Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Frankie
When I turned the corner from the Salty Dog, I stopped so suddenly that gravel flew out from under my feet. I managed to windmill my arms and catch my balance on a picket fence before the reason for my abrupt stop spotted me.
“Mother fucker.” I glared to the sky. “Why do you hate me?” I groaned at the clouds.
Strolling arm in arm down the sidewalk ahead of me were Jake and Olivia. You’d think moving to a small island off the coast of Connecticut would grant me a reprieve from running into my ex, but no! Why did the universe want to ruin my life?
Olivia spotted me first. “Oh, hey! Frankie!” She gave me a warm wave, too naive to realize we shouldn’t be so freaking pleasant to each other. She was the other woman. We should hate each other.
I smiled at her through tightly clenched teeth. Keep smiling, bitch , I thought.
“Frankie.” Jake had the appropriate level of discomfort in his voice at least. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“I didn’t know you’d be here either,” I said with an awkward laugh. I should’ve put on makeup. I should’ve worn that bra that pushed my boobs up to my chin. I should be wearing a revenge dress. Someone call Shonda Rhimes because I need a glow-up immediately.
“What brings you two to Prickle Island?” I asked coyly. Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.
“We’re staying at our friend’s beach house,” Jake said, tipping his perfectly gelled head to the right.
“My dad is good friends with the Waltmans,” Olivia offered, as if I should know what that meant.
I deserved an Oscar for the way my smile didn’t waver. Not a freaking inch. Great. Not only was Olivia stunning, with boobs so perky I bet those nipples looked you straight in the eye without a bra on, but also, she was rich. Well, that certainly would seal the deal for good ol’ Jake.
“Oh, wonderful,” I cheered as if I knew who the fuck the Waltmans were.
“And you?” Jake asked, looking around like he might find the answer behind me. “Why are you on Prickle Island?”
“I’m the new head chef at the zoo.” Jake’s eyebrows raised in surprise, and I kept going, just making the situation even worse for myself with my lies. But I needed to win this breakup, so help me God. “That’s how Finch and I met. She’s the zoo veterinarian.”
“Omg, that’s so sweet!” Olivia cheered as Jake’s frown deepened. I really enjoyed how much he hated the mention of Finch.
“I’m sure we could get you two a behind the scenes tour to meet the animals sometime,” I suggested. “Zoo dates are really romantic.”
What a weird fucking flex. What the hell was I talking about? How many muffins would I have to bribe the twins with for overpromising animal encounters to my ex and his new fiancée?
Olivia’s pink sundress swished as she bounced with excitement. “Oh, that would be so awesome!”
I really wanted to suggest that Jake could buy Olivia a balloon and take her to get her face painted along with the other parents, but I bit my tongue. I wanted him to rue the day he left me, but this wasn’t Olivia’s fault. My mind flew back to my mission to make Jake jealous that I’d been dreaming up since that run-in at the restaurant. This was a good start—dating a hot veterinarian.
“A zoo chef can’t be all that interesting,” Jake said in that needling way he always did. “Burgers and fries, I’m guessing?”
I shot him a hateful look as my smile widened. “Oh no, it’s awesome. I have both a café and a restaurant that I oversee and carte blanche to play with the menus. Plus , I’m doing catering for special events. Even one for Ethel Holloway herself.” Recognition lit up Olivia’s face. Everyone knew the Holloways. They were right under the Vanderbilts of old-money families. “We have an annual gala coming up in July that I’m catering for. You should ask the Waltmans if they can get you tickets.”
Ooh, did I like the way Jake’s frown lines deepened at that jab. He was jealous all right, and it made me delighted.
“That sounds amazing!” Olivia said, clueless to the verbal sparring match that was currently taking place.
“We’ll have to check our schedules,” Jake countered. “We’ll probably be back in New York by then.”
I shrugged as if it didn’t matter one whit to me. This breezy Frankie act was fun, even if my heart was punching through my chest. But if I was going to get revenge on this asshole, I needed to play dirty.
“Oh!” Olivia exclaimed as if just remembering. She jittered with excitement as she spoke like a manic Chihuahua. “My dad is having a yacht party next Friday. You and Finch should come!”
My mind quickly grabbed for an excuse, but Jake beat me to it.
“That would be way past Frankie’s bedtime,” he said to his fiancée. “She’s always in bed by eight.”
It had been a point of contention between us. Jake wanted to go out, and I was much happier at home in sweatpants with a good book. Especially since I had to wake up so early and he didn’t. But that had never seemed like a good enough reason for him.
“It works out great with Finch,” I said pointedly. “Since she has to get up early for her job too. You know, since she’s a doctor.”
“Veterinarian,” Jake corrected.
I shrugged. “The only difference is doctors only know how to treat one species and she knows how to treat hundreds.”
Olivia snort laughed at that. Damn, she was cute. I almost couldn’t hate her for stealing my man. She’d have to forgive me, though, when I stomped all over his heart for what he did to me though. Maybe she’d realize he was a walking red flag and save herself too.
“And we’d love to come to the party,” I added to Olivia, turning a carefree smile back to Jake. “We’re still in the honeymoon phase so we’re always looking for a fun, new adventure. Thanks for the invite.”
“No problem,” he gritted out even though he wasn’t the one to offer.
“Anyway, I should get going. I’m making Finch salmon risotto,” I said, name-dropping Jake’s favorite meal. I swore I saw a flash of puppy eyes on his face before he schooled his expression. “I’ll see you two at the party! Text me the details, Jake should still have my number.”
I debated for a second if I should do it and then decided fuck it, since we’re being brave. I shot forward and gave Olivia a big hug. She squeezed me back with a surprised giggle. Then I turned to Jake and hugged him, my breasts and hips pressing into him in the sort of hug I knew would turn him on. His arm circled my waist, landing low on the small of my back, mere inches from acceptable, and I knew he wanted to drop his fingers lower and squeeze. I pulled back, flashing a megawatt smile at that confused look on his face, waving and sweeping my long blonde hair over my shoulder before sauntering off with an extra swish to my hips.
God, I hoped he was watching this expert hip swish.
I felt on top of the world. I was going to come out victorious and Jake would be a sniveling, jealous puddle when I was done with him. But then I turned the corner and remembered one minor flaw in my perfect plan: I needed to convince Finch to pretend to be my girlfriend . . . again.