Page 79 of Let Me Say It Again

Jade:Can’t you be normal?

Reddington:Define normal.

Jade:The opposite of your natural state.

Reddington:Why can’t you just say you want to go out with me?

* * *

Jade

Screw.

Him.

I was going to say no such thing. That would have been a lie, and I tried to tell tall tales as infrequently as possible.

Perhaps he should talk to my sisters. They obviously wanted this bad enough. Maybe they’d give him what he wanted.

Meanwhile, in all the back-and-forth with Red, our food had come to the table and mine was getting cold. Asshole that he was had me eating cold food. Obviously, nothing good came from putting time and effort into a relationship, especially with persistent, obnoxious, and controlling men like Red.

I wasn’t texting him back. I had nothing to say.

I put my phone down and leaned forward, picking up my fork, ready to dig in. I was starving. “I tried it, but it’s not going to work,” I shared with my sisters.

They all gasped, their eyes homing in on me. “What, why?” Perla asked, speaking up first. “What did you say?”

“Yeah, maybe you came on too strong,” Bianca added.

Maria shook her head, swallowing a bite of her food. “No, I know Red. He’s not one to scare off easily. He’s”—she rolled her lips and her eyes simultaneously—“intense.”

I exhaled. Here we go again. “He’s insistent, that’s what he is,” I clarified.

“It’ll happen, sweetie,” Perla said, giving me a comforting smile.

Yeah, that really wasn’t necessary. I wasn’t torn up about not going out with Red. Frankly, I was happy about the whole thing.

Then why was there a pit in my stomach that made eating what was in front of me seem like the very last thing I wanted to do?

It was official. Red had spoiled my appetite. Couldn’t the ass just go on a date with me? Why did he have to make things so complicated?

Chapter Thirty

Jade

What was thatsaying? Another day, another dollar. Yeah, it felt fitting today. The past few days actually. Work was overrated. Seriously.

Working with family even more so.

I was supposed to go out with Jake, but I didn’t have the energy. Thankfully, he understood.

See, getting dinner and drinks with my sisters had been fun, but then we’d proceeded to spend the next few days working way too closely together (minus Bianca) for my liking. Apparently, that was what happened when we got close to closing out an issue.

Yippee for me, something to regularly look forward to.

Let me explain something to you—closeness was only good for spreading germs to people you didn’t like. And don’t even ask, I was so not a hug person. Ever heard of personal space?

Anyway, today was the worst. I’d spent all day in various meetings with other editors, designers, and my sisters, who I loved, but they didn’t shut up.

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