Page 93 of Wild As Her

Jack sits across from Elena, who is gorgeous and poised.

He looks… fine. Handsome. Relaxed. His shirt is rolled to the elbows, one hand wrapped around a glass of water, the other resting on the back of his chair.

But his shoulders aren’t as loose as usual. And every time she says something, he kind of smiles and looks past her, like he’s tryingreallyhard to be polite.

“He’s not into her,” Violet says.

“Nope,” I agree. “Look at his eyes. They’re not focused on her. Like he’s thinking about his taxes.”

And I really like Elena. She’s really fun to talk to, and I get her sarcastic humor. It is still weird though to watch Jack on a date with someone else, even if I know that it’s not technically real. My brain knows it, but my heart hates it.

Poppy snorts. “Or hate sex.”

“Shut up,” I hiss, laughing into my sleeve.

And then?—

“Are you guysseriouslyspying right now?”

We whip around to findJenna,arms crossed, one eyebrow raised so high it nearly disappeared into her hairline.

“I—uh—” I flail, caught mid-sentence. “We’re... birdwatching.”

"What kind of birds?" Jenna questions, hands on her hips.

"Um...black birds," I say quickly.

She gives me a dry look. “You’re staring at my brother like he’s an endangered species.”

“Well,” Poppy says, shrugging, “emotionally available cowboysarerare.”

Jenna laughs and joins us. “You’re all insane.”

She peers over our shoulders. “Oof. He’s not even pretending to flirt like I told him to.”

I take in how good he looks, and how he looks uncomfortable but he’s trying not to show it. He’s a gentleman, and he doesn’t want one of the contestants to have a bad time. He caresabout all of them. That’s obvious and mostly because Jack is a good guy deep down. Nobody can tell me different. They don’t make ‘em as good as Jack Jessop, that’s for sure.

A feeling fills me that I can’t place right away, and it feels like sadness, or longing when I realize I’ve never really had a sit-down meal with Jack intentionally in the years I’ve known him. Sure, I’ve sat down at the bar by him, but we haven’t ever had time together like that. I have never seen him in candlelight. I want this. I want Jack to look at me over candlelight. It sounds simple and possibly silly, but that’s what I want. All the moments with Jack. I am a strong and independent woman. But I want to feel safe with Jack, a man like him who would move heaven and earth to be by my side. That’s what I want. I want all the small things with him.

“What?” I try to say with surprise. “He looks like he's having a great time.”

“You know he saw you the second you walked up,” Jenna says dryly.

“What?” I twirl my hair around my finger. "We're just hanging out in town. That's not a crime."

“Girl. He’s been glancing this way every thirty seconds, like he’s hoping you’ll rescue him.”

My heart skips a beat.

I mutter. "Why would I rescue him? He looks like he's justfine."

“No, he doesn’t,” Poppy and Violet said at the same time.

And then it happens.

Jack stands up to pull Elena’s chair back as she gets up for something. Maybe the bathroom? Hopefully leaving?His eyes immediately scan the patio and land on me.He definitely sees me.Not in the “maybe” he saw me kind of way.In thelocked-eyes, slow-burn, you-are-so-bustedkind of way.His brow lifts.

I duck down on the bench like a total coward.“Abort mission,” I hiss. “We’ve been compromised.”

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