meal, never looking back.
Since I’m not, all it did was force me to reevaluate the situation and my intentions. The differences between Richard and me are like night and day. He’s posh; I’m simple. He’s privileged; I’m not. He comes from wealth; I made my own. He’s everything Lucy’s dad expects for her; I’m the farthest thing from it.
While none of that shit would normally matter to me, there’s more on the line than just my pride. It’s Lucy’s family. And whether she realizes it or not, it’s a big deal. I’m not selfish enough to put my wants over Lucy’s ultimate happiness. She may not need them now, but someday, she’ll see the bigger picture and how a relationship with her mom and dad affects more than just her. Until then, I’ll be strong enough to see it for her.
Knowing what’s to come, I can’t resist holding her one last time. Careful not to wake her, I slowly slide over and gently curl my arm around her while she sleeps. The feel of her warm body up against mine is almost enough to weaken my resolve and throw my steadfast decision out the window. But rather than dwell on it, I cherish the moment and tell myself it’ll be all right.
Knowing the alarm is set to go off soon, I breathe her in one last time and memorize the feel of her before pulling back and heading for the shower. The best thing to do is move on and put this week behind me. Forget it ever happened and dive back into work. It’s what saved me last time, and it’ll have to do the job again.
I’m doing a final rinse when her soft voice drifts over from the doorway. “Mind if I join you?”
The war in my mind is fierce, not to mention the argument from down below, but my resolve wins out. “Come on in. It’s all yours. I just finished up.”
I step out and quickly grab my towel to wrap around my waist. The less temptation either of us has, the better. If I allow a last hurrah, I might cave—fuck the consequences.
“Oh, okay. Thanks.” She’s not dumb. It’s obvious I’ve been distant since the discussion with her dad. Yeah, I let my guard down for a bit in the pool yesterday, but other than that, I’ve kept things casual. It’ll make it easier in the long run.
We get ready to go, dancing around each other as we pack up and prepare to leave. She’s given up trying to converse, probably as frustrated with me as I am with the entire situation. It’s evident we’re both on edge when we leave the room with our bags in hand.
We make it to the breakfast room where her parents are waiting to say goodbye. I’m sure they’re more than ready to see us off and praying I’m not in the picture by this time next year.
“Good morning. Are you both all set to catch your flight?” her mom asks as we join them at the table.
“We are. We’ll grab a quick bite and cup of coffee before we head out,” Lucy responds as she fills a plate.
If there’s one thing I’ll surely miss, it’s the food—top-notch and ready whenever you want. Their in-house chef is impressive. I’ll at least give them credit for that, and if I ever get to the point where I want to hire frivolous help, that’s where I’ll start.
“Mr. and Mrs. Alcott, thank you for your hospitality this week. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you both. And compliments to your chef—the food was delicious.” I give my farewell statement, determined to finish this as positively as possible for Lucy’s sake.
Her dad, on the other hand, has different ideas. “Likewise. I’m glad we were able to meet and took time to talk so we could be on the same page before you leave. It’s best when two people see eye to eye,” he says smugly before moving on to his paper.
Lucy gives me the side eye, clearly curious what his cryptic words means, but I receive the message loud and clear.
“I couldn’t agree more.” Now get me the fuck out of here.
Lucy
W hat the hell is going on? Justin has been downright frosty since yesterday morning, and I’m feeling more irritated by the minute. I’ve been patient, letting him muddle through his thoughts alone, but my patience has hit its limit. We have twenty minutes left of the last flight into San Diego, and it’s time to intervene before it’s too late. I’m worried if I let this go on too long, we won’t recover from whatever dark place he’s in.
“Justin, seriously, I know the talk with my dad has something to do with your one-eighty over the last twenty-four hours. Tell me what he said so I can fix it.”
He puts his magazine down and looks at me, the gears in his head clearly turning while contemplating his answer. “The last day was eye-opening.” He pauses, sighing. “When we pulled up to your family’s estate, it was clear we come from two different worlds. Why I thought that wouldn’t be a problem is a mystery to me. But after speaking with your dad and having dinner with your ex’s family, I could tell our differences are too big to ignore.”
“What are you talking about? I’m still me… Lucy, the executive assistant you met at Dubree Enterprises. Just because my family has money doesn’t change anything. I’m no different than I was three days ago.”
“You’re right, but our backgrounds will cause issues in the future. If we were to end up together, our ideals would be so far from each other that we’d constantly be fighting. It just won’t work between us, and it’s better to figure that out now than get more involved only to regret it in the end. I should’ve realized that before I started things up again. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry? Are you kidding me right now? What—you’re suddenly a psychic and can see the future? Just like that, you’ve decided we can’t be together because I come from money. Money that isn’t mine, that I choose to live without, and have no qualms not getting a dime of. You’re backtracking based on some big assumptions.”
“I prefer to call it intuition—maybe instinct. You could even go so far as sensible. You may be saying those things now, but this affects your children. You might want to send them to the most expensive schools in the country one day. Look, Lucy, I don’t want to string you along just because we’re compatible in the bedroom. You deserve someone who will make you happy in the long run, and you’ll have plenty of time to find that before going home next year.” He gives me a small smile that I want to punch right off his face.
Taking the ring off my finger, I hold it out and drop it into his open palm. “Well then, I guess a thank-you is in order. Thank you for being a coward and for reminding me exactly why I can’t trust you.”
“Something’s not adding up. Are you sure your dad didn’t threaten him or something?” Lily asks when I tell her how the week went and how things ended between Justin and me.
“My dad’s a jerk, so I wouldn’t put it past him, but there’s nothing to threaten him with. It simply is what it is. I can’t make him want to be with me. And why would I want to be with someone who keeps changing his mind, anyway? This is exactly what he did before. Shouldn’t I be grateful he told me to my face this time?”
“Speaking of, I heard some gossip you might be interested in.” She wiggles her brows, trying to bait me.
It works. “What did you hear and from who, so I know if it’s legit.”
“Sebastian and Eli, who know Justin fairly well since they’ve used his company so much throughout the years. So, did you know he’s the one who was first assigned to me before I even knew Sebastian had me being watched?” she asks, making me wince.
“I did, sorry.” At the time, I didn’t feel guilty because I was happy to have Justin visiting the office to deliver reports, plus I didn’t know Lily all that well. Once we became friends, the guilt set in that she was in the dark.
“Don’t be. It’s just Sebastian’s way of caring. But anyway, that’s not the point. Apparently, Justin was pretty upset over my kidnapping that night and insisted it was entirely his fault. He took all the blame, removing himself from my protection and assigning replacements. Wasn’t that around the time you two were seeing each other?”
“Yeah. But how did this come up while I was gone?”
“Okay, don’t get mad, but I told the guys why he went home with you for Christmas since Sebastian already knew a little about it from that day. Then—”
I cut her off. “By the way, I never did give you shit for that. You know he’s been trying to promote me ever since? Next time you better warn me when he’s around.”
She shakes her head in exasperation. “You’re crazy, and we’re coming back to that, but first, you’re missing the point. Why do you think he ended up ghosting you in the first place? Think back to when it happened. Wasn’t he with you the night of the kidnapping?” She lets her question hang while I mull that over.
When he left so abruptly the next morning, it was obviously from the phone call about it. At the time, I remember using the whole thing as an excuse when Eli told me what happened. But what if there was more to it?
Lily’s looking at me expectantly, so I finally answer her question. “We went to a late dinner that night because he worked the gala. It was the first time he stayed over.”
“See? He was with you while something happened to me that he felt responsible for. Maybe that’s why he cut things off.”
“Maybe, but that still doesn’t excuse how he did it. And why couldn’t he say that? Even last week, he had plenty of time to explain, but he didn’t. No, I’m not buying it. And honestly, I’m done looking for excuses.”
“I can’t blame you there. It just sucks. You guys seem to have this connection, like you’re meant to be together or something.”
I roll my eyes. “Okay, Miss I Read Too Many Romance Novels .”
“Oh, whatever. Sue me for wanting you to get your happily ever after.”
“I’m not thinking that’s in my future quite yet. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.”
“You never know… third time’s a charm,” she says, making me giggle.
“We won’t ever know because he’s not getting another chance.”
“Fine. Maybe we’ll find you a new man on New Year’s Eve. The party we’re going to this weekend will be amazing.” She holds her hand up, palm facing me, as my mouth starts to open. “Before you protest, we already bought the tickets, so you’re going. You get a plus-one, too, because… well, I thought you guys might be together when you got back—sorry.” She looks down in guilt but then pops her head back up. “You could see if Jordan wants to go?”
“I am not asking him out. Anyway, I have someone in mind already. My ex, Richard, I told you about? He’ll be in town next week for work and asked if I wanted to meet for a drink. I may as well see if he wants to go.”
“You’re playing with fire, Lucy.”
“I’ve already been burned by Mr. Burns. How much worse can it get?”