Page 99 of Fairy Tale Lies
She turned from the window.
All this time she’d been pining after him like a fool, thinking they’d had something unbreakable. Meanwhile, he’d moved on. Heck, maybe he’d been waiting, biding his time, needing an excuse to leave her without guilt and go after Macy.
Fine. She’d do the same.
Greta opened her car door and slid back inside, out of Jacob’s life for good.
~ * ~
Jacob glanced at the front window; the sensation of being watched crawled along his spine. The street was busy, but his gaze targeted a woman getting in a car the same color as Greta’s. He shot across the room and outside.
He wasn’t fast enough. By time he reached the sidewalk, the Audi was turning the corner, obscuring the driver.
Staring down the street, he rubbed his sternum, trying to ease the spreading ache. Exhaling, he dropped his hand and went back inside.
His mind was playing tricks on him, which was all. He should be used to it. Since they split, Greta was everywhere, both in his dreams and during his waking hours.
But he had to face facts. She was gone. She’d disappeared forever from his life.
After talking with Will, Jacob understood he’d fucked up. They’d both made mistakes, but he was the dumb ass who walked away. The need to fix things between them had become an obsession.
He tried calling her cell and found the number disconnected, making him wonder if she’d done it so he couldn’t contact her. He hadn’t been willing to quit. One desperate night he drove to Lansing, only to discover her apartment vacant. He tried Susan and Miguel’s place. They hadn’t been home. He tried calling them. They didn’t answer or call back. That hurt. He considered them friends.
After those fails, he contemplated visiting Swift but decided against it. Greta despised having her personal life mixed with her professional.
In the end, his obsession turned to defeat.
Time to face facts—Greta didn’t want to be found. She’d vanished without a trace, and he was left holding her ghost.
His gaze fell on the sign she had given him, and the memory of their Christmas together slammed into him like a linebacker. Hurt just as much.
He traced the metal lettering. At least there was Rework. Clients and his new side business of finding, fixing, and selling antiques at the shop kept him busy. Work was the only time the enormous hole in his heart eased a little.
He glanced at Macy. She’d been in the middle of telling him something before he ran outside.
She was watching him intently.
Always watching.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, placing a hand on his bicep.
Always watching. Always touching.
“Nothing. Get back to work.” He gave her his back, staring out the window. The glimpse of the woman outside rattled him, and he tired of Macy’s constant touches and flirting.
Back when she contacted him, he thought she was a godsend. She’d called hiring him to fix her mother’s Crosley turntable. While they talked, Macy mentioned she’d moved to the Metro Detroit area and was applying for office assistant jobs. Desperate for a receptionist, he asked her to send her resume.
Running both a large shop and the front office was difficult and a time suck. He was drowning. He’d hired a guy who specialized in motors to help in the back. However, finding a good office assistant had proven more difficult.
After reading Macy’s credentials, he offered her a job. She accepted, and he’d naively believed his work-related problems were solved.
It took less than a week to understand he’d fucked up. Royally. He couldn’t fault Macy’s work. She was competent as hell. The problem was her personality.
She wanted to be more than his employee and wasn’t shy about letting him know. He wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to find her naked and lying naked across his workstation. Hell, she’d basically stated she was game if he was.
In his darker moments, he’d almost accepted her offer. Not from any real desire, more from desperation and knowing it would sever what small chance he had with Greta. She’d never take him back if he slept with Macy. Maybe then, he could move on if he was certain he couldn’t have Greta.
In the end, he couldn’t do it. Deep down he understood it’d take more than screwing a pretty woman to get Greta out of his system. Plus, he was never a man to use women. No matter how much they didn’t mind being used.
