Page 52 of My Ex's Best Friend

I stare at him. “You didn’t know.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you that night,” Jake says miserably.

I feel a little shaky, and my feet stumble.

“I knew I should have done something, anything to stop him. I’m sorry I couldn’t,” Jake says.

“What could you have done? Chris was a grown ass man. He should have known better.”

The revelation leaves me grappling with a maelstrom of conflicting emotions.

“I wanted to tell you. I was planning on doing it, coming to see you, but I never got the chance because there you were, and then that happened and all I could think about was…” He shakes his head. “But then you left, and you never let me in again.”

I’m shaking a little. “This isn’t your fault, Jake. None of this.”

I take a deep breath, the words tumbling out in a rush. "I'm sorry, Jake. I know I shouldn't have shut you out that night. But I was so hurt. It was too much."

"Kiera," he starts, his voice calm. "We were both different people back then. We've had our share of growing up to do."

A hint of a smile plays on my lips, but it doesn’t stick. "I know, but it doesn't excuse my behavior. I just... I wish I had given you the chance to explain. And we spent so many years apart. Now I come to know it was just a misunderstanding? That it was all for nothing?"

He shakes his head. “I don’t think it was for nothing. Like I said, we were different people then.”

“We were best friends.” I shake my head. “Now we’re strangers.”

He cups my face. “Hey, look at me.”

My lashes flutter slightly as I meet his gaze.

“I never stopped being your friend. I never stopped thinking about you.”

He reaches for my hand, squeezing it gently. "We can't change the past, Kiera. What matters is that we're here now, and we can choose how we move forward."

"Thank you, Jake. But—."

“Is something bothering you?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to dig anything ugly.”

Jake shakes his head, cupping my cheek. “Never. You’re here, I am here. Nothing else matters.”

I take a deep breath.

Tears gather at the corner of my eyes.

“Please don’t cry, Kiera.”

He closes the distance between us, and before I can react, he’s pressing his lips to mine and kissing me hard.

The wine glass in my hand falls and shatters, but I don’t care.

I bracket his face with my hands and kiss him back, letting him taste the tempest of my emotions.

14

JAKE

As my mouth tries to show her all I’ve ever wanted to tell her, I pull her closer, my hands finding their place on her waist.

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