Page 46

Jade

When the movie credits rolled across the screen, I tossed a handful of popcorn at it. “Boo!” I shouted, finding it hard to believe that people actually enjoyed romantic comedies like this.

It was obviously fictional.

In real life, there was no way the man would come crawling back to the woman, asking for forgiveness or insisting they couldn’t live without them.

The only two things a man would struggle to live without are a maternal figure and their dick.

After all, they used their junk to make all the decisions for them.

Stupid, idiotic decisions that only led to more horrible stupid, idiotic decisions that ultimately hurt everyone but them because they were selfish fuck faces.

Take Red, for instance, he’d acted like a schmuck and signed me up to be his fake fiancée.

A fake engagement? Really? Now that was straight out of a romantic comedy blockbuster movie.

The trailer would have been enticing, but the ending for our movie would have been crap.

Crap, I said!

“Whoa, popcorn on the floor?” Maria asked, stepping over Bianca and Allie on the floor and going to sit on the couch next to Perla now that she was back from the bathroom.

Meanwhile, I was comfortably seated on the chair, a near-empty tub of popcorn and chocolate-covered raisins beside me. What? I knew how these sleepovers went by now. “Sorry, Maria, that was me,” I replied, owning up to throwing food on her beautiful carpet.

Maria leaned over and patted my arm. “That’s okay, sweetie. I know you didn’t mean it. You’re just angry.”

Allie got up and shut off the television, the ridiculously upbeat and romantic song no longer pumping through my ears and making me want to put my fist through a wall.

Who wrote these movies anyway? Everyone who was fortunate enough to actually end up in a loving and committed relationship. That was who.

But what about the people who were meant to be alone? To die alone?

Depressing? Yeah, well, so was my life.

“So, what are you going to do?” Bianca asked, shifting her legs under her and staring at me.

I shrugged and peered down at the ring on my finger. “I don’t know,” I answered, sadness evident in my voice. “How do I give back the ring? How do I walk away from all of this?”

It was funny, but I never imagined it could be like this.

That a man could make me so incredibly happy.

That he could take me for exactly who I was and accept me.

Red didn’t want to change me. He didn’t see me as a problem, someone who could ruin his perfect little life.

He’d never treated me like I didn’t belong. Like I didn’t belong with him.

I swallowed, getting in front of any emotion I felt was about to creep up in my throat, hindering my ability to speak.

“I don’t know if there’s such a thing as soulmates.

What I do know is that if there is, if it’s all not a load of malarkey—and seeing how happy you all are, I believe it can’t be—then I don’t know how to walk away from someone I think might be mine. ”

Perla’s eyes began to tear, and she sniffled.

Maria passed her a tissue, and Perla thanked her.

“You’ve never sounded like this before,” Allie said, wrapping her arms around her knees. “You have it bad.”

Bianca chuckled, shaking her head. “Why don’t you just tell him this?”

Because it wasn’t that easy. And maybe, just maybe, I was afraid of rejection.

Oh, damn it, I had a weakness. I was afraid Red would reject me.

“He’s not Nate,” Maria said, her eyes falling on me. “You know that.”

Of course I knew that, but it was complicated. Maria of all people should have understood where I was coming from.

I moved the food to the table and cracked my neck. “I appreciate you guys. I appreciate this sleepover. And I love that we have this. But I already know what I have to do.” I stood up and stretched my back, reaching for the ceiling. “And I’m going to do it.”

“Aren’t you going to at least see how he feels?” Bianca asked, quirking a brow as she looked up at me.

I shook my head, comfortable—as comfortable as I could have been—with my decision. The longer I sat in my sadness, the longer I was going to be sad. This had to end. I wasn’t this girl. I didn’t mope. I moved the hell on.

Sure, I liked Red, but it would pass, just as everything else did.

“I already moved my stuff out of his place, so he, no doubt, got the message loud and clear. I don’t want him to feel like he has to let me down easy, like I’m some fragile little girl.”

Maria nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

“This is what I want,” I said, trying to convince them as much as myself.

* * *

Reddington

This was not what I fucking wanted.

I sat on the guest bed and stared into the empty walk-in closet I’d left open after searching for evidence that Jade had, in fact, not left.

Update: she did. Which you probably already knew.

Scrubbing a hand over the five o’clock shadow on my face, I sat with my thoughts, trying to figure out what my next move was.

I sure as shit wasn’t going to let Jade walk away from this.

Although, she would never come back willingly. Unless it was to give back the ring. Fucking stubborn pain in my ass, she was.

It was true, I no longer needed a fake fiancée, but that didn’t by any means equate to me not needing Jade in my life. Because I did.

Remember how I prided myself on not being a fool? Well, only a fool would let Jade go. Let her walk away and not put up a fight. Which was precisely why that wasn’t happening in any version of this story.

If I told her that this had become real for me and that I wanted to be with her, she would have run for the hills. She was scared of this, of what we’d created together, I knew she was.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I contemplated whether I should text or call her. If I called her, would she even pick up? A text was easier. She could still ignore it, but at least I would’ve said what I had to say, and she could figure out what she wanted to do from there.

Reddington: I want to be with you, Jade. You’re it for me.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to tease you. I wasn’t saying that, so I deleted it as quickly as I typed it.

This was Jade we were talking about. I needed to say something that was going to fire her up, something that would make her want to respond. Not run in the opposite direction.

Reddington: You still wearing your ring?

That one I sent.

I leaned my elbows on my knees, calling forward the image of her standing beside me, her back going rigid, her body growing tense, and her smile wobbly as Mark had approached us.

She had known that he’d overheard, but it wasn’t about getting caught that upset her.

No, I knew my girl, and what bothered her was that she thought that meant she’d lost the potential for an investment for my company.

She cared.

It didn’t matter what lies she wanted to feed herself. She cared a lot.

Probably more than she cared to admit.

Finally, three dots appeared.

I silently prayed they disappeared because that meant she was overthinking things for my benefit.

Not a good thing, of course, but a good sign because it meant she didn’t want this to be over.

She wanted what I wanted but was too afraid to speak up.

Go figure, because she never had a problem saying what was on her mind before, but with this she decided to shut the fuck up.

Jade: Don’t worry, I didn’t pawn it. When do you want me to drop it off?

She couldn’t honestly think I gave a shit about the ring. The only thing I cared about was that it stayed on her finger where it belonged. As for her dropping it off, I think we both knew she didn’t need to do that, which meant she wanted to see me. I could work with this.

Reddington: Stop by whenever you want.