Page 273 of Billionaire Temptations

Chapter Thirty-Four

Jackson

As I was preparing for my meeting, my phone rang, and it was Jules.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hey. I just got off the phone with Mom, and she wants us to come over for dinner on Saturday night. Just the two of us.”

“I’m seeing Emily Saturday night, so no.”

“She needs to talk to us.”

“I don’t care what she needs. I have plans, and I’m not canceling them.”

“Carter and I had plans too. It’s our only night off together this week.”

“Okay. Then the four of us will show, and after we leave there, we’ll go do something.”

“Do you think she’ll mind? She said she only wanted the two of us.”

“I really don’t give a damn if she minds or not. It’s the four of us or nothing. In fact, tell her we’ll be there but don’t tell her that Emily and Carter are coming.”

“Oh, my God. She’ll be mad.” She laughed.

“And? She has spent her whole life making us mad. Maybe it’s our turn now.”

“Brilliant. I’ll give her a call. Talk to you soon.”

Emily

After Katie and Evelyn left, I sat down on the couch and wrapped myself in a blanket. I didn’t know what to do next, and I didn’t know how to feel. But the one thing I did know was how much I needed Jackson. Evelyn and Katie told me it was okay to need him as much as I did because he was more to me than just a companion, and no matter how many times I fought myself, at the end of the day, I was in love with him. He completed my life, and now that I knew my mother said all those things only to protect her heart, it all came full circle. Jackson Caine was a man that, for the first time in my life, I loved. Was it scary to admit that? Yes, of course, it was because for so long, I didn’t believe I could love any man. I’d kept myself closely guarded because of the pain I always saw in my mother’s eyes—the pain that resided in her each time she had to let a man walk out of her life. I remember that night when I was thirteen years old after she ended things with Gerald because he told her that he loved her. The sadness in her eyes when she was sitting on the edge of my bed told me that she was afraid to love him back.

As I was pondering my thoughts, my phone rang, and Jackson was calling.

“Hello,” I softly answered.

“Hi, beautiful. What are you doing right now?”

“Not much. Just sitting on the couch and thinking.”

Suddenly, I heard my door unlock and when it opened, Jackson was standing there with his phone to his ear.

“Mind if I join you?” He smiled.

“Not at all.” I grinned.

He walked over, sat next to me, wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me into him.

“How are you doing?” he asked as he kissed the top of my head.

“I’m okay.”

“Just okay?” He pulled back and looked at me.

“Actually, I’m really tired. It’s been a hell of a day.”

“Then let’s go to bed.”

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