Page 80 of XO

“How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to see you drop your gear in front of me.”

The nerve. “I didn’t intentionally do that. I didn’t know you were here.”

“Intentional or not, I’m certainly not complaining.”

Even under the glow of the moonlight, I feel my cheeks color.

“I’m sorry, I’ll leave you alone.” I turn to remove myself from this potentially hazardous situation, but he stops me.

“No, stay,” Jacob says, wrapping a hand around my waist. I’m mid-step when he pulls me in close, and for some reason, I don’t fight it. Now with two hands resting on my hips, my stomach pressing against his, I grow lightheaded, my breath faltering as he stares deeply into my eyes.

We haven’t been this close in over ten years, yet it feels ridiculously normal.

And ridiculously, tantalizingly illicit.

Swallowing hard, I break the silence with a barely-there whisper. “What are you doing?”

“Doing what I should have done the moment you came back into my life.” Cupping my face, Jacob spins me until it’s my back is against the pool’s edge, my body trapped between it and Jacob’s glorious muscles. His lips crash to mine claiming my mouth with an urgency I find both a wicked turn-on and truly, inescapably frightening. I kiss him back with the same ferocity, my hands resting on his hard chest as he holds me close.

An involuntary groan escapes me and while my head is telling me to run—or in this case, swim—away, my body wants so, so, so much more. And when Jacob gently bites my bottom lip, I’m thankful for his thigh that slides neatly between my legs holding me in place. And just when I think I should be the responsible one and pull away, Jacob does it for me. His lips pull from mine, his hands fall away from my face, and he leaves me standing on my own two feet as he slowly distances himself from me. Except this doesn’t strike me as ‘responsible.’ It’s a profound regret. And as he turns his back on me while fleeing to the other side of the pool where he makes his escape, Jacob Lynch has successfully suckered me in, only to once again, tear my heart to shreds.

~

The night is long and painful.

Feeling my lips still tingling from his kiss and knowing he’s a mere few feet across the hall regretting his actions, leaves me both devastated and furious.How can he be so reckless with my heart after hurting me so badly last time?Taunting thoughts run circles in my mind.Has Vicki gotten to him like she has with me?The power of suggestion has a lot to answer for, and she’s queen at dropping both subtle and subtle-as-a-sledgehammer type suggestions.Does Jacob feel like he owes me that kiss after leaving so abruptly ten years ago?Is that hisgoodbyekiss?

The sun rises in a spectacular fashion casting thick splashes of red and orange across the sky, yet I’m in no mood to appreciate it. The only thing I have to be thankful for is that today will be spent separated from the boys until the rehearsal dinner tonight. Then, after a day of prepping emotionally, I will have to deal with having to hook arms with Jacob as he walks me down the aisle.

And then it’s goodbye.

For good.

Applying some light makeup, I join the others for the first round of beauty treatments out by the pool. A row of massage tables line the pool’s edge, their operators waiting patiently for us to get organized. It could be a while. Bloody Mary’s seem to be running on tap as the girls swap notes from the evening before. Despite how I feel, I smile as Katy recounts how Peter busted into her room last night, wearing a leopard-print G-string—because he’d seen her ‘immensely’ enjoying the stripper so much last week, he thought she would appreciate it—only to be rejected because she was too grossed out. When she said she wasn’t in the mood, Katy kicked Peter out and ended up taking care of herself. Peter, with supersonic hearing heard the vibrator from next door and has since refused to speak with her.

During the story, I notice Vicki’s coy smile as she fights to capture my attention. Her behavior is strange, but what’s even stranger is that she doesn’t seem at all bothered whipping off her bikini top in front of everyone, including that of two male masseuses.

“Jesus, Vicki! At least wait until you’re about to lay on the table. What if Jase saw you parading those balloons around in front of other men?”

She shrugs her shoulders, still with a strange smile of her face. “He’d probably enjoy a little bit of jealousy.”

“I don’t think you’re talking about the right Jase. And why are you smiling like that?”

Vicki swirls the celery around her Bloody Mary. “I saw you last night.”

“I saw you, too.”

“No… Isawyou.” She winks, and I freeze.

“You didn’t see anything,” I warn.

Vicki points to the second floor above us. “I can see everything that happens out here. And that includes you and Jacob last night.”

I grab her arm and pull her aside. “Don’t bring this up. It’s not what you think.”

She wiggles her brows. “Oh, I think it is. Don’t be embarrassed, Rosie. That man is a stud. Be loud and proud. Otherwise, I’m serious when I say any one of these hoes here will jump on him soon if you’re not careful.” This time she wiggles her curvy hips. “Including me.”

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