Chapter 20

Jessibelle

As I sat in the cab I’d called to take me home, the tears began to fall. I hadn’t unpacked anything the night before, so it made for a quick getaway from the drama at Zach’s house.

Last night had been perfect. At least, that was what I told myself. But as soon as that woman turned up, it was clear what perfect was.

And apparently, it wasn’t me.

Alana Moffet was one of the most famous women in the world, her face plastered on every billboard and on the cover of every magazine I picked up. It was almost surreal, seeing her in person like that, seeing her crumpled on the floor of Zach’s house as though he’d physically hurt her in some way.

She was part of the reason he’d holed up in his mansion for so long. She’d destroyed a chunk of his life when she left. That much was clear, and now she was in his gorgeous holiday home making it clear that the only thing in the world she wanted was him. I couldn’t blame her, but damn if I knew any way I could stand up to the overwhelming competition.

He would’ve been crazy not to take her back. I pressed my forehead to the window of the taxi, allowing the cool glass to soothe my racing thoughts. It didn’t do a lot of good. I couldn’t stop thinking about them, about the way he put his arms around her and held her as she cried. Yes, he’d said he didn’t want to get back together with her, but that was likely just for show. I couldn’t imagine a man who’d turn down a woman like that, throwing herself at him. He’d have to be crazy.

The tears were flowing down my cheeks by that point, obvious enough that the driver was peering at me through the rear-view mirror. I wanted to tell him to leave me alone and let me wallow in my sadness, but I knew he was just trying to be helpful and offer me someone to talk to in my time of need. But the only person I wanted to talk to was back in his house with his arms wrapped around another woman.

It was clear now what I had been to him. A rebound. I had suspected it, but now I was certain I was just a piece of ass until that woman came back to him.

He must have known she couldn’t stay away, because the two of them fit together. Like two rich, famous, and beautiful pieces of a puzzle. The successful, handsome businessman and the gorgeous model with a career that spanned the globe. I didn’t fit anywhere into the equation, except as a story they shared when they were being honest with each other about what they both got up to while they weren’t together. I was a fling, nothing more. I needed to get it through my head. Zach and I had never made sense together, not really, not in the way the two of them did. I was a start-up lawyer with a mouth and a lot of baggage. I wasn’t a model who could sweep into any room and have every man in it staring at me, slack-jawed.

What was confusing to me was the night before had felt like something real. It was one thing for the two of us to have hot, heady, hungry sex in the back of a limo when we got the chance, but it was quite another for him to invite me all the way out there to his beautiful house in the country and then make love to me all night long. It was sweet and slow and careful and perfect, the kind of sex that stuck in the back of your mind for the rest of your life. And now it was over.

I gripped my bag to my lap and watched as the beautiful scenery retreated. My bag was full of papers, the stuff we needed to get done that day, and now I’d just have to take it on by myself. Would he still want me representing him in court? Would I still want to do it? I knew I couldn’t really turn it down based on how good it would look for my career, but the thought of facing him again made my heart sink to my stomach. I didn’t want to have to see him, to have to face up to the fact I had been stupid enough to fall for him. It felt like Aston all over again, that asshole dragged my heart through the mud, used me for sex and then left me behind. Or maybe that was just what I deserved. Maybe that’s what I should have gotten used to putting up with. Because those were apparently the kind of men I was attracted to, no matter how much I wanted something real, something solid, something I could hold on to.

My man picker was broken. And I needed to fix it somehow.

The way Zach touched me was going over and over again in my mind. The man had skills. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who could make me feel that good only to drop me as soon as someone else came along—but maybe this was part of his game from the start.

Maybe he was with me to make Alana jealous. Yeah, that was it. He just wanted to make her jealous and used me as a patsy.

I didn’t know how she could’ve heard about us, but chances were, he could have slipped some information to her or his brother to be sure she found out about us and came running. It would explain why she’d come all the way to Atherton as soon as she could. She did mention his brother. He might have sent her because he figured she’d be a better fit for him than I would. Or maybe he just understood that hooking up with the person who was meant to be acting as a legal counsel was a bad idea and decided to put a stop to it.

I put my head in my hands and wondered how long it would be until I was back in the city. Too long, no doubt, and with a hefty cab bill on top of that. Maybe I could charge it back to Zach? An amused smile flickered on to my face at the thought. Yes, that would be a start, something to pay him back for what he’d put me through over the last day or so. It would only be a tiny corner of his enormous fortune, but it would make me feel better. And besides, I was meant to be up at that house on business—not her.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I grabbed for it. Maybe it was Zach, calling to ask me back so we could figure stuff out. But the number wasn’t one my cell recognized, and I frowned at the screen before I lifted it to my ear to answer. I needed anything to get my mind off my swirling thoughts, even if it was just someone from my phone company offering me an upgrade.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Jessibelle.” A familiar voice came down the line, one that made me jump.

“Aston?” I whispered.

“I’m so glad I got hold of you,” he announced, and the usual cockiness I found in his voice was missing.

“Why the hell are you calling me?” I demanded. I’d had enough of exes today, whether they were mine or someone else’s.

“Ever since I saw you at the court, I can’t stop thinking about you,” he blurted out, and I fought the urge to correct his grammar.

“What the—”

“I wanted to invite you out for dinner,” he said. “I know I fucked up really bad, but I need to see you again, Jessi. Come on, baby, I need a chance to make things right.”

I blinked twice. I had dreamed for so long that Aston would come crawling back to me, that he would acknowledge everything he’d done wrong and beg for my forgiveness, but in those fantasies, I always turned him down. However, after what had happened with Zach, my ego had just taken a firm fucking. And to my shock, I found myself open to the suggestion.

“When?” I asked, the word sounding foreign to my ears. He even sounded a little taken aback that I was agreeing to this.

“Where are you now?” he asked, sounding surprised. “I’ll come meet you.”

“I’m out of town right now, but I’ll be back in the city this evening,” I replied. “I’ll text you when I’m free.”

“See you soon,” he said, and I could almost hear the triumphant grin in his voice as he hung up the phone. I stared at the blank screen and wondered if I hadn’t just made a huge mistake.

***

I sat across from Aston at a crazy-fancy restaurant in the expensive side of town. He still looked a little surprised I was there with him, but he couldn’t have been half as shocked as I was. I’d promised myself a dozen times over I’d never go near this man again, and yet there I was, letting him take me out for dinner. I could tell myself it was just so he could explain himself, but I knew he didn’t even deserve that. It was because I needed someone to salve my aching ego.

It had been painfully awkward so far, as he attempted to sprinkle niceties into the conversation and was met with sullen irritation from me. So, once the waiter had taken our orders—I made sure to go straight for an entrée in the hope of speeding things up—I guess he figured he had nothing left to lose and launched into it.

“Jessibelle, I’ve been thinking about you so much since I saw you in the court room.” He sounded as though he’d carefully rehearsed his words. “And I know I fucked up and I’d do anything to take it back.”

He paused, as though expecting me to jump in and accept his apology, but I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. He would have to do better to convince me he was a changed man.

“I know it’s going to be hard for you to trust me again,” he went on. I raised my eyebrows. You can say that again.

“But I want you to know I’m willing to do anything to get you back,” he said hesitantly. “Including quitting the case.”

“What?” My eyes widened. I knew better than anyone how hard he’d worked to get his job at the firm and how unlikely it was for him to accept walking away from it.

“And if that’s not enough,” he said, hesitating as if unsure he could say the next part, “then the firm, too.”

I stared at him, in complete shock, and he looked steadily back.

“Are you serious?” I spluttered, finally managing to find the words. He nodded, and I struggled to think. My mind was reeling. After everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and now he was dropping this on top of me too? I had no idea what to say, what to think, or how to feel. Instead, I stared dumbly across the table at the man I had promised myself I’d never give a second chance.