Page 72 of From the Moment We Met

But despite knowing the identity of the man holding her flush against his body, she wasn't going to allow his advances. She struggled to escape his grasp, but his grip only tightened.

"Let me go, Jacob."

"Give me thirty seconds, Lilly,” Jacob pleaded, his usually confident voice shaking with emotion. "I'm so sorry. Please angel, say something.”

Lilly wanted to hurl insults or throw something at him, but instead, she did the one thing she didn't want to do—she cried. "Why, Jacob? Why did you say all those things—"

"Because I meant them, dammit!" His voice was a fierce whisper in her ear. "I meant every bloody word that I said to you."

"Liar,” Lilly hissed.

"Never. Never where you're concerned. I meant everything I said to you. Even the things I told you when you were sleeping in my arms. Especially those things.”

Lilly’s breath caught—what had he said? Her mind told her not to care, to blow it off, but her heart demanded more information. “What did you say?”

His lips pressed against her neck. “Your heart knows what I said…and I meant it. I mean it.”

She shouldn’t believe him, but she did. Stupid love, stupid heart. "She requested I stay away from you, that you need to focus on your priorities—"

"That bitch—"

"I agreed."

"What?"

Lilly turned in his arms, reaching past him and fumbling on the light. "You need to focus on your priorities."

“Lilly, my priorities have changed.”

And with that final falsehood, Lilly was able to don her emotional armor. She’d heard enough crap from both of them. They deserved each other, and she would keep telling her heart that until the stupid organ believed her.

“Clearly, they haven’t. You and Victoria make sense. I don’t know what illusion I was living under thinking that we had a future.”

“I want us to have a future—”

“In between dates with your other girlfriends? I told you already, that’s not my scene, and fuck you for letting me believe it wasn’t yours.” Jacob opened his mouth to speak but Lilly wasn’t finished. “It's funny, looking at you now. I can't remember why I ever wanted to make you mine."

Her words hit him like a train, and he took a step back, shaking his head, his jaw clenched.

The distance opened up a space for her slip past him. She was too good to hide in the close. Any man worth her time would show her off, not hide her away. "Goodbye Jacob."

She stormed out the front door, ignoring his pleas to return, so angry she opted to forget about dinner, marching instead to the coat check.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Jacob no more than ten feet away, his eyes speaking volumes, begging her to talk to him. But just as she felt her resistance waning, Victoria sidled up to him, shooting Lilly a look of pure venom.

This was ridiculous. It was time to go. Turning around, Lilly took a deep breath and walked out of the restaurant. Jacob didn't deserve her tears.

Lilly left the restaurant and called Sabina. "Are you up for a drink?"

"You're done with dinner? That was one quick meal. Did you have time to chew?"

"They're still eating. I left."

"What the hell happened?" Sabina puzzled.

"Jacob fucking Edmonton happened.”

“Oh boy, this sounds interesting.”

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