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“What shall I wear this time?” Cari eyes me like the devil she is as she peels more of the banana.
Fuck. Me. “Come just as you are.” My eyes lock onto her mouth and the bite she’s about to take.
“I might wear a dress,” she says. “A red dress, maybe.”
Why does it feel like this whole thing has backfired on me?
Chapter 29
CARI
He hurt me. My conversation with Jett last night unraveled me and sent me into a tailspin as I rushed away.
He told me things that sounded so believable, but made me second guess myself. I remember the way he touched me. The way I touched him. We sat so close together, talked so intimately, our legs intwined in one another’s.
Last night was real.
He told me he'd been thinking of me in ways he shouldn’t have for the longest time. In the moment, it sounded like he was telling the truth, but he blows hot and cold, and now I’m not so sure.
That night was simultaneously the most wonderful thing to happen to me and the worst. I wanted to believe I could have my own fairytale, even if it was just for a night. But a part of me now wonders if Jett is playing with me.
I tell myself I don't care, because I'm leaving. I can do this. I can have some fun, but not if it’s for just a moment or a night, because I give my heart.
And I can’t give my heart to Jett Knight. He’d likely chew it up and spit it out when he’s finished with me.
He’s lonely, and probably frustrated. I doubt he goes without sex for more than a few days. This must be torture for him, being stuck out here with me and Brooke, and no hot girlfriend to wine and dine or shower with gifts.
The man has been commanding and dominating and a brute. He says he has feelings for me. But does he?
After the incredible, surreal, stuff-of-my-fantasies proximity we shared, just when I gave him permission to touch me, he said I needed to leave before he did something he regretted.
He played with my mind and my body. His soft touches—stroking my thighs, turning me on, cupping my face, touching my lip—it comes as easily as breathing to him.
The man is a seasoned player.
Of course he is.
He's had more lovers in a year than I’ve had in my entire life. ?Rory was my longest relationship—lasting all of one year and two months. Before that, there were two others. Short-lived, six-month relationships.
I'm not a virgin, but I'm also not in Jett's league. With him being a decade older, he’s so much more experienced than I am. It turns me on as much as it makes me anxious. He knows how to make a woman feel. Sitting so close to him, with our legs entwined, he strummed my body so perfectly that I was willing to let him do anything. He could have played me any which way he wanted, and I would have let him.
But instead, he sees me as something he’d regret, and that hurts as much as being dismissed.
Men are so weak and pathetic sometimes. I remember Aunt Scarlett and my mom saying that about them, and ?I have to agree.
It took all my resolve and every ounce of courage I could find to come down for breakfast. Jett should have been at work, but apparently he’s taken the day off. I was tempted to hide away from him, but why should I?
I won’t allow him to make me feel bad.
He was uneasy during breakfast. He looked sheepish, too. I felt like I had the upper hand, like I did last night in the bar until he dismissed me.
My stomach twisted in knots as I walked in for breakfast, but Brooke’s cheery, chirpy manner put me at ease. My confidence vanished when her father said we had to go to someone’s house later this evening. I feel like he made it up when he discovered my plans with Jacques.
Apparently, Brooke wanted to go to the Blue Lagoon, but thankfully Jett persuaded her to do something else. He whisked her away to watch a film, and she was so happy that she didn’t even remember to ask if I could tag along.
I am so relieved. I wouldn’t be surprised if he suggested it so that he wouldn’t have to spend the day with me. I don’t want to spend the day with him, or the evening at this so-called party. It’ll be filled with obnoxious rich people, so I’ll just focus on Brooke.
I would have given up my evening with friends for her, if it were true, but I made it up on the spot. After last night, I wanted to see if it would make Jett jealous. I think I did. I can read him just as well as he claims he can read me, and I know he didn’t like the idea of me meeting Jacques and the others. He’s jealous over the idea of me being interested in another guy.