Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 86706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Nazarene.
His girlfriend.
A look of genuine shock crossed his face. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to surprise you.” She had a slight French accent. “Hope it was a good surprise?”
“How did you know I was here?” he asked.
“I texted Ronan. He told me where you would be.”
Maybe it was my imagination, but Tristan’s rigid body language said he wasn’t too thrilled at her sudden appearance. Or maybe that’s what I wanted to believe.
“Naz…” He turned to me. “This is Emily.”
“Emily. It’s so nice to meet you. Tristan has told me all about you.”
He has?
Tristan nodded. “I told her about your relationship to Jacob and how you had come on the tour to find me.”
Hardly all about me, then. Surely she wouldn’t be so nice if she knew the truth. “Nice to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand.
With Tristan’s beautiful, tall girlfriend here, the tone shifted for the rest of the evening. I had to endure her sitting on his lap, basically all over him. His eyes wandered over to me at times, and he wasn’t really returning her affection. It continued to seem like he was uncomfortable or holding back for my sake.
The worst part was when Tristan went over to the bar to buy a round of drinks, and I was forced to make conversation with her. Apparently, Nazarene planned to stay in town for two weeks. She asked me all sorts of questions about my life. When I told her I had a boyfriend, she suggested that “the four of us” go out.
When Tristan returned to the table, Nazarene took the drink he’d brought her. “I was just telling Emily we should go to breakfast with her and her boyfriend sometime this week.”
Tristan nearly choked on his drink. “Oh yeah?”
Given that I had to endure her in town for two weeks, maybe it was a good idea to embrace reality. It would also be a good reminder of which man I belonged to. Despite my heart continuing to flutter for Tristan, I was with Ethan now. So, I agreed to breakfast, knowing that despite my sense that Tristan was against the idea, he wouldn’t say no.
***
Later that night, I was back home in my bed when I got a text around 2 AM. It wasn’t unusual for Ethan to text me goodnight, especially when he was out of town.
But when I looked over at my phone, the text was from Tristan.
Tristan: I’m sorry if Nazarene showing up made you uncomfortable tonight. I had no idea she was going to come here.
I deflected.
Emily: She’s really beautiful.
Tristan: We don’t have to do breakfast. I wasn’t sure if you said yes because you felt pressured.
Figured he was trying to get out of it. But I was determined to face the fire. It would be just the wake-up call both he and I needed.
Emily: No, I think it’s fine.
Tristan: Only if you want to.
Emily: You don’t need to apologize for her being here. It makes sense that your girlfriend would visit you.
The dots moved around as he formed a response. Despite what I’d typed, I seethed with jealousy and hurt. But I’d made my own bed after crossing the line with him in the first place. And I probably shouldn’t have gone out with him tonight.
Tristan: I just don’t want to upset you. I’ve disturbed your peace here enough as it is.
I wasn’t going to respond, but a minute later he sent another text.
Tristan: You mean a lot to me.
My chest constricted. You mean a lot to me, too.
But I wouldn’t let myself reciprocate. I typed as simple a text as I could conjure.
Emily: It’s all good.
Then I shut off my phone and placed it in my bedside drawer before any further texts from him could keep me up all night.
CHAPTER 30
EMILY
A couple of days later, Ethan and I met Tristan and Nazarene for breakfast at Sparky’s.
After we were seated, Tristan crossed his tattooed arms and aimed some questions at my boyfriend. “So, Ethan, what do you do for a living?”
“I work for my father’s construction company, Mills Construction here in town.”
“Nice. Family business. Will you take it over someday?”
Ethan played with the wrapper to his straw. “That’s the plan.” He nudged me with his elbow. “I’m trying to get this one here to work for us, but she doesn’t want any handouts.”
“Well, I can’t blame her for wanting to be her own person. She probably wants to use her degree for something she’s, you know, interested in.”
“I just meant in the meantime. Instead of waiting tables,” Ethan clarified.
“There’s nothing wrong with waiting tables,” Tristan challenged. “As long as she’s happy doing that. It’s her choice.”
You could cut the tension with a knife. Ethan had never had to endure being questioned by my mother. She wasn’t the type to intimidate or interrogate. This inquisition seemed like the closest thing to that, and, yes, the irony of Tristan being the daddy figure was not lost on me.