Page 20 of Inked Persuasion

“It’s not Denver.”

“No, it’s not. But it’s my hometown and the place I’m living for the time being. Maybe forever,” I added when her eyes brightened at the phrasetime being.

“Well, let me take you out for that coffee.”

“I’m busy, Susan. Why did you drive up here? It’s over an hour out of your way.”

She waved her hand. “I have business in Cheyenne tomorrow. A potential story. I decided to visit here first. See what you were up to.”

“And you’re staying the night in Cheyenne?” I asked.

“Bob has a hotel for us.”

“You and Bob still seeing each other, then?” I asked, not sure why I even brought it up.

She gave me a look that spoke volumes. “No, but we still work together. There are two rooms in that hotel, thank you very much. However, I’m sure I could arrange to stay here for the night if you were accommodating.”

I gritted my teeth. “No. There’s no room at the inn for you, Susan.”

“Pity.” She let out a breath and looked up at me with wide eyes. I used to love staring into those eyes, the jade green color so intoxicating.

Now, I only saw all the lies.

“I am sorry,” she whispered.

“You said it before.”

“Well, I am. And maybe one day you’ll believe me. I’m glad that you’re here, settling down. Finding peace. You’ve needed it.”

“Susan,” I warned.

She held up a hand and shook her head. “I know. Can’t touch the heart that is Jacob Queen. That was always the problem.”

“We both know that wasn’t the only problem.”

“Perhaps. However, I am glad you’re here. But I miss you.”

I shook my head as warning bells sounded in my brain. “Okay, go get in the car and drive up with Bob to Cheyenne. You probably left him out there, didn’t you?”

“He has an audiobook. And the man is monotonous. Not Bob,” she said as my lips quirked. “The narrator. He has no inflection, but Bob’s happy with it, so I’m dealing with it. However, I wanted to see you.”

“You came, you saw, now it’s time for you to go.”

She looked at me then, studied my face and shrugged. “Be safe, Jacob.”

And then my ex-wife walked out of my office. I let my head fall back. Today was a shitty day already, and, honestly, I only had myself to blame for the choices I’d made that led me to this point.

“That seemed fast enough. I didn’t have to get you out for a meeting,” Seressia said, and I growled.

“We’re all out at six. I don’t care what we’re working on. We’ll come back to it tomorrow. I’m pretty sure I’m going to need a drink, and me thinking about it here isn’t going to cut it.”

Seressia grinned as Dustin and Lucas laughed behind her. “You’ve got it, boss.”

They left my office, and I went back to work, trying my best to focus on what I needed to do, rather than the outside world continually trying to drag me back in.

I didn’t love Susan anymore. I hadn’t for a long time. We’d been married for all of two years, and she’d cheated on me in the end. She and Bob had been happy for a split second, though apparently, they weren’t anymore.

Susan had once called me too raw, too angry at life. Said she needed normalcy. Fort Collins would be too ordinary for her. I didn’t know why she had come here, other than to disrupt my life because she didn’t know how to settle herself. Either way, we were two flames that burned too brightly near each other. We didn’t need to be in the same room anymore.

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