Page 41 of Love Puck

“Good, we’ll follow you.” The cameras would still see us—but there was no audio out there.

We walked to the iron gate, and I held it open for her. Wyatt walked through and I closed it up tight.

“What do you want to talk about?” Jillian asked quietly as she gazed at me from under her long eyelashes.

Fuck me.

She was so beautiful.

“Where’s your car?” I asked unnecessarily just to fill time until we got to her vehicle.

“Uh, over here.” She pointed, and I nodded. We were quiet until we got to her car. She opened the locks.

Then I took a deep breath. “I need you to lay off with the help.”

She peered down at the ground and then up at me. “What?”

I stared into her beautiful eyes—the eyes I’d been so sure I’d be staring into for the rest of my life. “With Wyatt. You’re doing too much.”

Her head tilted to the side slightly and the soft look on her face fell right off. “You said you wanted help.”

I clamped my lips together and shook my head. “No, you volunteered. And honestly, I thought you meant taking him on a walk now and then. But it’s every fuckin’ day, Jillian. If you’re not coming over, you’re texting me. If you’re not texting me, you’re calling me. It’s just too much.” My throat suddenly felt as dry as the cement we were standing on. I swallowed but it took some effort.

Her spine straightened. “I thought that’s what friends did.” The sharp edge to her voice cut me—and it hurt. I’d disappointed her.

And because I still loved the woman standing right in front of me—I never wanted to disappoint her.

But I had to start thinking about myself. “We aren’t friends, Jillian. We’re pretending to be friends for the fucking team. And for the cameras that are zooming in on us as we speak.”

Her body actually moved backward after I said that. “You can be a real asshole, Cash. Did you know that?”

I grinned at her and placed my hand on the handle of the backdoor. “Whatever you say—” I opened the door for her, “friend.”

She glared at me and ducked into her backseat. Then she quickly reemerged with a large—dog bed in her hands. “Well, I guess I won’t be needing this anymore. Here,” she shoved it against my chest, “consider it a gift.”

And with that, she stormed off. Leaving me and Wyatt in her wake.

10

Cash

“Why do I feel so nervous?” Beau asked as he walked down the stairs from his place. Book club was at Jillian’s. And I didn’t want to walk in by myself.

“Maybe because you didn’t read the fuckin’ book?” I replied and shook my head.

He brushed me off. “Whatever.” He grabbed the leash from me. “You gave me the gist of what the book’s about. I can bullshit my way out of it.”

I held in my laugh and shrugged my shoulders. “Hey, it’s your funeral, man.”

A few steps later, we were at Jillian’s. Beau knocked at the door, and it quickly opened for us. “Hi,” Jillian said with a smile on her face. “Welcome to book club, gentlemen.” She waved her arm and stepped back and let us in.

Even though Jillian smiled at me, I could tell it definitely wasn’t a real smile. When Jillian gave me a genuine grin—I felt it right in my chest.

This smile felt like she wanted to stab me with something—right in my chest.

And part of me wanted her to do exactly that.

Which was stupid.

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