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“I do.” I looked at her levelly. “Iknowit’s going to happen.”
She met my gaze. “Jenny, I see the way Cole is with you.Ithink he’s in love with you.”
“I thought he was, too,” I said, returning to my reflection and fluffing my hair. “But it must have just been that thing with his balls. I do it exactly the way he likes.”
I smiled at Audrey in the mirror. “I’m not even mad at him, though. He’s great. I’m mad atme. I think I got too inspired by my own pep talk. I’m the one who started hoping—and that was a dumb fucking move. If I hadn’t hoped, I’d be psyched that I was getting a South End condo and a Range Rover. Now all I’m doing is crying.” I blew my nose.
“You should give him a chance,” she said. “See what he has to say for himself.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said and gave my hair one final fluff. “In the meantime, I need some liquid courage to keep up with these people. Rich people sure drink a lot, huh?”
We headed back to the restaurant. Unfortunately, Celia Preston waited in the hallway. Celia was an attractive woman, well-preserved by facial fillers, plastic surgery, and what Iassumed was the ice running through her veins. But the constant sneer on her face contorted her good looks, twisting her.
I shivered, remembering what Celia had said about James’s dead girlfriend.You dodged a bullet. Who said shit like that?
“May I have a word with you, Audrey?” Celia asked. She looked at me pointedly. “Alone?”
“Of course, Mrs. Preston,” Audrey mumbled.
Despite Celia’s warning glare, I didn’t budge from Audrey’s side. “You okay?” I asked her, keeping my voice low.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered. “I hope.”
“If you don’t come back in five minutes, I’ll be back with reinforcements.” I squeezed her hand and then headed back to the restaurant.
“Where’s Audrey?” James asked as I sat down.
“She’s talking to your mom.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“If she’s not back in five minutes, let’s go get her,” I said.
“Deal.” James sat, shoulders tensed, as he watched the door.
We didn’t have to wait long—Audrey and Celia returned, taking their respective seats without a word. But Audrey looked pale, her mouth set in a grim line. James leaned over and talked to her, and then they got up to leave.
“She’s not feeling well,” he explained.
“I bet.” I watched as Audrey straightened her shoulders and left the restaurant, head held high. My friend had been through a lot in her life. Whatever the hell Celia Preston had just said to her, Audrey had most likely been through worse.
I hoped.
“Everything okay?” Cole asked me.
Celia Preston watched me from the head of the table. Her icy, shrewd gaze missed nothing.
“I hope so,” I said.
COLE
The next morning,Jenny was in the shower, singing an upbeat Taylor Swift song. I took it as a good sign. We’d enjoyed the rest of the day yesterday. Jenny had still seemed slightly off, but she was mostly fine.
Until we’d gone to bed that night. She hadn’t been one hundred percent her usual self. We’d made love. I’d still orgasmed, she’d still orgasmed, but… She hadn’t done that thing with my balls. And shealwaysdid it. She knew I loved it. Maybe she just wanted to mix things up…?
But if it wasn’t broke, why fix it?Our sex made me feel that I was correct, that Jenny was not being herself.
Still, as the new day dawned, I felt less worried about my sack and more optimistic about our proposed arrangement. The fact that she was singing a happy pop song helped. Not to mention that a South End condo and a Range Rover were objectively a pretty sweet deal. Not that I cared about the material components—I cared aboutherand keeping her safe. Our tentative agreement would do that and more.