Page 53 of The Jilted Lovers Club
I stretch, taking the last few moments of alone time before I have to get moving on my day. All I want to do is burrow under the covers and forget the world exists.
The sound of wheels on the linoleum floor gives me pause. I peek my head over the couch, and there’s Jordy, rolling two suitcases—one in front of her, and the other behind. She winces when she sees me.
“I thought I’d ask you for one more favor. My car is in town, so…”
I sit up. “So you need your suitcases?” I shake my head, looking from them to her. “What are you doing?”
“Getting out of your hair. I figured it was time.” She takes a deep breath, then offers a shaky smile. “You’ve been so generous,” she says.
Generous. That fucking word.
“Is that what you think this is? I’m just being generous?”
I get up from the couch, and her eyes widen. But I’m pissed.
“I’m not trying to get in your pants by letting you stay here,” I say. Her jaw drops.
“Um, okay?”
“In fact, I don’t expect anything from you just for staying here. Did it ever occur to you that I was just being nice? That I saw you in a hard spot, and I let you stay here because I have the room?”
“Well, I thought you did it because you felt guilty for getting me drunk,” she says. She laughs a little, but I note the hurt in her eyes, which pisses me off even more. She doesn’t get to feel hurt, not after playing fucking games and then gossiping to her mom about what a clueless idiot I’ve been.
“I heard you on the phone last night.”
She looks confused for a moment, tilting her head. “When I was talking with my mom?”
“Yeah, and I heard everything. How you don’t think of me that way. How it’s annoying. How you’re just being nice to keep a roof over your head. Well, let me tell you something … you don’t have to worry about me. I might be attracted to you, but you don’t need to pretend to be interested just so you can stay here. You don’t even need to leave now, even though I’m livid you think that of me. There are no strings for you staying here, Jordy. I would have kept my mouth shut until the day you left, if that made you happy.”
She inhales sharply, then lets it out in a slow, unsteady breath. “You’re … attracted to me?”
I open my mouth to answer, but Lottie chooses that moment to let her presence be known. Her wail sounds loudly on the other side of her door. I move to it, but I point to Jordy’s suitcases.
“I’ll drive you to get your car, but your shit is staying here.”
Then I turn to my daughter’s room, trying not to let my anger affect the way I open her door.
On the other side, I pause to catch my breath. Lottie quiets as soon as she sees me, watching me with wide eyes.
Fuck. I can’t believe I actually admitted I liked her, even knowing that she found it “annoying.” I said the unspoken thing aloud. Now what am I supposed to do? Walk out of this room and pretend nothing is wrong?
I gather Lottie in my arms, who seems to understand that her daddy is in a strange state. She pats my cheek, almost as if to comfort me.
That’s the thing about my daughter, I could be having the worst day of my life, and one sweet little gesture from her can make it all go away.
“You’re my girl, you know that?” I kiss her forehead, then lean back to look at her. My beautiful girl. She grins, then moves her head toward me again for another forehead kiss. It’s our game, to see how many kisses she can take. I give them all to her, peppering her face with kisses while she squeals.
By the time I leave the room, the ice is broken. I’m still mortified by my admission, but I said what I said. Even if Jordy doesn’t return my feelings, I no longer have to hide behind them.
“Want coffee?” Jordy asks. She’s seated at the end of the counter, almost like she’s waiting for me. Her suitcases are no longer in view, which feels kind of like a message—she’s staying. I don’t know whether to feel relieved or panicked.
“Sure.” I strap Lottie into her highchair then turn. Jordy is next to me, holding the cup of coffee.
“You’re attracted to me?” she asks again as I take the cup from her hands.
I narrow my eyes as I take my first sip. “That’s all you got from what I said? What, you want to rub it in my face?”
“Ashton, when have I ever been that horrible to you?”
