Page 59 of Kissing Chaos
“Yes, I knew. You can fuss at me later.”
Glancing back at the girls, I say, “You mean my best friend is a badass athletic instructor and no one bothered to tell me?”
“She is. Youneedto look up one of the workouts,” Kelsey gushes. I’ve never seen the girl so out of sorts, and it is honestly amusing. McKenna’s cheeks are taking on a pink hue as mortification eases into embarrassment.
“It’s not exactly mainstream. And, clearly, I don’t advertise to people I know.”
Before I can question her for more details, Drew walks up. It’s good to see him out of his braces and not looking like he’s in pain.
“Hey, Jett? Some dude is asking for you. I didn’t tell him where you were, but he seemed adamant that he talks to you. Said he stopped by your brother’s house and was told you’d be here. I tried to call Reece to confirm, but he isn’t answering. He’s up at the ranch’s booth,” he says before turning and walking back to the middle of the town square where all the tents for Spring Market are set up.
I share glances with the girls. There’s only one guy who would come looking for me. I try to pick through the crowd, suddenly wanting Noah close but unable to see him.
“Joey?” McKenna asks.
“Gotta be, right? Anyone see where Noah went?”
Kelsey suddenly looks ready to attack. “Wait. The cheating ex is here? Where? Let me at him!”
Despite the growing knot in my stomach, I find a smidge of amusement in the enthusiasm of my pint-sized friend. “If someone sees Noah, can you send him searching for me, please?”
With that, I wander toward Drew’s booth. As I round the corner of the tent, my feet cement themselves to the ground,breath catching completely in my chest. Because I come face-to-face with an impeccably dressed man who so clearly does not belong in Havenwood.
“Joey.”
The protective walls around my heart and mind that had been slowly crumbling since moving here immediately snap back into place as if there had never been any give in their structure.
Because the person responsible for the creation of those walls is standing before me.
As he always did, Joey reads my face before I utter a word. His hands come up defensively, as if ready to block a blow. “Before you walk away—which you have every right to do—your brother is the one that told me I could find you here.”
I am going to strangle Reece. I’m sure there’s plenty of baling twine around here. Maybe Drew will help me. I force a breath of air into my lungs and count to five before breathing out and demanding my body not react. Emotions have left the building, y’all.
“Why are you here, Joey?”
“Can we possibly go sit and talk? Away from prying ears?”
I cut my eyes to where he is looking and see both Flynn brothers watching intently from a fairly short distance away. And for once, I’m thankful for small town gossip. Hopefully someone will send Noah this direction soon.
“The whole town will know anything we say by the end of the night. It’s how this place works.”
“Illusion, Jett. Please, can we talk somewhere quieter?”
A weighted sigh slips out, but I lead Joey off the square, heading toward the back entrance of the café while keeping quiet the whole walk over. Once we are inside and the door is firmly closed, I lean against it.
“What the hell are you doing here, Joey?” I demand, emotions I’d rather not have surface bubbling toward the top. I’ve just started getting into the swing of things with Noah. I do not need this right now.
Joey at least has the decency to look sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck without looking at me for a minute or two. “You told me to give you some time, but I wanted—no,needed—to check on you. Your call a few weeks ago had me worried. And then you wouldn’t answer my texts or calls, so I reached out to your brother instead. He said if I wanted to apologize, I could come here, but that if I wanted anything else that I wasn’t welcome in Havenwood, ever.” He shakes his head. “I know I hurt you. And I’m sorry. I miss you, Jett.”
“You don’t get that luxury. Or burden, I guess. Depends on how you look at it.”
A slight tick in his jaw is the only indication of his irritation. “We spent years loving each other. I didn’t just quit caring about you.”
“And you threw it away. Regardless of where we were in our relationship, whether it was falling apart or already over. You cheated on me in my own home.”
He nods. “And I will never be able to apologize enough for not telling you when I first I realized what I was feeling for Ella.”
I hop onto the counter, my back firmly pressed to the cabinet door. “I want to hate you.”
