Page 79 of The Jilted Lovers Club
“Aw, she’s just shy, but she had plenty to say this morning. Did you all know that Lahoma Hotel has been in Bernie’s family for close to two centuries? But every person deserves a comfortable retirement, wouldn’t you agree?”
He waits for a response, but gets none. Then he smiles. “That’s right, and Bernie is no less deserving. She couldn’t sell to just anyone, it had to be someone who knows the heart of this town. Which is why she chose to work with me to make her retirement dreams come true while still honoring our beloved small town.”
“Listen to me,” I hiss. “He is not a good man. He doesn’t care about Lahoma. All he cares about is—”
“Jordy, could you join me on the stage for a moment?”
I whip my head towards him as he mouths the words “NDA.” Every eye is on me, which means I’m the only one who saw what he said to me. Head down, I abandon Bernie and make my way towards him. Once I get there, he takes my hand and pulls me close, wrapping an arm around my waist.
“I don’t want to take up too much more of your time folks, but I couldn’t end this without expressing my complete admiration and gratitude for this gorgeous woman beside me. If you couldn’t tell just by looking at her, she has an eye for design. I mean, this dress she had me buy for her…” He does a chef’s kiss. “Exquisite, and worth every penny, though there were about tens of thousands of those pennies.”
I burn with rage, knowing just how long it took for me to save. Why he’s taking credit, I don’t know. I open my mouth to say something, but he places a finger on my lips.
“You, babe, have expensive taste,” he continues, a smile in his eyes. “Which is why I can’t wait for you to start designing the hotel across the way. I know you’re going to bring this town into the future.”
He leans down and kisses me, right on the mouth, right in front of everyone. I freeze up, completely unable to move until he releases me.
“A toast,” he says, lifting his glass as I stumble a few steps back. The people in the crowd look at each other, then back at us, reluctantly lifting their own glasses. “To Lahoma Springs, our heart and soul.”
There’s a quiet rumble of voices followed by a few clinks. Alexander turns back to the band, telling them they can play. I see my chance and race down the steps, looking frantically for Ashton. I finally happen upon Bec, whose face looks ashen as she clings to Bob.
“Where’s Ashton,” I ask.
“He left,” she says, and my heart sinks at the words. “Lottie was fussing, and he said he was getting tired too, so he took her home.”
I feel winded, like I can’t catch my breath. “I’ll just call a cab, I guess.” Then I look around, realizing I can’t just leave, not while people are still here. “Maybe he’ll be awake when I get home.”
“Honey.” Bec lays a hand on my arm. “I don’t think…” She looks at Bob, who steps forward.
“Ashton would prefer if you didn’t go to his house tonight. We’ve agreed to let you stay with us, but just for tonight since it’s so late. He said he’ll pack up your things and leave them for us to gather when we get home.”
“You don’t believe…” I look at both of them. “I didn’t know Alexander would be here,” I say. Bec looks away quickly, and I realize how that sounds. “No, not like that. I’m not romantically involved with Alexander, and I didn’t know he was buying up…” I stop, worried about what I can and cannot say legally. “I was hired to work on this shop only. I didn’t know there would be others. I never even told Alexander we were having a gathering tonight. I just wanted to…” I feel like I’m grasping at straws, especially with how drawn both of their faces look. “This was supposed to be so different. You put all this work into making it happen, and so many people pulled together to create a wonderful party.” I trail off, unsure what else I can say.
“It’s what we do,” Bob says, his voice low and gruff. “We stand by each other and pull together. It’s why we don’t let outsiders in.”
He looks at me pointedly, and I shrink under his gaze. I’m the outsider, just as much as Alexander is. In fact, I’m even more of an outsider since I have no stake in this town whatsoever.
The Felixes offered to take me in because that’s the kind of people they are, but they don’t want me there.
“Got it,” I say, looking away so I don’t give away my distress. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll find my own place to stay tonight.”
Neither Bob nor Bec try to stop me when I turn away, not that I expect them to. The party feels like an afterthought at this point, especially as I see people starting to clean up. Everyone is pitching in to gather trays and take the linens from the tables, and I just stand there in everyone’s way. All I want to do is leave, though to do what, I don’t know. I have no place to go, all my things are likely in a pile on Ashton’s porch, and I feel like this dress is suffocating me.
But I can’t just leave, so I slip off my shoes and begin picking up pieces of trash off the ground to deposit them in the garbage can by the front.
“We got this.” A sweet-faced elderly woman picks the trash from my hand. “You’ve done enough, dear. Don’t worry about this, we’ll make sure it’s back to how it started.”
“Thank you,” I say. “But I can’t leave, not until everything is in order. It’s not fair to leave you all with the mess.”
“You’ve done enough,” the woman repeats, but this time I note the stern look on her face.
“Oh.” I back up, looking around. No one is looking directly at me, just a few side glances here and there, plus some quiet talking on the perimeter of the building.
I feel the hot tears stinging my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I see Alexander standing in the corner, keeping an eye on the clean-up that’s happening in between him reading something off his phone. My devastation turns to anger, and I stalk over to him in my bare feet.
“You have a lot of nerve showing up here like you own the place,” I hiss.
A look of amusement crosses his expression. “I do own the place,” he says, his mouth twisted in a smirk. “And what’s going on? You and I are a team, but you’re acting like I’m the enemy here. I don’t understand. Back in New York you were enthusiastic about this project. I’d think you’d be excited to have some guaranteed income coming your way. What changed?”
