Page 14 of Faking It with my Billionaire Grump

He lifts his gaze and looks at me openly. “Sure. Where’re you headed?”

I was waiting for this question, and given that the town is so small and I hate lying, I already knew I was just going to come straight out with it. They’ll find out one way or another, anyway.

“I’m going to see Jake,” I say.

Mom nearly chokes on her tea, and Dad can only gaze at me, his bagel frozen halfway to his mouth. Then Mom and Dad share a glance.

“We need to clear the air,” I say. Which isn’t a complete lie, but it’s not the only reason I need to see him.

“Alright,” Dad says, clearly shocked.

Ten minutes after leaving Mom and Dad’s house, I turn onto the long track that leads down to Jake’s ranch. It’s bizarre,really. Ten years ago, I would have traveled this track every day, sometimes twice a day. It was my second home. Now, I feel like I’m an intruder.

The group of birch trees finally thin, and I can’t help but gasp as the property comes into full view. The house hasn’t changed, but there are at least three more large buildings that weren’t there before, not to mention the sprawling land that goes back as far as the eye can see.

I take it slow as I reach the house. My stomach is in knots again, knowing what I have to do next, but I don’t have a choice.

And yes, I do feel guilty using one ex to get rid of another. In fact, I have concluded that I’m an awful person. But then, I concluded that a long time ago. What I did to Jake was bad, and clearly, he has never forgiven me.

Tentatively, I open the truck door and step out onto the dirt. I’m just about to slam it closed when I catch something from the corner of my eye. It’s moving fast, and suddenly, this huge German shepherd comes lunging toward me, barking like crazy, its teeth bared and clearly not impressed with my arrival.

“Oh, my Lord,” I squeal, grabbing hold of the door and launching myself in a most unladylike fashion back into the truck.

The dog is bouncing back and forth outside the door, barking like its life depends on it. Under the circumstances, I think it’s fair to say that I’m in far more danger.

I hear a sharp whistle then, and spinning to look, I see Jake standing there with his hands on his hips. He looks surprised to see me—no shock there. But the crazy dog stops immediately and scurries off to his side, sitting beside him obediently.

Jake and I stare at each other for a whole minute, and then he says. “Are you coming out or what?”

“With that thing on the loose?” I yell back. “Not a chance.”

He shakes his head. “She won’t hurt you.”

“Right,” I reply, completely unconvinced.

He shrugs. “Up to you.” Then he turns and walks away, the dog following obediently at his heel.

He disappears around the corner, leaving me with a decision to make. I can sit in the truck all day, or I can get out and do what I came here to do.

Nervously, I open the truck door again, my eyes scanning back and forth, waiting for that beast to come flying around the corner. I’m not scared of dogs, but then, that thing looks like it could eat me whole. After a minute, it’s obvious the dog isn’t coming back, so I head in the direction I saw Jake go.

At the back of the house, he’s brushing down a beautiful brown horse, and at my approach, the dog turns and growls.

“Sit,” Jake orders.

The dog sits immediately, and then Jake turns to me. “So, what are you doing here?”

6

Jake

She’s standing there, lookingterrified, but I can’t tell if it’s because of Elsa or something else. I don’t know what she’s doing here, but I have an inkling it has something to do with her offer of coffee yesterday afternoon. Something I still haven’t gotten my head around.

“That’s a beautiful horse,” she says, completely ignoring my question.

I can hear the nervousness in her voice, and I’m confused. For a start, Tilly isn’t a nervous person. She was always forthright and knew just what she wanted. Besides that, the way she’s spoken to me in our last two encounters tells me that she hasn’t lost any of that feistiness I used to love about her.

“Yes, he is. But that doesn’t answer my question. What are you doing here, Tilly?”

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