Page 51 of Let Me Say It Again

“Would you like to tell the story?” I asked and waited a beat before going on. “He did not propose. He broke up with me.”

“And that hurt you.”

“Maybe, but I’m a tough cookie.” I shook my head, my eyes remaining fixed in front of us as I thought back to that day. “No, the real dagger to the heart was what he told me when he broke up with me.”

I glanced over and immediately connected with Red’s eyes. When had he begun staring at me? “What did he say?”

“Your brother should give motivational speeches.”

He ground his teeth, his jaw twitching uncontrollably. “Jade, tell me what he said.”

“Pass on go?” It came out as more of a question because I knew I’d started this and him wanting me to finish made sense. “Honestly, it doesn’t make a difference, because now it’s what fuels me. It motivates me in a way.”

“Yeah, everything that happens in our lives makes us the people we are today. I’ve read greeting cards and shit. Now tell me what that fucking jackass said.”

“He’s your brother,” I responded, my eyes flickering between his that were ablaze with a fire I’d never seen burn in them before.

His nostrils flared. “He’s still a fucking jackass.”

“I don’t belong. Not with him. Not with anyone like him. I’d been kidding myself, and he’d fallen down the rabbit hole with me, too, to think that I could ever belong.”

His hand curled into a fist on my back before he removed it, clutching the railing so tight his knuckles were turning white. “I’m going to kill him.”

Whoa, I couldn’t tell you the reaction I was expecting from him, but that was not it. I leaned over and brushed a kiss on his cheek.

He blinked, looking over at me and making him loosen his grip. His expression softened as well. “What was that for?”

I choked, swatting his bicep, his incredibly hard bicep. “Perception is everything. You looked angry, and I couldn’t let you ruin the façade we’ve been working so hard to keep up.”

“Of course.” Shaking his head, he turned around, crossed his arms, and leaned against the railing. Seemed dangerous, but okay. If the ferry made a turn or sped up, and he suddenly fell over, then where would I stand as his fiancée?

Chapter Nineteen

Reddington

“It looks herelike your room is ready,” the front desk attendant confirmed, her eyes scanning the screen of the computer.

Jade bounced on her heels beside me. “Good. I can get out of these clothes, take a shower, and hopefully wash that entire journey from both my body and memory.”

Classic Jade. She got deep for one second, and suddenly it was the worst experience of her life.

What she didn’t know was there was no fucking way I was going to let her go. This may have been fake, but as far as I was concerned, she deserved to be with a real man. And a real man didn’t make a woman feel small or like they weren’t worthy. I knew Nate, so I could say this—he was projecting.

Bottom line: Jade belonged with me.

The woman passed our keys to us. “We’re here if something comes up, and you may need our service. Simply use the phone in your room and—”

“Jade, my dear.” I didn’t need to turn around to know who that voice that belonged to. Sherrilyn. “Red, you’ve both made it.”

I wasn’t sure if Jade knew I caught it, but she rolled her eyes, exhaled, and then turned around with a fake as fuck smile plastered on her pretty face. “Sherrilyn,” she gushed with a little too much enthusiasm if you asked me. They were basically strangers.

Not far behind was Mark, his sandals clacking on the hardwood floors. He was dragging sand in with him, so based onthat and the cover-up Sherrilyn was wearing, I’d guess they just came from the beach.

I’d ask Jade if she wanted to walk on the beach, but unless she would be able to bury my head in the sand, I doubted she’d be interested. “It’s nice to see you both.” I snaked my arm around Jade’s waist, pulling her close.

Mark came up to his wife and placed a hand on her back, grinning from ear to ear. “How was the trip?”

Jade took her hat off and held it in front of her, smiling. “Does it matter? It’s not about the trip, but the people you share it with.” Leaning into me, she placed a hand on my chest, her other hand holding the hat at her side. “And I got to spend it with my favorite person, so the trip was beautiful.”

---