Her lovely eyes were smudged, like she’d been crying.
“I mean he never really got over you.”
For a moment, my breath caught in my chest.
“I find that hard to believe,” I retorted, forcing myself to keep meeting her eyes. “He didn’t contact me at all.”
“Shouldn’tIknow since I was the one dating him?” she asked angrily. “I knew. It was things he said and didn’t say. And he’s not as fucking subtle as he thinks he is. The stories that stopped abruptly when he realizedyouwere in them. The fucking endless college nostalgia. The damn memories fromwhen I used to be in the minors. It wasn’t the minor leagues. It wasyou. It was you he was remembering and you he wanted.”
Taylor looked angry, shredding napkins all over the table like tiny brown confetti, fidgeting with the tiny crop top over her perfect flat belly.
I said nothing.
“You hung over our entire relationship,” she said furiously. “From the very beginning. I hope Josie is OKorI hope I didn’t hurt Josie too much. He expected you to contact him,” she added viciously. “And he was fucking pissed when he found out you’d blocked him instead. I had to hear about that for goddamn months.”
I said nothing again and this seemed to piss her off even further.
“Plus, I know he was still obsessed with you because he had a secret littlefolderin hisphoneand it was literally full of pics of you. I guess he just couldn’t bear to give up any single picture of when you went to St. Petersburg. There were like 40 pictures alone of you, like, petting a dolphin.”
“That’s sad,” I said.
She was clearly expecting a bigger reaction, and her face twitched in annoyance.
“I bet you just can’t wait to get back with him,” Taylor hissed, and I could tellshevery badly wanted to.
Jesse was loaded, hot, a superstar celebrity. She’d assume everyone wanted him.
“No,” I said, then I looked over at Karel, who was coming back to our table with the drinks. “I have other options.”
The naked jealousy on Taylor’s face startled me.
Shewas jealous ofme.
“Lucky bitch,” she said. “I’ll see you around, I guess.”
She turned to leave, but just as she did, the front door to the restaurant snapped open, andJessewalked in.
Taylor sucked in her breath sharply, but I didn’t have to wonder long why he was here.
“Josie!”
He always commanded attention, even in only a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and Jesse strode toward us, bending down to put a hand possessively on the back of my chair.
“Karel, this ismygirl.”
My skin began to heat with the contact, and I shook off the sensation as the tips of his fingers brushed by my back. My dress had a deep v and the feel of those fingers on me was infuriating.
I used to be fuckingweakfor this man, my body so finely-tuned to his that my skin would already be thrumming with desire before he even touched me.
But if he thought he could get around me on sex appeal now, he was very mistaken.
“I’m not your girl,” I said hotly.
“What are you doing here?” Karel asked warily.
“She’s my girl,” Jesse said. “She’s always been my girl. I’m not going to just sit here and watch you take her out on a date.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to,” Karel said, cocking his head.
