Page 71 of Jilted

My jaw clenched. I wanted to tell her I didn’t need her advice, but I also couldn’t bring myself to stop her from talking, because I was equally curious.

She turned to face me directly. “I saw the way you look at him.”

“And how is that?”

“Like he’s the catch that he is. Let’s face it, the man is the full package.” A dirty grin crossed her face. “And bonus—he has avery full package.”

I wanted to come across as cool and collected, but my skin betrayed me. I felt heat rise from my neck to the top of my head.

The woman’s eyes gleamed when she saw my face. “Oh my. You’ve got it bad, and you haven’t even fucked him yet.”

I turned off the water and reached for a paper towel. “Does this conversation have a point?”

“I’m only trying to save you some heartache. Wilder is an easy man to fall for. He’s handsome, rich, intelligent, and the best lay I’ve ever had. But he’s also emotionally unavailable.”

It felt like steam might billow from my nose and ears, I was so angry. “Did you ever think that maybe the reason he wasn’t emotionally available is becauseyouwere just an easy lay?”

“And you think he wants something more from you?”

I dried my hands and tossed the paper into the garbage. “I don’t know. But where did he go as soon as he could get away from you?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. At least I’d landed one punch. I straightened my spine, pretended to fluff my hair in the mirror, and walked out without giving her the satisfaction of looking back. Though underneath all the strut and confidence, I felt myself crumbling. I just wanted to go home—not even back to my beautiful hotel, but home to New York.

Elijah was at our table when I returned.

“Do you think we can get out of here early?” I asked.

“Are you okay?”

I didn’t want to get into it now, so I lied. “I feel a headache coming on.”

“I’m supposed to get photos of the giant cake, remember? It’s like six feet tall or something.”

Shoot. I’d forgotten about that. Some famous cake decorator in London had spent days making it, and we’d planned to include it with our spread.

Elijah stood. “You go. Take the car home. I’ll get an Uber or something.”

I wasn’t sure if Ubers were even a thing this far out in the countryside. Plus, this was part of my job, and Elijah and I were a team. I wasn’t going to leave him high and dry.

I shook my head. “It’s fine. I’ll just take a few aspirin and get some fresh air.”

“You sure?”

I forced a smile. “Positive.”

I disappeared outside for a while, taking a walk along the beautiful tree-lined grounds while I went over the mess tonight had become. I’d been jealous. That’s how it had started. I wasn’t unattractive. In fact, I could confidently say I was pretty. But there was a mile between me and that bitch from the ladies’ room, at least on the outside. She’d made me feel small, and in turn I’d lashed out at Wilder, who hadn’t done anything wrong other than dance with a woman he clearly—by the way he’d held on to me—hadn’t wanted to dance with. I hadn’t wanted him to see that I was insecure, so I’d pretended it hadn’t bothered me, that we were nothing to each other. Which, deep down, I knew was crap.

I walked for the better part of an hour, until my feet started hurting in my heels. While the time alone had brought me clarity, and I could see that I’d acted immaturely, it was also a stark reminder that I wouldn’t do well in Wilder’s world. Imagine if we took things further and the newspapers ran pictures of him with a pretty fan while I was a continent away? I couldn’t imagine how many opportunities theman had thrown at him each week. I’d be sitting home, questioning what he was doing, while he traveled the world, and that wouldn’t be fair to either of us.

I didn’t want to miss the cake cutting, so it was time to go back inside. Elijah was waiting out front when I walked back to the door.

“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you. Are you okay?”

I smiled. “Yeah, I feel better. Sorry to make you worry.”

He slung his arm around my shoulder. “They’re going to do the cake soon. Then we can get out of here.”

“Okay, great.”

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