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For a while, they lay in silence. The warmth of his body against hers was a comforting presence. Jessie soon found herself lost in the moment, feeling more at peace than she hadin years. The tension that had gripped her for so long slowly unwound, and she felt herself leaning more into him, snuggling against his chest. Being close to him again stirred many emotions inside her that had laid dormant for the last year and a half.
He rested his chin gently on her head. Sighing, Mac broke the silence. His voice was gentle, but there was an edge of something deeper in it.
“Jess, why didn’t you call me when you returned to the city?”
Jessie tensed. She wasn’t sure how to tell him about the pictures she saw of him and the women. Her eyes widened. The pictures! Oh, God! He had been with other women. But now he’s here, acting as if they were never apart.
Shit! She hadn’t even been thinking. All it took was one look at his scrumptious body, and her mind forgot everything. She was ready to jump his bones.
She sat up, pulling away. His eyebrows scrunched together, and a concerned expression took over his face.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, reaching for her, but she scooted back, avoiding his touch.
She turned her head away, ashamed of herself for falling into his trap. Tears pricked her eyes, and she tried desperately to blink them away, but it was no use as the wetness spilled over.
“Jess?” Mac called out, but she closed her eyes.
A few seconds passed when she felt his fingers under her chin, and he gently turned her face towards his. She was afraid to open her eyes. She didn’t want to see the guilt.
“Jess, please tell me what’s wrong,” he pleaded, trying to pull her close.
Be strong…be strong…,she repeated to herself.
Pulling herself together, she opened her eyes and looked him in the eyes. “I didn’t call because you moved on, which brings me to my next question. Why are you even here?”
Mac’s eyes widened in confusion and maybe showed a bit of hurt in them. But then his blue eyes darkened.
“What in God’s name are you talking about? Where in the hell would you get that idea from? Obviously, my intentions are still to be with you, or I wouldn’t be here.”
Oh, damn! She had woken up the beast in him.
“The p-pic-pictures of you,” she stuttered, feeling even more baffled and out of the loop with the who situation.
“What pictures?” he questioned, looking like he was about to rip someone’s head off.
“Of you and your dates all dressed up at all of those events.”
Mac stared at her, a lost look on his face. But seconds later, his eyes widened, and he closed his eyes. He let out a guttural groan as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Gripping her chin lightly so she couldn’t look away, he looked her straight in the eye.
“Jess, those pictures aren’t what you think they are.”
She wanted to argue that they were exactly what she thought they were. But Mac held his hand up making her clamp her mouth shut.
“Yes, anyone looking at those people would assume I was on a date.” He sighed. “But that is so far from the truth.”
“I don’t understand. What is the truth then? Who were those women?”
“They’re my employees. They work for me, Jess. We were working a job and needed to play the part that I was with a date. Though it wasn’t a date at all.” He cupped her cheek. “I swear to you on my life. It was strictly all professional.”
Jessie felt her stomach clench. “Oh, God,” she mumbled, knowing she had made a huge mistake. She only agreed to thisOne and Donething because she thought Mac had moved on.
As if knowing what she was thinking, Mac narrowed his eyes. “Jess, is that why you agreed to this date in the first place? Because you thought I was over you?”
She felt horrible looking at him and seeing the hurt in the eyes.
Slowly, she nodded her head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I intended to call you, but I just needed a few days to adjust to being back. But then Lacie and I were messing around on the internet, and that’s when we came across a picture of you. And then I couldn’t help myself, so I googled your name, and more pictures popped up.”
