Dangerous Exes (Page 42)

I’d never seen my best friend so shocked.

“Please don’t cry,” I muttered when he pulled me in for a hug and then slapped me on the back like I’d just won the championship.

“I’m damn proud.” He grinned wide. “Maybe now with all this Vanessa stuff behind you, you can finally be free.”

Free.

I just had one more loose end to tie up.

And then I would tell her everything.

Chapter Forty-Four

ISLA

Thankfully, the food didn’t take long. By the time Blaire and I made finishing touches, Goo-Poh had already blessed the bed and the room. She came back to grab the platter of various foods: an even number of tangerines and oranges, pomegranates, dates, dried lotus seeds, and several other things. All the items had a purpose, and Goo-Poh took their arrangement very seriously. She walked back into the bedroom and laid the platter on the bed.

I followed her in with Jessie by my side, Colin and Blaire close behind.

“That’s it.” Goo-Poh clasped her hands together. “Now, neither of you are allowed on this bed together until the wedding next week.”

Colin wheezed behind us.

Yeah, left that part out.

“If you must sleep on the bed and lack self-control”—she pointed at Jessie—“a boy must be with you in order to restore balance, no one side should ever be empty. Those are the rules for balance, it will bring bad luck if the bed has only one person sitting on it, especially if it’s the groom without the bride.”

“Shit, am I the boy?” Colin muttered out loud.

“Oh, and we need children to be present in the room or on the bed.” She grinned. “This helps bring good luck and happiness into the marriage! The more laughter the better!”

Jessie and I stepped aside, earning glares from both Colin and Blaire.

“Go play, kids!” I said in my most enthusiastic voice as Jessie gave me a high five.

Goo-Poh looked heavenward and then sighed. “If that’s the best we can do.”

Colin actually looked offended.

She kissed my cheek. “Eat all of the food, it’s healthy for your reproductive system. I’m tired now, I leave.” She waved goodbye.

Jessie and I rushed to the bed and grabbed the food just as Colin and Blaire started stealing pieces.

We both sat next to them. I sighed.

“Hey, it could be worse,” I pointed out. “She could have brought chickens.”

A scratching noise sounded near the closet. I clearly spoke too soon.

“What’s that noise?” Colin asked.

“It’s coming from the closet.” Jessie reached for the handle at about the same time I yelled no.

Four chickens and a rooster rushed toward us.

We all jumped onto the bed as they dove underneath.

The door to the bedroom swung open. “You will have healthy boys!” Goo-Poh retrieved the rooster and walked out again.

Leaving us with four chickens.

Birdseed under the bed.

And four very gobsmacked adults.

“Congrats, guys—”

“Don’t.” Jessie held up his hand while Blaire and I burst out laughing. Soon Jessie and Colin joined in.

Chapter Forty-Five

JESSIE

The glaring brass bed with its loud red sheets would normally send someone like me into a perpetual state of anxiety. Hell, it would send any sane person toward the bottom of a bottle of Jack.

Instead, every time I walked by that room, I smiled.

Every. Damn. Time.

The door was closed.

Apparently Goo-Poh didn’t want to tempt us to use the bed too soon, that would of course cause us not to have fortune in life.

Or sons.

I smiled to myself and made my way into the kitchen. I’d needed to run a few errands, mainly to the pet store, where I dropped off four chickens.

I was on my way back to the house when Isla texted me a grocery list, and it wasn’t until I walked into the kitchen, bags in hand, that it hit me.

What I was doing.

What we were doing.

I almost backed up a step.

Almost turned and ran.

The scene was surreal.

Undeniably sexy and terrifying all mixed up in one.

She was wearing leggings and a crop top, grilling vegetables on the stove and dumping in an insane amount of some sort of sauce while she hummed to herself.

This, this is what I never had with Vanessa.

Never.

We ordered takeout.

Hell, I didn’t even know the stove actually worked until Isla moved in and started using it.

I was surprised the oven turned on.

And more surprised how much I liked seeing her standing there, even if she was humming off key.

“Hey there.” I cleared my throat and approached.

She glanced up and winked. “I’m making my version of stir-fry.”

“And what makes your version so special?”

“My special sauce.” She scrunched up her nose and pointed the wooden spoon at me. “And no, I’m not telling you what’s in it, that completely takes the special part away.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

“So”—she kept stirring—“today went well.”

I gave her a blank stare. “Isla, your Goo-Poh brought live chickens into our house. A bed with etched dragons. Fire-engine red sheets. And birdseed. If that’s a good day I’d hate to see the bad ones.”

She giggled. “So we may have to move.”

She realized her error the minute I did.

Tense silence fell between us.

She cleared her throat.

“Don’t do that,” I whispered as she forced a smile my way.

“What?”

“That smile, I hate it.”

“Wow, thanks . . .” she said tersely.

“Isla.” I walked up and tilted her chin toward me. “I want a real smile, a good one.”

She glared.

“Don’t pretend . . . not in our house, not with me.”

Her eyes widened at my use of our. But I meant it. I needed her to know that. It wasn’t mine, not anymore. She gulped. “But isn’t that what we’re doing? Pretending?”

The question hung between us as I searched her eyes for answers, waiting to see if she felt anything beyond the awareness buzzing around us. If she felt the same way I did. Wanting to change the mine to ours.

“I don’t know,” I finally said, probing a bit. “Are you?”

She tried to look away.

I didn’t let her.

I gripped her face with both of my hands. “What do you want, Isla?”

“It’s not that easy.”

I grinned and then brushed a kiss across her lips. “I’ll make it easy for you.”

“Oh? Just like that?”

“Watch and learn, baby.” I jogged into my office and grabbed a few highlighters, pens, and a pad of paper. “Pros.” I wrote it out in black ink. “Cons.”

She smirked. “Jessie, what are you doing?”

“Making you hot.” I drew a line down the middle. “Drawing you a chart.”

“It’s like you know all of my weaknesses.”

I stripped out of my shirt and tossed it to the ground. “Better?”

“What chart?” she joked.

I leaned over the island and started writing. “Pros, Jessie Beckett.”

“Oh God, you didn’t really just write your name as a pro, did you?”

“And highlighted it in pink.” I nodded. “Sure did.”

“You’re unbelievable.”