Page 8 of Love Beyond the Illusion
Bailey slowly turns to me with her eyes wide and a goofy smile. “Oh my god, Piper, you are so embarrassing.” She laughs. “And your cheeks are red!”
“What?” Bailey picked up on my momentary brain lapse. Which means Jack did, too.Great.
“You had such an obvious grin on your face the whole time.” She shoves my shoulder. With which thatsaidgrin comes right back. “See that one, and it’s a mile long!”
Opening my mouth to speak, I’m unable to form the words—a waterfall of giggles bubbles from my chest. “I know. I don’t know what came over me. The minute he looked at me, I froze. It was super weird.”
The effect it had on me is similar to the energy pulling you into someone’s gaze. The magnetism from a stare that almost feels as if there’s a chain linking you and another person—but this was nothing like that. Jack’s electric blue eyes have energy that could rival the sun. Where pulses emit with such intensity that looking directly at them is almost impossible.
“He’s incredibly good-looking too. That square jawline—like Mason’s. I want to bite it,” she teases.
“Your brother’s wedding was big, but how could I not remember someone that looks like that?” I tousle my hair in bewilderment.
“I have no idea.”
“Tell me about him?” I demand, eager to learn more about this mystery man who gave me thousands of butterflies when I met him.
“Oh, so you’re interested.” Bailey nods her head while her eyebrows raise. “Jack was part of my brother’s college fraternity and now works in marketing in Phoenix. I’ve only recently got to know him better after Harry and Mason asked him to partner with them on the restaurant concept and marketing forThe Poppy.”
“Alright,” I say with a cheery voice, appreciating her spilling the tea about the tall, hot blond man who looks like he walked out of a 1990s Tiger Beat magazine. “B, he looks like a young Leo. I’m not going to lie. It made my knees weak.”
“I can totally see that!” Bailey agrees, grabbing my hand to brace herself, laughing while we walk past the airport restaurants and bars. I can’t shake the intense urge to head in the other direction. Hell, I always hook up with attractive guys, so why is my body itching to follow Jack? Maybe there’s something different about him? I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out.
I abruptly stop, shifting toward my friend with a Cheshire smile on my face. “Do you know if he’s single?”
She smiles with a large grin. “I believe so. I know which of Harry’s friends from college are married, and I’m positive Jack is not.”
My heart knocks on the back of my ribs. I nibble my bottom lip with excitement. “Should I go talk to him?”
Her eyes grow wide. “Yes! I saw the way you two had to pry your hands away from each other. I’d say he felt a little spark, too.”
I swallow hard, my eyes bouncing from the restaurant that Jack looked like he walked into and my best friend. “Okay, I think I’m going to.”
“I love how free-spirited you are. My stomach is literally flipping for you,” she says.
I giggle. “Do I look okay?”
“Are you seriously asking me that?” Bailey cocks her head and lowers her eyes. “You are fucking gorgeous, and your hair looks all fluffy,” she replies, leaning in to smell it. “And it smells good!
Chuckling, I bat her away. “Vegas was my last flight for the next few days. If we hit it off, I could jump on a later one tonight.”
“You better text or call me later when you get home to tell me how it went.”
My legs shake with excitement while I jump out of my skin. “I will. I promise!”
I lean in to give her a quick hug before turning on my heels to head into the restaurant. With my black carry-on wheeling behind me, I scan the small area until I see Jack’s black shirt and immaculate side profile. He’s sitting in the back corner with his face hidden behind a laptop. He looks deep in thought and typing away—presumably an email. After each step I take, I’m briefly hit with self-doubt but manage to push it away. My heart skips a few beats before I even fully enter the restaurant.
He sips from a glass of red wine when I approach the table. “Hello.”
Jack glances up at me with a smile from where he’s sitting. “Piper, hi.”
“I was walking by and saw you sitting over here—”
Jack gestures to the seat on the opposite side of the corner table. “Would you like to join me?”
The chair rattles when I pull it out to sit down. I hadn’t thought about what I would say to him or how I would explain why I followed him in here. “My flight doesn’t leave for another two hours, and I figured you might want some company.”Alright, that makes sense.
“I’d love some company.” He grins warmly, gently closing his laptop. “Can I get you a drink?”
