Chapter 9
Veronica
My brush strokes were hesitant today. I’d purchased new brushes, paint, canvas, and even a new easel but the image that took shape before me did so at a glacial pace. Yesterday ran through my mind, a constant stream of images revolving around one man.
Carter Jones, brother-in-law, billionaire, and just the nicest guy I’d ever met. He wasn’t overbearing or pompous like Jackson had been. He’d treated me with kindness and respect and strangely that wasn’t what I’d expected from him or any other guy. Did that mean I wasn’t ready for anything?
And what was ‘anything’ exactly? It wasn’t as if I’d permit myself to have an affair with a married man, particularly when that man was my sister’s husband.
“Oh, God,” I said, putting down my brush. I wiped my fingers off on my apron and turned my back on the painting. “This is way too complicated.”
Our little date yesterday had ended with French toast and a hug. Carter had leaned in for something more but I couldn’t do it. Not yet. And I wasn’t sure another date was a good idea. I needed to talk to someone about this, even if it meant enduring Georgia’s know-it-all responses.
I wormed my cell out of the front pocket of my jeans and dialed my bestie’s number.
She answered on the second ring. “This ought to be good.” she
“What? What do you mean by that?” I asked, and already heat crept up my neck. It was as if she had a sixth sense for this kind of thing.
“When last we spoke, you were torn over whether you should speak to Carter about Jayne’s little fling or not.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, so I know you. There’s no way you just left it. I predict you’re calling me now to talk about what happened. Well? Am I right?”
Know-it-all. “You’re a little ray of sunshine, aren’t you? Hold on while I go bury myself alive.”
“Ha, I was right. I’m always right.”
“And ever annoying.”
“Spill it, sister.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. I loved Georgia, she was my best friend for a reason even if she could be a little over the top, and she always gave great advice but this felt so personal.
“I went to see him.”
“Ha –”
“Stop.”
“Fine, fine,” Georgia said. “What happened?”
“I told him about Jayne and it was – it was weird, G. He didn’t even care. I didn’t know what to make of it at the time. Like, that’s supposed to be his wife and he didn’t care. He just kind of looked at me.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” she asked.
“It means he’s detached from the situation or he’s dealt with his feelings for her and moved on,” Georgia replied.
“I guess. Yeah, that’s probably it. Anyway, so I was there and he asked me to stay for breakfast. He called it a date. Our first date.”
“Oh, my gosh, are you kidding? You’d better not be toying with my emotions, Ron, because if you are, I swear –”
“I’m not kidding. That really happened. And it was great. We talked and laughed and he hugged me goodbye but I can’t help feeling weird about the whole thing. I don’t know what to do. I want to see him again, not that he’s asked, but I’m afraid of what this means for him and for me. It’s just wrong.”
Georgia went quiet but I could tell she was still there by the low hum of her coffee machine in the background. The woman had an addiction to the stuff and despised store bought. She wanted the best – coffee ground from the beans of angel trees in heaven land.
“I don’t know that it’s wrong.”
“We’ve been over this,” I replied. “He’s my brother-in-law.”
“Yeah, but not for much longer. And he likes you and you like him. I mean, how long has it been since you’ve actually liked a man this much?”
It’d never happened to this extent. The squirmy feeling Carter gave me made everything I’d felt with Jackson into a joke. “But that doesn’t matter. I could like him more than anyone and it doesn’t make a difference.”
“Let’s view this objectively,” Georgia replied, in her no-nonsense tone. “You like him and he likes you. He’s married but he’s in the process of getting divorced. Jayne clearly doesn’t give two shits about the guy since she’s cheated on him and is continuing to do so while spending all his cash.”
“Right.”
“And you’ve just come out of a relationship with a total jackass who’s stolen stuff from you,” Georgia said. “Though, I’m not sure that matters.”
“It matters. I’m not sure I’m ready for anything.”
“You’re resisting this so much it’s actually comical. I mean, clearly you’re into each other and sure, there are a few obstacles in the way, but are you really going to let them govern how you react to Carter?”
I walked to the sofa and sat down. None of this made my decision any clearer. “I understand what you’re saying. I want to give this a chance.” There was still a ‘but’ waiting on the tip of my tongue. ‘But he’s my brother-in-law’ or ‘but I’m scared to get involved with another man so soon after my breakup’ or ‘but my sister might come back and steal him away from me again.’
“Then what are you waiting for? Call him and ask him out on another date,” Georgia said.
“Now, that’s taking it a step too far. I’m not going to go out of my way to –”
“Ugh, sometimes I don’t get you. You’re always seizing the day when it comes to your art but never when it comes to this kind of stuff. Same with Jackson. You knew he was a total jackass, Ron.”
“In a way. I just didn’t want to see it. Listen, I’ve got to go. I was in the middle of painting something,” I said. “I just needed to clear my mind.” And Georgia had kind of helped and hindered that at the same time.
“All right, darling. Speak to you later.”
We hung up and I dropped my phone into my lap and settled back against the cushions. This was dumb. I had plenty of other concerns to occupy me – rent, painting, Jackson’s psychotic behavior. I didn’t need to add Carter to the top of that pile. But I had regardless.
My phone’s message tone pinged, and I rolled my eyes. No doubt Georgia instructing me to get on with it and call the hot billionaire already.
I opened the message and almost lost my heartbeat entirely.
Mind if I give you a call? It was from Carter. Oh, God.
Sure. My finger trembled on the screen but I hit send anyway. Why did he make me this nervous? My cell phone rang and I jumped.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hey.” Carter’s smooth, deep voice melted me all over again. It wasn’t fair that he had this effect on me. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. How are you?” I gripped one of the couch cushions and squeezed. I had to get a handle on my emotions or I’d make a total fool of myself.
“I’m better now that I’m talking to you,” he said. “Shit, that came off cheesy, didn’t it?”
“No, it was sweet,” I replied.
Awkward silence followed that. This shouldn’t have been difficult but it was.
“I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time,” Carter said, at last.
“No, I was just taking a break. From painting. I got some new supplies after the break-in.” I hovered on the brink of thanking him for buying my paintings at the gallery then thought better of it. I didn’t want him to assume I needed anything from him. I didn’t. I could make it on my own.
“Great. Listen, it was great seeing you yesterday morning. I really enjoyed our date.” He didn’t stumble over the word ‘date.’
“Me, too.”
“You weren’t uncomfortable?”
“I – I guess I was a little but in a good way.”
“Good,” he said. “I want to see you again. Would you like to go out with me? Go have dinner at a fancy restaurant?”
“I – sure. As long as it’s something I can afford myself,” I said.
“How about I get this one and you get the next one? We’ll alternate.”
“Okay, yeah. That sounds like a plan,” I replied.
“Fantastic,” he said. “I’ll pick you up at 8 p.m.”
“See you then.” I hung up before I could say anything else or back out of it. No matter what Georgia thought, this was difficult for me. Carter might be everything I wanted in a man and the fact that my sister had scored him first – what a horrible way to put it – ate at my core.
I sighed and put my phone on the coffee table, then got up and walked through to my bedroom.
I had to figure out what to wear for tonight and that meant an emergency meeting with Georgia to plan the outfit, but first, I had to get into a shower and wash off the paint. It was only a pity I couldn’t scour off the uncertainty with it.
I walked to my dressing table then froze. A slip of white paper fluttered against my mirror, writing scrawled across it.
I’ve got my eye on you, Veronica. Don’t think you can get away from me that easy. If you see him again, there’s going to be trouble.
Jackson hadn’t signed his name but I didn’t need the identifier to know it was him who’d left the note. The guy was fucking crazy. I wanted to believe he was harmless. Jackson had always been a pretentious, ascot-wearing prick without a hint of real artistic talent.
The note didn’t exactly send shivers down my spine. I ripped it off the mirror and glared at it. I’d have to give it to Officer Brady as proof that he’d broken in once again. I opened a drawer and slipped it inside, then slammed it shut.
Thinking about Jackson was the last thing I wanted to do today but those memories surfaced anyway.
The time he’d taken me to an art gallery and told me how he could be on the walls there and I couldn’t. Or the day of our anniversary when he’d spent the day with friends instead of me. By then it’d been too late to back out. I’d though it was the norm and that it was okay to be treated like an accessory – just another part of Jackson’s life and not of my own.
He’d never respected my work or my space. He’d never come to bed on time and had spent late nights out with other women, I could only assume. Everything I’d created had paled in comparison to his work according to Jackson.
He was a manipulator. An asshole. A waste of my time.
I studied my reflection in the mirror and relaxed my shoulders. Don’t let him get to you. Don’t let him change what you do or how you feel. Never again.
I nodded, then walked to my window and slammed it shut. I locked it. I had to put in a call to the locksmith to change all the locks, because my ex had clearly found a way to get into the apartment when I wasn’t around.
I pushed aside all my fears and walked into the bathroom to clean off the paint and doubt. Tonight would be a good night. I’d make sure of it.