Page 66 of Wine and Research
“That’s crazy,” Jenna said.
“Oh.” Elle blinked, then introduced them.
Jenna cleared her throat. “Nice to meet you. If you’ll excuse me, I have some…uh…office things to do in my office. I’ll leave you two to talk.”
He laughed, a nice deep laugh. “That’s not necessary. I have to meet Ben.”
“And I need to get going too.” Because she wasn’t sure she could handle another shock today.
Callum held the door open for her, so she waved to Jenna and walked outside.
“I’m going to be here a few days,” he said. “Can we get together for coffee?”
She wanted to, but really wasn’t sure if she would even be here a few days.
“Is tomorrow morning good?” he asked. “At the resort chocolate shop, around ten? I was told they serve the best coffee.”
What were the chances they’d run into each other here, of all places? Was this fate again?
“Sure, and they do,” she replied, deciding to roll with the punches again.
“Great.” He pulled her in for another hug. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
She nodded and drew back…right as a squad car drove slowly by with Jeremy at the wheel.
Chapter Twenty
The next morning, Jeremy dragged his sorry, aching ass to the resort for his lake jog with Nico and Scott, who was free to join them. After a helluva day yesterday, and getting stuck pulling a second shift, his intention of meeting up with Elle to finish their talk last night had bitten the dust.
Maybe it was for the better, his mind suggested.
After seeing her in the arms of that rugged dude in front of Jenna’s shop, he wasn’t even sure he was going to call her today.
They looked way too familiar with each other. Had she been hooking up with the guy on Jeremy’s workdays?
His gut tightened at that thought.
The guy wasn’t a local, but then again, neither was Elle.
Although, he’d hoped…
Clenching his jaw, he picked up his pace. Fresh air and a brisk jog might clear his head. But three-quarters of the way into his second lap, Jeremy realized it wasn’t working. His mind was still full of Elle, confused, angry, concerned. Why wouldn’t she open up and let him in? His heart ached for her losses, it really did, but he couldn’t understand why she’d never mentioned her brother or her marriage.
Maybe if you’d opened up to her…his conscience piped up.
Jeremy slowed down and eventually stopped when he reached the bench near the dock. He didn’t have another lap in him. His spirit was willing, but his body said, “Hell no.”
It was well after midnight before he’d dropped onto his mattress last night, but sleep hadn’t come for hours. Even when it had, it was fitful.
A tumult of emotions had coursed through him then and continued now. He fished water from his backpack on the bench,then sucked it down. A sense of betrayal gnawed at him, leaving him questioning the trust he had placed in her. Naomi’s betrayal hadn’t even hurt this badly, and she’d written about the calls he was on without his fucking consent…then Dear John’d him on deployment.
If Elle had kept her brother and ex-husband a secret, how many more did she have?
Pain gripped Jeremy’s heart, manifesting as a heavy ache that weighed him down. And just who the hell was that guy outside Jenna’s shop?
He crushed his empty bottle and tossed it in the nearby recycle bin while he watched his buddies round the bend. But he wasn’t really paying attention to them. Confusion clouded his thoughts as he struggled to comprehend how someone he thought cared about him could so easily turn to another man.
“What bee flew up your ass, Mercer?” Nico asked, panting as he came to a stop by the bench, with Scott on his heels.
