Page 42 of Unfolding Kiara

Ethan was right, there were gulab jamuns for dessert after dinner.

Jake invited him to sit with us when the dinner was announced, but he let us know that something urgent came up and he had to leave. Jake brushed it off, but I had spent eighteen years of my life with Ethan. I knew he was lying. He left because he didn’t want to create anymore tension between us, especially as I was engaged to Jake.

“Hey, you have been thinking a lot.” Jake’s words snapped me out of my stream of thoughts, and I turned to him as he drove the car. “You okay, sweetheart?”

We were going back to his house for the night, and my gut tightened into a ball and I didn’t know why. He entwined his hand with mine and kissed my knuckles.

I smiled at him, squeezing his warm hand and adoring the ring on his finger. “I am more than okay. But I never thought I would see Ethan there.”

Jake held my hand as we walked into his cozy house. Pictures of us smiling at each other framed in the bookshelf we had cleared last week, because I was going to move in with him soon, and he wanted to offer me as much space for books as he could.

“If you want to talk, I am here to listen, Kiara,” he whispered, kissing my neck.

I took a deep breath and turned around. His blue eyes were dark under the dim lights of his house. I tipped on my toes and pecked his lips. “I am going to go take a shower.”

Upstairs, in the master bedroom ensuite, I had kept the door open for him to join me if he wanted to, but he hadn’t. In a way, I was thankful that he didn’t. I needed some time to think.

I met Ethan tonight. Ethan Kane. The boy I loved, who had grown into a mature, handsome man. I closed my eyes, trying to keep my emotions at bay. I had left him. He wasn’t mad at me, he was disappointed, but now he had come to terms with it.

Shaking my head, I changed into one of Jake’s t-shirts and let my wet hair down. I needed to stop thinking about him. Yes, we had a history together, but I was engaged to Jake.I am getting married to him next month, I need to focus on that.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, Jake was still in his suit, removing the cufflinks and talking to someone on the phone. I smiled at him and he smiled back mouthing ‘I love you,’ which made me giggle. He went back to answering the person on the phone while I hung up the dress that I had worn tonight in his closet, now,ourcloset space as he had helped me clear it up last week. Only my dress, a box of tampons and a few pairs of underwear were here. I would move my things from the apartment next week so that Anya and Andrew would have plenty of time to shift into their new home, and I wanted to help them as well after the wedding.

I was reading a fantasy romance with only the lamp on when Jake stepped out of the bathroom smelling clean and manly with a musky scent. I wasn’t surprised when he gathered me in his lap and kissed me. Cupping his cheeks, I kissed him back. I wanted to cherish his gentle touch on my thighs, his warm breath on my neck when he tasted my skin, but I couldn’t.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I pulled away from him. “Babe, can we not?”

He looked at me for a while, surprised by what I had just said. He kissed my forehead and placed me down on the bed, “It’s about seeing Ethan today, isn’t it?”

“I am sorry, but I am overwhelmed right now.”

“Don’t apologize for it, love,” he massaged my skin, holding me close. “Tell me, why are you overwhelmed?”

I thought about it. I was overwhelmed because I didn’t expect to feel those emotions rush in as soon as I laid my eyes on him. I was overwhelmed because he knew everything about me, my secrets, read it and didn’t run away when he saw me. I was overwhelmed because I wanted him to be angry at me and push me away, but he didn’t. I was overwhelmed because he had accepted and understood my decision to leave him and told me that it made me into a better person. I was overwhelmed because he missed me. I was overwhelmed because I had missed him more.

Instead, I replied, “We were best friends before it grew into something more.” I paused before whispering, “We lost our virginity to each other.”

“Ah, so you were high school sweethearts?”

“You could say that.”

Jake’s lips curled. I leaned closer, “What? Why are you smiling like that?”

He turned to me, still smiling, but now that smile turned into a sad smile as he tucked my hair behind my ear. “I lost my virginity to my high school sweetheart, too. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. We both wanted different things.”

Huh, he never told me that before. But again, I hadn’t told him about my first time with Ethan.

I grinned at him, “You wanted to be a basketball champion.”

“Damn, right,” he stopped smiling and cupped my cheek. “Look where I am now.”

I held his hand and snuggled closer to him. “You are one of the world’s best models and one of the sweetest men I know, Jake O’Neal.” Peering into his eyes, I kissed his cheek with a small smile, “I am proud to be getting married to you.”

He stayed silent for a while, watching me with his dark eyes before pulling me closer to his side.

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing my head.

“I love you, too.”

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