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“That was…” He inhales through his nose as his eyes roam over my face, settling on my lips. “It was wrong. I shouldn’t have touched you.”
I clamp my mouth shut so that I don’t blurt out that the touching didn’t bother me one bit. It’s the way he acted afterward. Like he was disgusted.
He drags in a ragged breath, then blows out slowly. “I had no right to.”
“Yet you did it anyway.Fivetimes.”
His eyes darken, and his jaw clenches.
I sigh and turn back to the water.
“I used to come here with my parents and Gramps. The last time we were all here together, the lilies were in bloom like this.”
“Do you miss your mother?”
His question catches me off guard.
“Of course, I do.”
“You said she’s an actress in LA?”
Pride swells in my chest. “She is. She’s played some good roles. Like Bonnie inThe Hidden Paths.”
Jet looks at me blankly.
“The sitcom? It was picked up by Netflix.”
There isn’t even a flash of recognition. He probably doesn’t even watch TV, probably thinks it’s beneath him or something.
“She left when you were a child?” It’s delivered like a question, but I don’t miss the judgmental undercurrent.
“She didn’t deal with her grief well after Dad died.”
“When did you last see her? I’m assuming she visits you often seeing as you told me New York was your first flight in years?”
My torso tightens as I pin him with a scorching glare.
“She’s busy. But she’s always sending gifts. She paid for my private schooling. She did everything she could to make sure I had what I needed.”
“I see.” He purses his lips.
“You see, do you?”
His nostrils flare and his lips thin as he looks down his nose at me.
“I’ve had enough of people ‘seeing’ things they know nothing about. Yes, I miss my mum. No, we’re not together. But she’s still my mum. I thought you’d understand what it’s like not seeing them every day. It doesn’t mean you stop loving each other. It doesn’t mean—”
“My mother died, Ava. She didn’tchooseto leave me behind. She was taken. And I was an adult.” His gaze bores into mine, cold and unyielding.
My chest caves. I blink, struggling to breathe.
“You’re such an asshole…” I turn away from him, screwing my burning eyes shut. “Such an entitled, cold-hearted asshole!” I fire before I stride away.
“Ava!”
His continued shouts of my name are drowned out by blood rushing in my ears as I break into a run. I pump my arms harder as my feet slam heavily on the path. I don’t even know where I’m going. I just keep running, needing to be away from him. Be as far away as possible from his accusations and his self-righteous bullshit. Jet knows nothing about my family. Nothing about me. Yet he thinks he can cast judgment on my life like he’s superior to everyone around him.
Asshole.
