The Lover’s Secret (No Exceptions #1)(32)
Author: J.C. Reed

“Do you remember last year?” Her voice dropped so low I could barely discern the words. “You and me?”

She and him?

What the f**k was that supposed to mean?

My blood began to boil as a pang of jealousy hit me with full force.

This was no mere acquaintance. It didn’t exactly take a genius to figure that one out.

“Don’t tell me you never miss it, Jett,” she continued.

My pulse raced faster as I watched Jett’s reaction. Regarding her with an unreadable expression, he was his usual composed self. Seconds passed by. I bit my lip hard, wishing he’d say something—anything that would give away his true thoughts.

A shrill yelp, followed by female laughter, echoed from my right, startling me. The bachelorette party was slowly coming into full swing. I wished they would just shut up, but my unspoken plea came too late. The woman turned her head in reaction to the drunken squeals, and for a split second, I thought my heart would burst.

I knew that woman.

Oh my God.

I knew her.

Chapter 20

“Oh shit,” I murmured under my breath. My hand pressed against my mouth as shock registered in my brain.

It was Tiffany, the girlfriend of one of Jett’s friends.

What the hell was Jett doing with her here?

After Nate’s attack on me, Jett and I moved to live with Jett’s former friends in an effort to ascertain there was always someone around to keep an eye on me, and keep me safe. Brian, being Jett’s oldest friend, had made sure everyone accepted me; his girlfriend, Tiffany, however, was the one who seemed to have a problem coming to terms with it. She had been extremely hostile not only to me, but to Jett as well, which was why I had always tried to avoid her. Her hostility had seemed strange to me, but I had assumed it was because of Jett’s past fallout with Brian. Now I knew my explanation had been implausible, if not a ridiculous assumption. Seeing them together made so much more sense. She had been jealous back then, because she was dating Jett and probably thought she had a claim on him.

A strange sense of foreboding crept over me at the way the two were sitting—too close for normal friends, too close for anything—talking about their past. A past I knew nothing of and probably shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on. A past I would have been better off not knowing, if only to stop the images beginning to flood my mind.

I watched the way she looked at him, the way I always looked at Jett—full of admiration and something else.

Lust. Longing. Desire.

Love.

Had I been so blind that I failed to see Tiffany wanted Jett, too?

The realization kicked me hard and fast that whatever they once had, it wasn’t over. She definitely wasn’t over him. And maybe he wasn’t over her either.

Vaguely, I remembered the text message Jett had received that morning. It had been signed with “TI.”

TI standing for Tiffany. A tiny pang, like a shock to my heart, shot through me as I realized that it had been Jett who asked her to meet with him. Not the other way around, which made all the difference. Why would he do so if he was dating me?

Unless…

“I know you better than anyone out there, Jett,” she said after a long pause. “Look at me and tell me in all honesty. Can you really say to my face that you don’t miss it? All the things we did? All the fun we had?”

My throat tightened when her fingers began to trail up his arm confidently, as though they had done so countless times before, as if her hands belonged on his body. It was a gesture intended to coax an answer from him. Manipulative but intimate nonetheless. I’d be a fool not to think that after what I had heard and seen already.

Like being strapped in a tower chair high up in the air, my body was rooted to the spot, unable to move. I was forced to look on, watching the scene unfolding, unable to do anything except for waiting in fear.

Waiting for what?

For his answer? For his reaction? To see my heart breaking of knowing too much? I had always been interested in discovering more about his past, but now I wasn’t so sure if my curiosity hadn’t been more a curse than a blessing.

“It’s over, Ti. You know that,” he said with less determination than you’d expect from such strong words. Even to my ears, his tone sounded weak.

Judging from Tiffany’s half-smile, she didn’t believe him either. She leaned forward again, and let out a short laugh.

“You said the exact same thing last time, but you forget that I know you, Jett. The real you.” She inched closer to him, her voice sexy and low as her fingers traced up his arm again. “You aren’t the kind of man who is happy with just one woman in his life. You admitted that when you left me after two years. You said success and winning mean everything to you, that you always want more.”

I held my breath, my nails cutting through the frail barrier of my skin. It bothered me that Jett didn’t brush her off, that he simply remained quiet instead of setting her straight. It bothered me that he’d let her touch him like that, as if he enjoyed it. But what bothered me the most was the fact that he had met with one of his exes behind my back.

Actually, bothered was an understatement.

Inside, I was burning with uncontrollable, gut-wrenching rage, hating the fact that Tiffany had three things I desperately wanted: a history with Jett, knowledge about his past, and obviously enough trust that he could talk with her so openly about me.

She must have felt she was being watched, because she turned, and her eyes scanned the room. For a fraction of a second, I thought our eyes connected. Her eyes narrowed in surprise, and ever so slowly, a faint smile spread across her lips, as though she was happy to discover she had an audience. It was then that I knew for sure she had seen me.

What a bitch.

She knew I was dating Jett. She knew we were expecting a baby, and yet she still met with him behind my back.

I wished I could scream, shout, or walk over there and confront Jett—do anything rather than just stare at them—but strangely, I felt devoid of life, as if the knowledge that even if I interrupted their little meeting, it wouldn’t have stopped Jett from wanting to see her in the future, nor would it have meant that whatever they had was over.

Maybe I was meant to see them. Maybe, just maybe, it was all some misunderstanding that could be easily cleared up.

My ears kept ringing loudly as I watched Jett reach for his glass to take a sip, his actions slow and hesitant, reminiscent of the past. I knew I should leave before it was too late, but for some reason, my legs wouldn’t obey my brain’s command. With each second and word, with each glance they cast at one another, the pain in my heart intensified. My brain, now dripping with forbidden knowledge, swirled the bitter thoughts around, pumping more poison through my veins.