Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Oh goodness, now what?
“Mentioned you?” I ask, hoping that playing stupid works in my favor.
“He and I dated for a while in college.”
My mouth drops open.
She’s the “cut her losses because he worked too much” girl. Oh, Lord.
“I only bring it up, because I don’t want things to be any more awkward than they already are.”
“Oh.” I wave out my hand. “This is not awkward at all. Not even a little. At least, not for me. I mean, if you’re the one who’s slept with both Jace and Brice, I’m sure that’s totally weird for you, being around them both.” I close my eyes and beg myself to shut up. “I’m sorry,” I whisper when I can finally meet her gaze. “I’ve always had a horrible habit of rambling when I’m uncomfortable.”
As she stares at me unblinking, I shift on the balls of my feet. I thought I was uncomfortable before, but now I know what that word really means.
I’m so going to kick Jace in the shin for this. He should have told me that his ex-girlfriend was here and that she married his twin brother and had a kid with him.
Okay, first, I might give him a hug, because even thinking about him watching his brother marry the woman he was probably in love with causes unwanted sympathy for the man to hit me right in the chest. That had to suck big-time.
“It is weird,” she says quietly, finally breaking the silence, and my body deflates like a balloon. “I had no idea I would end up falling in love with Brice. It just kind of happened.” I watch her draw in a deep breath. “I’m glad Jace has you now, and I really do hope the two of you are happy.”
“Thank you,” I say, because what the hell am I supposed to say? Jace hired me to be his fake fiancée, because he doesn’t want another serious relationship and he’s still obsessed with work. Oh, and we just met a few days ago. “I’m gonna go outside for a bit,” I tell her, and she nods.
Taking my plate, including a new sandwich, with me, I walk out the back door, then down the stairs to the yard. Spotting a dock that leads out into the water, where there is a boathouse attached, I walk to the end of it and take a seat, resting my plate on my lap. As I take in the view and eat my lunch, my mind constantly travels back to Jace and why I’m here.
Did he really want me around to keep his mom off his back, or is it too difficult for him to be around Haylee and his brother, alone and without a distraction? I imagine it is. Then again, what the hell do I know? I hardly know the guy, and I definitely don’t know the kind of relationship he and Haylee had. I know he said she cut her losses because he worked all the time, but he obviously let her go, so did she even mean that much to him?
Really, I don’t need to know the answers to those questions.
I’m only here to help Jace and to make fifty thousand dollars so I can take my mom to Paris and pay off her bills and a few of my own.
Jace Ellis’s emotional wellbeing is not my concern.
Right?
Right.
But heck if I don’t know if I’m lying to myself.
Chapter 9
Clue
With the house quiet when I go back inside after I’ve eaten, I grab my phone from my purse and take it with me to the deck. On the screen, there are about a dozen missed calls from Christy, including a few texts. A rock settles in the pit of my stomach as I open up the messages from her. Each letter is capitalized, letting me know she’s yelling at me, and all of them are asking if I’ve lost my mind.
Not wanting anyone to overhear the conversation I need to have with her, I take my phone with me down to the dock and dial her number as I stare at the house above me. That way, I won’t get caught off-guard if someone does come outside.
“Please tell me that Jace was just messing with me and that you are not currently wearing a ring he gave you and about to spend the week with him and his family!” Christy yells into my ear as soon as she picks up.
“Well…” I wrap my arm around my middle. “What happened was—”
“He offered you money,” she cuts me off. “I got that much from the message he left me at five this morning. A message I didn’t get until after one, because I stupidly thought he wanted something for work, and I do not work on Saturdays, so I ignored it. I had no idea he was calling to tell me that he was taking one of my best friends out of the state and forcing her to pretend to be his fiancée.”