Striding over to the railing by the window, I gripped it tight and exhaled slowly, finally letting my eyes slide shut to focus on my breathing.Get. It. Together, Jacque. You’re the one who ended things. You’re the?—
“Are you seriously running away already?”
Everything in me went still at the sound ofhisvoice so close behind me. I should’ve known he’d see the moment I made a run for it and follow me, but I turned slowly anyway, half-hoping that perhaps I’d imagined it.
No such luck.
Jesse stood just a few feet away, his thumbs hooked into his pockets, looking exactly the same as he had a week ago and completely different all at once. There was something strangely tired about him tonight, but he also still looked perfect.
Naturally.
“I’m not running,” I said, even though that was exactly what I’d been doing.
Jesse didn’t respond one way or another, not nodding or arguing. He simply shifted his weight on his feet and looked at me again, his head tilting slightly as he held my gaze. “I didn’t know you’d be here. If I had, I wouldn’t have come, Jacque. I’m sorry.”
There was something so careful in his voice that my heart ached just hearing it. Jesse was never careful with anyone, yet now, with me, he was.Gosh, that hurts.
I frowned though, not about to ask him why he was suddenly treating me worse than a complete stranger. “My presence will never preclude you from attending a function, Jesse. It’s for work.”
“Yeah, well, I still wouldn’t have come,” he said easily. “Are you doing okay?”
“This is going to keep happening,” I said instead of lying straight to his face about being alright. “Our paths are going to continue to cross. Your company is a client of my firm. So is your sister-in-law’s. So are those of many others in your social circle. For as long as that is true, we’re going to end up at the same events on occasion.”
His gaze didn’t waver from mine. “I know. This isn’t a one-off.”
“No, probably not.” I let out a slow breath, trying to steady myself even though it felt like I’d been knocked completely off balance. “I was invited here with my firm. I’m guessing you were invited with W&S.”
“Yeah, but still.”
For a second, the words that we were tied by fate sat right there on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them down before they could make it out. It was completely out of character for me to be quite that dramatic, but lately, I wasn’t entirely sure who I was anymore.
Not when it came to him.
“Exactly,” I said, clearing all those other words out of my throat when they tried rising again. “This is just how it’s going to be from now on, I suppose.”
He didn’t say anything right away, but standing this close to him was difficult for me as well. I imagined it had to be at least alittle weird for him too. It was downright unsettling, how deeply I felt for this man, if I was being honest.
My trust issues weren’t something I’d ever really thought about before. Not until my entire heart had been taken up byhim. I let out a quiet breath, looking away for a second when his gaze became too intense.
I’d never known love like this before. The wanting kind that didn’t just sit quietly, but demanded space, attention, and acknowledgment. A deeply rooted yearning I doubted would ever fully go away.
But he was Jesse Westwood and I was no one. I couldneverlet myself forget that. No matter how big the lump forming in my throat.
“Where are you staying?” he asked, his voice pulling me back out of my thoughts.
I blinked hard. “What?”
He hesitated, like he’d already decided he shouldn’t have asked. “I just… I’m sorry. Forget it. I was just going to make sure you get home okay.”
My heart tried to throw a freaking parade about the fact that he still cared. Even after everything. But I refused to let it get excited. He’d always been good to me. That was all this was. Deep down, Jesse was a genuinely good person.
“I’m across the street,” I said, nodding vaguely in the direction of the hotel. “It’s not far.”
He nodded. “Okay. I can walk you.”
It wasn’t pushy or insistent, andthatwas what made me say yes. The smart thing to have done would’ve been to saynoand keep my distance, but despite everything I’d spent the last couple weeks telling myself, I still wanted the extra few minutes with him.
“Okay,” I said, turning toward the exit. “It’s this way.”