Page 11

11

SKYE

I fidget awkwardly with the handle of my coveted backpack. The one I now know Jacob bought for me.

Everything makes sense now.

This whole time it was really Jacob who was behind Owen’s thoughtful gifts.

I was right all along. Owen didn’t care for me the way I craved.

Leaning against the wall, Jacob continues to tap away on his phone, like he has done all day, every day since the night in the hot tub, trying to avoid the elephant in the room.

That elephant is me… well, us.

It’s been strained all week. We’ve filled awkward moments discussing projects and nothing more. I miss Jacob, my friend and confidant.

Barely sleeping a wink since our first night here, I’m so exhausted and every client interaction has required a hundred and ten percent of my attention.

All I want to do is go home so I can at least get away from Jacob for just a minute to wallow in the unfairness of us. If I’m this stressed and unhappy, then I can’t imagine what it must feel like for him: loving me from afar for all these years and having to watch me with his best friend.

That word. Love. It feels like a knife to my heart every time I think about his words.

He tipped my world upside down when he said it, and I’m not sure how things will ever feel normal again.

“Would it be easier for us if I left Baxter and Bain, Jacob?” I blurt. I think it’s the only solution.

“No.” His attention is still locked firmly on his phone.

“We can’t keep going like this.”

“Stop talking.”

“Austin, and his partner, Topher, our new clients, offered me an in-house branding position. They are considering setting up a new team,” I confess.

That gets his attention. “You are not leaving Baxter and Bain. We’ve already discussed this, and I made my feelings very clear.”

I don’t look his way. “They offered me a great package. Health, resettlement, rent for a year, I get to recruit my own team. Seven weeks’ vacation and an assistant.” I finally throw him a glance.

He looks like an angry bull about to charge the red flag. “Topher only wants to sleep with you.”

I roll my eyes. “They asked me to be a surrogate for them too,” I say cooly.

“What the fuck?” Heat bounces off him. Face reddened, veins pulsing in his neck, he’s about to blow.

“They are together together, Jacob. They are partners in every way.”

Ding. The elevator alerts us to our destination, and the metal doors glide open.

“You are not taking that job and you are not agreeing to be a fucking surrogate mom for two people you barely know.” He bangs the side of the elevator with his clenched fist as his anger spirals out of control, making me glad there is no one to witness his outburst.

“Forget I said anything,” I mutter, stepping into our suite.

He’s hot on my heels. “Forget?” He charges after me. “What the fuck, Skye?”

I swing back around, throwing my backpack onto the sofa. “Oh, so you do remember my name?”

“Don’t,” he fires out, his voice sounding strained.

“Don’t what?”

“Just. Don’t do this.”

“So, should I continue to pretend you’re invisible? Like I am to you now? One minute you confess loving me, then the next you’re ignoring me.”

He storms across the room, rubbing his buzz cut back and forth frantically.

“Well, now you know how it feels,” he spits out bitterly. “I’ve been doing it for years. I’ve always been invisible to you. I watched on while you kissed him. Held his hand. Paraded around like you two were fucking couple goals when really it was a complete sham.” He holds his stomach as if that very thought makes him want to vomit. “I watched him take advantage of your innocence and sweet nature. I sat on the sidelines listening to him talk about how he had you wrapped around his little finger. Watched him leave you at parties like you didn’t matter and ogle other women when he had the most perfect fucking woman to go home with. It made me sick to my stomach. I fucking hate how he treated you.”

He pulls his black overcoat off with force and flings it across the chair. “So, yes, Skye, I will continue to act like none of it matters to me because that’s my default setting I’ve become oh so familiar with. You can’t expect me to change a habit I’ve been perfecting for fourteen years because you’ve decided to open your eyes and see what’s been happening in front of you for all that time.”

He storms across to the bar, pours himself a large scotch, and downs the two inches of the amber liquid.

I jump when he slams the thick-bottomed glass against the black marble counter. Laying his hands on top of the bar, he dips his head.

I’ve never seen him so angry and all I want to do is soothe him.

“I feel like I’ve caused you so much pain. I didn’t know, Jay. I promise you, I didn’t. I would never want to hurt you. Ever.” My voice is laced with so much remorse and I move closer to the bar, needing to be closer to him.

He lifts his head. With his jaw tense, I hear him grinding his teeth together as he glares at me.

“I’m so sorry,” I apologize, wanting to help stop the hurt I can see etched onto his face.

He closes his eyes, hunching his shoulders as he breathes deeply.

Oh God, I feel like I’m going to cry. Seeing him look so dejected physically hurts.

Standing on the other side of the bar, I lay my hand over his. “Would it make you feel better if I told you that I see you now, Jacob? I see all of you. I can’t stop thinking about you and my heart hurts from how consumed I feel with the idea of you.” I pause to let my words sink in, but he doesn’t respond. Respecting his need for space, I turn and walk away, twisting to look back at him as I reach the doorway. “I know what the tattoo on your back symbolizes. I can’t believe you did that for me but I like that I’m etched into your skin. It’s like I can’t touch you because of your pact with Owen, but a part of me is carved into you for a lifetime.”