Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“Come on, then. Jace mentioned you needed a lift back to your office?” Isla said as she ushered her out.
“Yes, thank you. If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Not at all.”
I followed them out, paying for the food before I left. When I slid into the back of Dixon’s car, Shannon seemed quiet and withdrawn. What was she thinking? Was it a shock to her that I hadn’t been with anyone else since the divorce? Had she been with someone?
I mean, other than kissing that douchebag who may or may not be the catfish.
11.
Shannon
I was spiralling.
I sat in the team meeting, my colleague, Sheera, discussing how the upcoming workload should be divided, while I was all in my head trying to make sense of the fact that Jace had not been with a single other person since our split. He’d never cheated on me while were together. I knew that. His betrayal during our marriage had come in the form of keeping his drug habit a secret and then being incapable of kicking that habit after I’d found out.
So, this meant I was the only woman he’d ever slept with. We’d lost our virginity to each other. Jace was even the first boy I’d ever kissed. I hadn’t been his first kiss. That honour had gone to some girl we’d gone to school with whose name I couldn’t even remember now. Although I did remember being insanely jealous at the time.
I wasn’t sure why I was so shocked. I mean, aside from the kiss with Dean and the uninspiring date with Rufus, I hadn’t been with anyone either. But Jace was a rockstar. Surely women came on to him all the time, especially when the band was on tour, and up until a couple weeks ago, they’d been touring non-stop for a year and a half. How many beautiful, sexy women had he rejected during that time?
The idea both hurt and healed something within me. It hurt because it meant he hadn’t moved on in the same way I hadn’t, and despite still loving him, I didn’t want him to be alone. And it healed me because of the many nights I’d lain awake imagining him with others, barely sparing me a second thought while he lost himself in some gorgeous faceless woman my imagination had conjured. It was the reason I’d had to avoid his music and not look at any of his social media. I couldn’t bare hearing a new song, and it being about someone else. Or seeing a photo of him with a new girlfriend.
It turned out I had nothing to fear in that regard, but what did it mean? Why hadn’t either of us moved on?
My meeting ended, and I packed up my things like a zombie. I’d barely taken in any of the information, but luckily, I had the forethought to record the audio so I could check back on the details later.
Jace and I had pre-arranged for Zara to stay with him for a couple hours after school since I was at the office until five. I expected him to take her to his parents’ house, but when I arrived home and slipped off my shoes, the scent of dinner filled the house. More specifically, the scent of Jace’s jambalaya that he used to make all the time. He’d had it at a Cajun restaurant in the U.S. once and got the recipe from the chef. It had quickly become one of our favourite meals to share together as a family.
“No way. I don’t believe you,” Zara said as I entered the kitchen. She sat by the counter, watching her dad cook, and the cosy scene melted my heart—even while I was a little mad that he’d just decided to set up shop in my kitchen.
“It’s true. Your grandfather used to be friends with the head zookeeper. He brought me and your aunt Fran in after-hours one night, and we got to play with the meerkats.”
“I want to play with meerkats!” Zara exclaimed just as I cleared my throat to make my presence known.
“What’s going on?”
“Mammy,” Zara smiled as she turned to me. She jumped off the stool and came to give me a hug. “I asked Daddy if we could surprise you with your favourite for dinner, and he agreed. We went shopping and everything.”
“Well, that was very thoughtful,” I said, my gaze seeking Jace’s. He shot me an apologetic look, clearly understanding that I wasn’t ready to see him again so soon after the confession he’d made at lunch. But I knew what Zara was like. Sometimes when she got an idea in her head, it was impossible to deny her. She returned to her stool, where it appeared she’d been doing homework.
“Let me get that for you.”
Suddenly, Jace was behind me, and the warmth of his chest brushed against my back as his hands settled on my shoulders, sliding under the coat to lift it off. I could feel the subtle pressure of his fingers, the heat of his touch seeping through the fabric, and a small shiver ran up my spine. Meanwhile, Zara was absorbed in her homework, leaving us in a quiet, charged moment where his presence was impossible to ignore.