Page 48 of Fighting For You
“I. Do. Not. I don’t want to talk to you. I do not want to debrief about seeing my jerk of an ex, and I do not want to talk to you after that ridiculous display in front of him.” Her cheeks flushed red. “Have a good night.”
I stared at the back of her head for a moment before moving away, not wanting to make her even more angry byhanging around and not in the mood to deal with any small talk her friends, well-meaning as they were, might attempt.
Why was she sending all that fire my way? Of course seeing Kurt stirred up drama, but my gut clenched at the evidence it did so betweenus.We had a lot to talk about still, but I guessed I’d fooled myself into feeling like we were allies on this front, at least.
I made for the exit, seeking the cool fall air. Kenny was chatting with someone but saw me and tipped his chin, letting me know he’d be out in a few.
Fine.He knew Kurt for a minute before he got out. He definitely knew how I felt about him.
And he knew Jess, too. Maybe he could help me make sense of why, after seeing the man who’d cheated on her and left her, she was angry withme.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jess
Iwaited until I was certain he was gone before glancing behind me. Relief swept in, though the rope around my chest cinching tighter by the second didn’t loosen a bit.
“So that’s your ex…” Jo said, breaking the relative silence of the table.
“Yep.”
“He’s hot. I can see why you were attracted to him initially, anyway,” Elise said.
Dove shoved her. “Ew, no. He’s got that ‘I’m too sexy for this bar’ vibe about him.”
Winnie chuckled. “What is that vibe, exactly?”
Dove clucked. “Aw, you don’t know because you found a perfect man who is both humble and so hot he creates his own mirage. But it’s when a guy seems okay but then you realize he thinks you’re lucky to be talking to him. Could be in the way he glances around for better options or might behow he assumes you’ll leave with him if he wants you… they’re all the same in the end.”
I exhaled and sank onto the empty stool next to me. “I hate myself for ever falling for it.”
“Falling for him?” Catherine asked from her spot next to me.
A dry, humorless laugh emerged. “No.It.The act. The whole bill of goods he sold me foryears.I’ve been pretty good at keeping myself from drowning in those ‘poor me’ thoughts for quite a while, but seeing him again is… honestly, it’s nauseating.”
Nikki slid a glass of ice water to me. I thanked her with a nod and drank up. Couldn’t afford dehydration on top of the dual-pronged breakdown I was having. First, my horrid, abandoning, cheating ex was here, and when face to face with him, I couldn’t pretend everything that went wrong was Beast’s fault, especially after recent developments.
And second, how dare Beast tell my ex-fiancé not to say my name? What gave him the right? Why did he even butt his grunting, confusing self into the conversation to begin with? What in his giant head told him he was invited to that conversation?
Not that I was all that mad he’d interrupted, or that I hadn’t had to deal with smarmier than ever Kurt on my own.
How had I ever liked that man well enough to let him kiss me, let alone propose?
Sometimes, I wanted to blast back in time and shake the me of a decade ago. I wanted to tell her to avoid the charmer and keep her head down. Focus on work and friendships and not fall into the trap Kurt had set.
And third, even though I just now realized there was athird—why was I almost angrier with Beast than I was with stupid cheater-face Kurt?
“Ladies, everyone okay?” Cookie stood next to me, his handsome face the picture of calm with a side of manly concern.
“Hey, Luc. Yeah, I think we’re all fine,” Jo said, the other girls agreeing.
All except Elise, who just blinked at the man until his gaze met hers and seemed to intensify. Her lips parted, and I could’ve sworn his eyes dropped to look, then he swallowed and nodded. “Glad to hear it. Have a good night.”
Cookie stepped away, and we all turned to Elise.
“What? We’re talking about you,” she said, fluttering her hands in my direction like she could sweep off our attention.
Dove grinned. “Oh, no, friend. I think we’re talking about you and Monsieur Jean-Luc.”
