Tell Me You Love Me ✓

oo3. ...and Greed

Halley

I don't see that happening. Jackson's words pounded in Halley's head like an exertion headache. The kind she got after doing fifty push-ups. How could she have been so blind? She'd expected to leave Jackson's apartment with her own key, and instead, he ended it.

Un-fuckin-believable.

Whipping the car into a space at a small convenience store, she shifted into park and pounded the steering wheel. Damn her! After almost four years, Julie decides she wants him back, and he's willing to reconcile? But he'd loved her once enough to propose. Maybe he still did. Halley hung her head and cried.

By now, he probably had Julie in his arms all cozy with her confessing that calling off the wedding turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life. And promising she'd spend eternity making it up. Why would he consider a reconciliation after the way she'd hurt him? It didn't make sense.

Wiping her eyes, she drew a staggering breath. He'd said he didn't know his ex was in town. Fingertips to temples, Halley made small circles trying to ease the pain and clear her head. But during their six months of dating, all those late appointments might not have been work-related. Perhaps he'd been seeing Julie all along and she showed up uninvited just to rub it in.

Bitch.

Her mind rebelled at the idea and she debated going back to his house and confronting them. No, she needed proof.

Shifting into reverse, she pulled herself together and headed toward South Greeno Street. If anyone had the whole story, it would be Jackson's sister-in-law, Isla. She'd introduced Halley to him, and Isla would tell the truth, no matter how bad.

When she arrived, she noticed the flower beds. Full of colorful pansies, the house looked as if it belonged in an ad for plant food. Use Brand X for healthy blooms all season. The place was downright cheery, but with her foul mood, she wanted to stomp the prettiness into the dirt and trample them the way Jackson had done her heart. She'd fallen in love, and now it was over, unless Isla gave her an idea of how to win him back.

She glanced in the rearview mirror. Her face was a mess. Red. Puffy. Eyes bloodshot from all the tears. By the time she reached the front porch, the waterworks started again.

Ian pulled the door open wide, took one look at her and rolled his chair backwards. "ISLA! I NEED SOME HELP!"

Isla rushed into the room, panic etched on her face. Then she saw Halley. "What's wrong?"

"Jackson broke up with me." She fell to pieces.

Isla rushed to embrace her. "Oh no. Why? How?"

Halley wiped her cheeks. "Julie showed up."

Ian leaned forward, face pinched. "What?"

Isla clasped her friend's elbow and tugged her forward, then sat next to her on the sofa. Ian rolled to face them. "There's no way in hell he'd take her back."

Isla nodded agreement. "Is that what he told you?"

"Not exactly. But I'd say his intentions were clear. He's probably been carrying on with her for months."

"No." Ian folded his arms. "I don't know what's going on, but I promise you, he is not interested in re-kindling anything with her."

"Ian is right. Julie jilted him. He would never take her back. Was he surprised to see her?"

"Well, yeah, but I thought it was just because he didn't expect her while I was there."

After Isla consoled her, Halley decided Jackson was worth fighting for and she wasn't about to give up. She'd find out for herself if he'd been cheating with Julie or anybody else.

                                                                                     *

Julie

What a stroke of luck. If Julie read the scene correctly, her former lover had broken up with the cute, petite blond. Her leaving in a huff confirmed it. Julie was still unclear about how the woman knew who she was, but she'd referred to her as his former fiancée. Perhaps, she'd googled her out of curiosity. Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. He'd become a free agent and the timing couldn't be better.

If she could jump-start their relationship, she'd never have to admit she'd bombed in New York. After her art critic boyfriend dumped her, not a single gallery would touch her paintings. Bastard. But now, to keep her artistic juices flowing, she needed a benefactor, and Jackson fit the bill. She couldn't work and paint.

"May I come in?" She offered her best smile. The one that had always gotten results.

His frown said it wasn't working. "What do you want?"

This might not be easy, but she knew him well enough that he wouldn't risk a scene. He'd let her in, and one foot in the door is all she needed to seduce him.

"To see you. Are you going to invite me in or not?"

He didn't answer, but stepped away from the door for her to pass.

"I'm surprised you still live here. I thought by now you'd have a house and a wife." She scanned the room. "But I see nothing has changed."

"Take my word. There's been changes."

"Look. I didn't come here to cause trouble. I just wanted to see you again."

He stood behind an upholstered chair and rested his hands on the back. "News to me. As I recall, the last time we spoke, you never wanted to see me again."

"That's not true. I never said that. I made mistakes. I was confused about what I wanted. But after living in The Big Apple all these years, I realized I'll always be an Alabama girl. So I'm back where I belong."

"And I should care about this...why?"

She rose and moved closer, angled between him and the chair, slid her hands around his neck and kissed him. At first, he stiffened, but then circled her waist and pulled her tighter. She smiled inside.

It was still there.

The attraction.

Passion.

And she intended to take advantage of it.

If she played her cards right, he'd forget about... well, whatever her name was. Jackson wouldn't recall her name either, once Julie got done and had him at the altar again.

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Gotta love scheming exes, amiright? okay, maybe not.

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x zuz