Page 29 of When You Were Mine

“You can quit this job, you know,” her sister said quietly. “You don’t need the money.”

“You know as well as I do, we’re not going to sell out for the gala. We need every penny of the two million he’s paying me.”

“I’m sorry. Did you say two million dollars?”

“Sure did.” She headed into the bathroom and flipped on the light.

“Stay.” Her sister adopted a stern tone. “Push through the pain. You’re made of stronger stuff than that.”

Jess laughed. “Don’t I know it. Goodbye.”

“Bye, Jess. I love you.”

“Love you too.” The moment she disconnected pain swept over her like a brutal wind.

Truly, she was so happy her sisters had love and companionship. It meant the world to her. Butshedidn’t have it.

Isn’t that why you chose Joel?

Because you never wanted another all-consuming passion like you had with Trevor?

That’s right.She never again wanted to make a guy the center of her life.

So, there you go. The occasional bout of loneliness was the price she had to pay for that choice.Deal with it. She shook two pain relievers out of the travel-size canister. After swallowing them, she turned on the faucet and yanked off Joel’s XL T-shirt.

Naked, she took in her body in the mirror.

What did Trevor see when he looked at her?

She’d never had cosmetic surgery, so she looked every one of her years. She’d laughed a lot. Cried plenty. A life of snowboarding and hiking, of swimming in the warm waters of the Caribbean and paragliding off the coast of New Zealand had contributed to every line around her mouth and eyes. She smoothed a hand over her cheek—yep, she’d earned a complexion that wasn’t as soft and smooth as a girl’s.

Which wasn’t something she spent a lot of time thinking about.

But Trevor’s a movie star. He’s been around the most beautiful, fit people in the world.

How did she compare to them? One thing for sure, she looked tired. After working so hard to get the Sweetwater up and running and then not sleeping on her red-eye flight, she was exhausted. A little pale. She had some bruising under her eyes.

In all the times she’d imagined running into Trevor, she’d pictured herself glamorous and perfectly happy. She’d wanted him to see her living her best life. No, she wasn’t a movie star, but she’d done well for herself.

And you know what? Screw it. Screw him.

I like who I am.

She jumped in the shower and washed away the self-doubt and resentment. All the negativity slid down the drain. And then, she did just what Amber told her to do. She blew out her hair and took time with her makeup. She dabbed perfume on her neck and wrists.

And then, she sorted through the small pile of clothing she’d brought. For sure, she’d wear the Veronica Beard pants. Did she wish she’d brought the blouse with the neckline that flirted with indecent but could still be viewed as one-hundred-percent work-appropriate? Maybe.

Yes. Totally.

But in the end, she felt good. Strong. Confident.

Ready, she grabbed her tablet, shoved it in the leather tote bag, and left her room. In the end, it didn’t matter what Trevor thought of her. She was engaged, and he was marrying Darby.

And after Friday, she’d never see him again.

As she headed down the hallway, she breathed in the delicious scents of warm bread and bacon. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten dinner the night before.

Well, no more of that. Today, she would eat. She’d enjoy this opportunity to experience Iceland. Because really—now that she’d had some time to get over the initial shock of seeing him—she could see Trevor was nothing more than a first love.

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