Page 32 of Peacocks

My stomach roiled. What the hell did Jay think now that he’d met the unfeeling ass I’d spent a chunk of my life with? He must have lost all respect for me over the past hour, and who could blame him? Certainly not me.

I was furious with Chad for being an unfeeling, embarrassing asshole but even more furious at myself for allowing him to ruin my lunch with Jay.

I’d had a plan, damn it.

I’d told Jaycasualafter our first hookup because once I’d let down my guard and started believing all his acts of kindnesswere sincere, I’d been scared as fuck of just how much I liked him… and how badly I wanted him.

But from the first night, there’d been nothing truly casual about us.

The more time I spent with Jay, the more I wanted to spend. There hadn’t been many nights I hadn’t wanted to be with him, regardless of whether we hooked up or not.

Jay was just…good. And he was so much more than that. Sexy, funny, clever, energetic, empathetic, generous. Most of all, he was kind. The world needed more people like Jaybird Proud.Ineeded more of him.

And I’d set out to tell him exactly that by arranging a special meal at the Thicket’s known “couples” restaurant—a lunch, since the Steak n’ Bait’s dinner reservations at this time of year were gobbled up months in advance—and specifically ordering theirTot-ally Tied Together Entwinin’ Platter.

It was the kind of cheesy gesture that Thicketeers let themselves enjoy without shame, and while the old me might have scoffed, the new Lane—the one who freaking loved this town and all its sentimentality—was totally here for it.

What better way to ask Jay to make our not-casual-ness official than by doing it in a time-honored Thicket tradition, right?

And then fucking Chad had shown up.

Chad pulled into the handicapped spot in front of the clinic door and turned toward me. “You didn’t used to be this stubborn, Lane. I don’t know how to make you see reason. What do you want from me?”

I laughed, though inside, I was raging. He’d shown up out of the blue without warning, acted like one of the greatest men I’d ever known was nothing but a splotch of mud on his shoe, and now he was acting like I was the unreasonable one?

I knew exactly what I wanted from him. “We’re done, Chad. We’re not friends, and if I didn’t make this clear earlier, I already have a job I love. Please go be happy. Have a wonderful life. I truly want that for you. But don’t mess with mine ever again.”

I opened the car door and got out. Without a backward glance, I strode into the clinic.

Myclinic.

The veterinary practice I enjoyed running with Alva, where I was proud of the work I was doing, and I was happier than I’d even realized.

When I stepped inside, Pete stopped what he was doing. “Omigosh, tell me everything. Did you really date that guy? Was that a wedding ring on his finger? Think he’s in an open marriage? Think he’d be interested in a younger, slightly vertically challenged…” He frowned. “Wait, where’s Jay?”

I lowered my voice and kept my eyes on Pete. “Is Chad gone?”

Pete craned his neck to see. “Yeah. He’s gone.”

I blew out a long breath. “Good riddance. I doubt he’ll be back, but stay away from him. He’s mean as fuck.”

“Shit.” Pete blinked. “Why’d you date him, then? Wait, don’t answer that. He probably has other assets that made up for it, right?” He bounced his eyebrows. “I’ll let a guy be a little mean if he’s good at what he…does.”

“He’snotgood at what he does,” I said with a laugh. “He’s average at what he does, and it’s not worth putting up with his bullshit. He’s a bunch of advanced degrees in a trench coat, pretending to be a human.”

Pete nodded. “Wow.”

“I’m genuinely embarrassed that I used to date him. If you’d heard the shit he said to Jay, how gross and insulting he was…” I shook my head and pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes until I saw starbursts behind my lids. “What a clusterfuck.”

Pete came around the counter, locked the front door, then guided me back to the break room. “Mrs. Newman canceled. She said Sassafrass ‘isn’t in the mood’ to be placed in her kitty carrier, which means there’s nothing on the schedule for the rest of the day.” He pushed me into a plastic chair and took the one beside me. “So tell me everything.”

I opened my mouth to prevaricate, feeling a resurgence of the awkwardness I’d felt when I first moved here. I hadn’t been used to opening up to people and trusting that they wouldn’t use it against me.

But Jay had taught me differently, and I realized I was done denying my feelings for him.

Slowly, I explained the whole tale to Pete, starting with Jay’s incredible acts of service, then our “casual” hookups that had quickly turned into more.

“Hunter explained the whole concept of tater-tots-as-a-symbol-of-commitment to me a few weeks ago, so I made reservations at the Steak n’ Bait for me and Jay. I was going to tell him… I was going to see if…”

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