Page 8 of Unrealistic Expectations

“I don’t think so.”

Jessica gave him the side-eye and ordered a drink from the bartender. It was almost closing time, but Jessica was pretty, and Galvin had noticed the bartender noticing her. Galvin said, “Put it on my tab.”

“It’s diabolical if she wasn’t telling the truth.” Jessica smirked, and it made Galvin want to kiss her. He knew it wasn’t the right moment, and he was pretty sure there wouldn’t be a right moment.

Yet, he was still incorrigible enough to say, “I’d love the opportunity to prove my innocence to you.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Jessica rolled her eyes at Galvin. “You might be flirting with me, but you don’t mean anything by it. You probably flirt just as easily as you breathe. You probably get out of parking tickets using the same line.” She wouldn’t let him turn her head. It wouldn’t be sensible to flirt back. God knew she could use the practice now that she’d have to date again, but Galvin Baker wasn’t an amateur flirt. He was professional level.

Instead of doing what her traitorous hormones were telling her to do—flirt with him, kiss him, bring him home and fuck him just to prove that she was still desirable—she waved a hand at him and said, “I’m not sure why it matters. It’s not like everyone in the world follows Kennedy... or would believe her.”

“Kennedy has half a billion followers on Instagram,” he said. He drank the last of his bourbon and waved the bartender over. “Two more.”

“I really shouldn’t have another drink. I might do something dumb and let you try to clear your name with my vagina.” The fact that those words had just come out of Jessica’s mouth was a sure sign that she’d exceeded her limit. And the fact that she’d been dumped and had a book published in the span of forty-eight hours certainly did not help. She was losing her grip on her words, and actions would follow if she had another drink and spent any more time with Galvin.

“Oh no. These are for me. Keep me company, though, will you?” Galvin looked at her, and she was certain that his gaze should be classified as a weapon. He’d never looked at her like that in college, and for that she was incredibly grateful. Because—deep inside—there was a part of her that would have done anything for someone who looked at her as though he wanted nothing more in life than to kiss her. As though she was the only woman he could see.

She knew that it wasn’t real. He couldn’t see her. They barely knew each other. It was just hormones cascading through her mind and body that made her want to touch him. That was a warning sign, the biggest red flag.

Her nervous system was already completely fucked up from the highs and lows of the past two days. She was tired and a little bit tipsy. Seeing Galvin had brought on a wave of nostalgia for a time when the biggest life issue was picking a graduate program and not whether she would die alone. Going from life being full of opportunity and possibility to having the life she wanted disappear without warning.

Spending time with Galvin Baker was maybe the dumbest thing she could do with her night. She was too vulnerable to not fall for whatever he wanted to tell her. She wasn’t sure she would believe Kennedy Mower’s claims about Galvin’s prowess in the bedroom. It was possible that he was great at getting women into bed but terrible at getting them off, but Jessica had a feeling that he knew what the fuck he was about. Jessica was more likely to believe that Galvin had broken Kennedy’s heart, and she’d struck out in a way that would really hurt him.

Galvin was probably only flirting with Jessica because he was feeling unmoored. The last thing he needed was her flirting back. She’d be a better friend to him if she put up a boundary right here and right now.

“I’m not going to leave you alone right now, but I’m also not going to fuck you,” Jessica said. It was firm. It was emphatic. Galvin busted out laughing.

“I’ve never been turned down so hard before, and women have been turning me down for months. You’re killing me.” He put his hand on his chest, and Jessica noticed how nice his hands were. They were big, and the way his veins marked his skin made her want to reach out and touch him. She’d never been hit this hard by raw lust before, and it simultaneously made her want to run away and lean into him. “Are you usually this harsh with your patients?”

Jessica shook off her thoughts, hoping to turn them around to something helpful for him and not destructive for her. “I’m harsh, but fair.” When he didn’t say anything and continued looking at her like he could see every bit of every thought and feeling she’d ever had, she said, “I just think that you seem like the kind of person who needs people to make firm boundaries. You’re so charismatic that people end up doing what you want and then resenting you for it. I think that’s probably what happened with Kennedy.

“You were probably perfectly clear that you didn’t want anything serious with her, but she probably didn’t hear that because of the way you make people feel.”

“How do I make people feel?” The little smirk on his face told her that he knew exactly what kind of influence he had over people.

“Your attention is on me right now, and I can’t keep track of my thoughts.” Jessica didn’t mean to say that, but it was out now. She shook her head. “You know you’re attractive.”

He took a few moments to answer. The bartender brought over his bourbons, and Jessica grabbed one. She’d already said too much. Her buzz was wearing off, and a little light sedation was in order.

“I have a question for you, Jessica.”

“What?” Jessica didn’t know what he was going to ask but knew that it wasn’t likely to be very appropriate.

“Do you know how attractive you are?”

Jessica didn’t often think about her own appearance. She liked what she saw in the mirror well enough, but she didn’t want to spend her life preoccupied with her looks the way her mother had been. But now that she thought about it, she’d modified the way she dressed and did her hair because of things that Luke had said over the years.

“That’s a shallow question,” she said. Galvin scowled at her response, which made Jessica feel defensive. “It’s not what really matters in the long run. Beauty fades and getting caught up in it is one sure way to make it fade faster.”

“What about enjoying the moment?” Galvin asked. He leaned back and looked her up and down. She felt like there was a heater inside her abdomen that flushed her whole body.

“I’m more interested in a life I look back on and feel proud of.” She’d never lived for the present moment. And she’d seen what living for the present moment had done for her mother and some of her clients. “And I’m not the one crying into my whiskey.”

“No, you’re watching me cry into my whiskey, which seems worse.”

Jessica laughed ruefully. “Well, my ex-boyfriend moved out of our place without any warning yesterday, so you might have a point.”

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