Chapter 41 #3
I manage a weak smile. Jack's always had this radar for my moods—probably why we've stayed friends since college.
My crystals are still vibrating from this morning's energy shift; I can practically feel my aura pulsing purple and gray around me.
Even Jack, who rolls his eyes at my "woo-woo stuff," seems to sense it.
I sigh. "No, Jack, I'm okay. And trust me, Sera isn't some plastic princess.
That woman was born perfect and damn well knows it.
" I've seen enough fake faces in this city to spot silicone from across a crowded room—this is LA, where people sacrifice at the altar of cosmetic surgery daily.
But Sera? Her jawline could cut glass, her skin glows like she bathes in liquid gold, and those breasts defy gravity without a surgeon's help.
The bitch literally emerged from her mother's womb as if she'd stepped off a Chanel runway, Venus incarnate with a platinum card instead of a seashell.
No wonder she struts around like she owns the oxygen we breathe.
Her daddy's billions just poured gasoline on an already raging fire.
“You’re not fine. Tell me what’s going on.”
I shrug, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear where it's escaped my messy bun.
"I didn't tell you this before, because I just figured I didn't want to do it.
But when I was in Big Sur, with those dramatic cliffs overlooking the Pacific, which is by Carmel-by-the-Sea, you know, I received an offer to open another shop in Carmel.
This woman named Raven Thornheart really befriended me in Big Sur and told me about the opportunity to franchise the shop up there.
" I sigh, gazing out the window at the Venice Beach crowds.
"It's so beautiful up there, Jack. Fog rolling in over pine trees, the scent of salt and earth.
I know I could be happy there. That place is calling to me like a siren song. "
Jack's perfectly groomed eyebrows shoot toward his hairline as he tosses his head back dramatically.
"Honey, what are you even talking about?
" He waves his hand dismissively. "Roman's resort is here.
What am I missing? Unless—" he leans forward, voice dropping to a theatrical whisper, "—he's opening up a branch up there that he'll be running?
In which case, spill the tea immediately. "
I sigh and tell him about Sera's ultimatum, watching his expression darken with each word.
Jack listens, drumming his manicured fingers against the counter, and shakes his head.
"Sweetie, I'm gagged—positively gagged—that you're letting Miss Thing with her off-the-rack personality and that smile that cost more than my rent boss you around.
These trust fund princesses with their Louboutins and their 'Daddy's special girl' black Amex?
They're used to people rolling over faster than I do at Tinder notifications.
" He leans in, eyes sparkling. "But honey, you?
No ma'am. I'd tell her to sashay away so fast her hair extensions would need therapy.
And I'd do it," he snapped twice, "fabulously. "
"Not that simple," I say, running my fingers over the worn tarot cards I've been using all morning.
"Roman's trying to start a new eco-resort hotel chain for his father. It's a delicate time for him right now, and a whiff of scandal might do him in like a house of cards. And dating me, the quirky tarot reader with crystals in her bra, just might qualify as a scandal, don't you see? Everybody will assume I’m a witch, and the word witch is still a dirty word with those conservative money men. And if my being a so-called witch doesn’t do Michael’s resort in, the stories of his alcoholism will. So, I have to bow out of his life. For his sake.”
"So what are you going to do, then? Just move up there without telling him?" Jack's perfectly groomed eyebrow arches as he leans forward on my shop’s velvet couch.
I nod, twisting my crystal pendant between my fingers. "Yes. I can't face him. I wouldn't be able to do what's right, which is to break up with him. It'll be easier if I just move up there without the big scene between us." I sigh.
I thrust a small canvas tote bag of cat toys into Jack’s hands.
"So you'll watch Gracie while I'm gone? I leave tomorrow, and I'll be there about a week—just long enough to feel if the energy's right for me.
If the universe wants me in Carmel, I'll know.
" I twirl a strand of hair around my finger.
"Gracie would hate the drive. You've seen how she gets in the carrier—all claws and drama. "
“You’re leaving him without a word. Scandalous," Jack says, shaking his head of glossy chestnut hair. "And what about the townhouse? What about me?" His voice cracks slightly on the last word.
"Oh, Jack," I say, and hug him, the tears streaming hot and salty down my flushed cheeks.
His familiar scent of sandalwood cologne envelops me.
"You're really my soul mate, do you know that?
You wouldn't want to come up there with me, would you?
I mean, there won't be any AF models up there for you and it's a small town so there might not be much action for you at all, but it's a beautiful, peaceful place with misty mornings and you might like it. "
Jack laughs, his azure eyes crinkling at the corners. "Oh, honey, I thought you'd never ask! I need you like Linus Van Pelt needs his security blanket. That's pathetic, isn't it?" He adjusts the silk scarf around his neck.
"Okay, then, it's set!" I'm suddenly much happier, a warm glow spreading through my chest. I can't have Roman, which is an absolute tragedy, but if Jack's with me, that'll give me some degree of comfort.
"I'll go up there and stay a week and get a feel for the place before I sign any lease.
I need to feel the place is right, feel it in my bones, see if it calls to my soul.
And if it does, I'll sign a lease and we can move up there together! "
Jack shakes his head, his lips pursed. "And when Roman god comes to the store looking for you, all broody six-foot-something of him?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I whisper, staring out at the Venice Beach sunset painting the sky in shades of amber and rose.