Page 45

I look directly at him and take a steadying breath. “Am I the only person you’re seeing right now?”

Jax squeezes my hand in his, regarding me with those gorgeous big brown eyes of his. “I don’t give just anyone the key to my place. Okay? I never thought I’d see you again, and then there you were. Out of nowhere. When I needed you most. I only have eyes for you.”

I smile fully now, calmed by his words and ready to put all of this behind me. Ellie was right. How could Jax and Matt be the same person? They’re nothing alike. I’m embarrassed I even brought it up. The whole thing is absurd. Preposterous. I can’t wait to tell Ellie tomorrow that this was all just a weird misunderstanding. She and Matt can go on with their whirlwind fairy-tale romance, and Jax and I can continue making up for what we missed out on all those years ago.

I’m so relieved. Jax is an honest person, the perfect mix of rough and soft, a dom with a sweet side, he’s a—

“You know,” Jax says, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a smile. “I must have been a pretty good person in my past life for karma to bring you my way.”

Lying scumbag!

I swallow back a sudden wave of nausea and force a smile to my face. “Yeah. Same. Okay, well, I have to... go.”

He frowns. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I need to leave. My parents, you know, expecting me.” I shift off the barstool, nearly tripping on my own feet.

“Okay. I’ll see you later?”

I back away from the bar, shaking. “Sure will. Yep.”

“All right. Have a great night.”

Turning on my heel, I walk away as fast as possible. Outside, I gasp in the fresh air, swallowing lungfuls while simultaneously being unable to catch my breath.

He used the exact same line on me that he used on Ellie, and his delivery was so smooth it didn’t even faze him. How many women has he used that line on? How many women is he playing at the same time? I can’t believe I was dumb enough to be fooled by the biggest playboy in all of Chilliwack. He played me like I was still a naive, starry-eyed teenager. Like I haven’t learned anything since high school. I thought things would be different now that we’re adults, but I should have known better. Sometimes people change, and sometimes they don’t.

I’ll be okay once my bruised ego recovers; Jax isn’t the first asshole to lie to me. If anything, he’s just given me about ten more reasons to avoid dating the opposite sex.

There’s no way Ellie could have known; she really caught feelings for this cheating sonofabitch. He lied to her outright, his intent so unbelievably malicious.

She deserves better than this. We both do. Every woman does.

I have to tell her tomorrow.

Until then, though, I have no other option but to do what I’ve been dreading ever since arriving back in Chilliwack.

With shaking fingers, and doing my best to hold back angry tears, I pick up my phone and dial my mom. It rings once, and—

A hand grabs my shoulder. I twist around with a shocked gasp as the old man from the bar reaches for me. I pull my fist back to punch the creep in the face.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he cries in a high-pitched voice, raising his hands in defence.

I hesitate, my fist clenched, ready to swing.That voice.“Wait, are you...?”

The old man lowers his sunglasses. “It’s me. Ellie.”

Recognition snaps into place and I lower my hand, my fear replaced by confusion. “Ellie? What the... What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like an old biker?”

“Hello? Mariah? Are you there?”

I hold my phone to my ear. “Uh, yeah. Sorry, the director just walked up, can I call you back in a minute?” I hang up before Mom can respond.

Ellie’s shoulders sag. “I’m sorry. I had to see for myself.” She raises a hand quickly. “Not that I don’t trust you, I just...”

“I get it. I’d have had to see it for myself, too.”

Ellie sighs, blowing her moustache away from her mouth. “Do you want to come back to my place so we can talk about this?”