Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Chapter 12
Evelyn
“I’m Murielle.” She puts out her hand. “Jaxon’s mom.” I stand here shocked, to say the least. My heart beats so hard in my chest that I think everyone will be able to hear it. Heat rises all the way to my neck, and I feel like I’m going to faint. I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience. I feel like the earth is crumbling under my feet. This can’t be happening to me. This can’t be true. It can’t be. But then I look up and see him, his eyes, and I know. Everything we did was a lie. Everything I felt was a lie, and everything he said was a lie.
In a matter of three minutes, everything came crashing down. Everything I built up was destroyed. I felt eyes on me as soon as I handed Jaxon his slush. Looking up, I thought it was a figment of my imagination. I thought that it was my mind playing tricks on me. It couldn’t be.
But as he walked closer to me, it finally sank in that this was real. He was real, and he was in front of me. He was wearing black jeans and a white shirt with a black jacket. He was even hotter than he was in the club. But not hotter than he was naked.
I’m sure the expression on his face mimicked mine. He was in just as much shock to see me, and when he stuck his hand out and I touched him, my body suddenly woke up, remembering his touch as it waited for more. I wanted to look up at him and for him to look down and kiss me. I wanted him to put one hand around my waist and bring me close to him. I wanted to tell him I was sorry about taking off on him without saying good-bye. I wanted to tell him I’ve been thinking about the blue-eyed stranger all week. I wanted to tell him all that, and then everything changed. Just as fast as the overwhelming feeling I had of seeing him, came the devastating blow that he wasn’t all that I built up in my head.
I stood there speechless as she kissed his lips, the same lips I felt every night in my dreams. I stood there as she wrapped her arm around his, and I couldn’t help notice the way she clung to him with her big diamond rock on her finger. My head was spinning as I took all of it in.
He had a wife. He has a wife.
I slept with a married man. I slept with someone’s husband.
The thoughts made me want to throw up, but I pushed it down. I would not give him the satisfaction of making a fool out of me twice.
“Hi.” I forced myself to smile. “I’m Evelyn, Caleb’s aunt.” I shake her bony hand, taking a minute to look at her. She is taller than me, her breasts are definitely fake, her lips injected, and not one frown line around her eyes or her forehead. She is lean, and you can tell she works out and not just like I pretended to but for real. Her black eyes are perfectly styled; she is perfectly put together.
“Oh, you’re Tim’s sister,” Murielle says, letting go of my hand. I pull my nephew to me, and I want to get the fuck out of here.
“I am,” I say to her, then look down to blink away the tears threatening to escape.
“Veronica was talking about how excited they all were that you were finally moving back home.” The whole time she talks, she doesn’t let go of Manning.
“Yes, I’m very happy to be back home.” I look down at my nephew who thankfully doesn’t seem to notice anything is wrong with me.
“Are you ready to go, buddy? Your mom and dad are waiting for us.” He nods his head at me. “I hope it’s okay I bought Jaxon a slush.” I look at them or better yet at her, avoiding the blue eyes that I want to forget.
“More than okay,” Manning says, and I make the mistake of looking at him. My chest feels like it’s shattering right down the middle, but then the anger slowly builds up in me. “Thank you so much for staying with him.”
I just nod at him, not sure I can say anything, I swallow down the lump in my throat. “Say good-bye.”
“Bye, Jaxon,” Caleb says and then looks at me. “Can Jaxon come to the movies with us tomorrow?” I stand here, not sure what to do or say. It’s one thing to know he’s married and to know that I know who he is and to see him. It’s a whole other ball game to try to be friends with this asshole.