Page 47 of Love Medley
I immediately flush. Did I actually say that out loud?
Jake’s Adam’s apple bobs up and down his throat as he swallows.
“Okay.” His voice comes out as a rasp.
Before I can make much sense of my roiling feelings, we run into Isabelle outside of the ballroom. She’s wearing a long, satin royal blue dress with a high neckline and three-quarter sleeves and funky glasses. Iz looks beautiful as she always does, but I wonder why she always feels the need to cover up so much skin when she’s out in public. She clearly has a rocking body, and I wish she’d show it off once in a while with something better suited to her curves.
“Hey y’all, you look great!” Iz gushes, giving me a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek, distracting me out of my thoughts.
She immediately clocks our clasped hands and grins as my face burns. “Hi Jake, I’m Isabelle.”
Jake shakes Isabelle’s hand. “Niceto meet you.”
“Ready to enter this wolves’ den?” Iz asks. “Holler if you need any backup. I’m sure I’ll be bored to tears talking to some random doctor that Daddy wants to introduce me to.”
Oh. Maybe she had a reason for her outfit after all. I know all too well about using clothes as a buffer.
“Thanks, Iz,” I say, grateful. “I really appreciate it.”
“Always,” she says, her brown eyes warm. “See you later.” She gives me a not-so-subtle wink as she walks off.
“She seems sweet,” Jake says as I hand him his ticket.
“Very,” I say. “Maybe we can hang out more later.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
After checking into the event, Jake and I stroll into the ballroom. The place is covered with white elegant long tables with nice table settings. Almost immediately, I feel Jake tense.
“What is it?” I whisper.
The conflict is clear in his eyes. “Sterling is here…with Sam.”
Chapter sixteen
Jake
In hindsight, it should have occurred to me that Sterling might be here, especially given how well-known he is in the medical community. I also should have considered that Sterling and Sam might attend this particular event together.
But I was zeroed in on helping Lucy with Weston, not on how I might run into people I knew.
“Oh no, Jake,” Lucy says, a look of dismay crossing her face. “This never crossed my mind as a possibility.”
“You aren’t the only one,” I saygrimly.
Lucy squeezes my hand as if to remind me she's there. As if I could forget.
I sigh. “This doesn’t change anything. We’re here to make sure that Weston believes you're completely over him, so hopefully he’ll back off.”
There's something in her eyes that I can’t quite decipher. She says, “Well, actually, maybe this isn’t a bad thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“This way we can kill two birds with one stone,” she says, eyes flicking away. “If we can convince SamandWeston that we’re together, then we'll both reach our objectives.”
Inwardly, I groan, simultaneously noticing Lucy seems distracted. Well, I guess that would make sense—this situation would unnerve most people. But I really don’t want to parade Lucy in front of Sterling and Sam. That said, I’m not sure how I could dodge them at this point.
“Okay,” I say aloud, even while my insides are twisting.
