Page 141 of Jesse's Girl
A long moment passes before I trust myself to speak. “Thank you.”
Mom’s voice is tight. “I know I’ve told you to try harder, but it’s me who needs to do that. Dad too. I’ll talk to him. But you know that whole thing about old dogs and new tricks… Just be patient with us.”
My shoulders sag and I sit back in my chair. This is all I’ve ever wanted them to do—to try. The relief is immense. I needed to hear this. I have needed to hear this for a long time, but especially right now.
How did she know?
“I will, Mom. Thank you. This means a lot.”
She smiles softly, scanning my face. “You okay?”
Still no.
I drop my gaze. “Um…”
“I saw you leave after the ceremony.” When I don’t respond, she continues. “I’m not gonna pry into what’s happened between you and Jesse, but I hope you know I’m here for you if you want to tell me.”
“Thanks, Mom. I will soon. Just… not yet, okay?”
She nods, the silence hanging for a moment. “Ready to rejoin the mayhem?” she asks, tilting her head at the dance floor.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
We push up to stand, and Mom takes my arm as she walks me back into the glowing crowd of wedding guests. I tell her I need to grab my purse and we part ways. For a second, I watch her weave between a few stragglers on the sidelines until the crowd swallows her up, then turn toward the spot where I left my clutch.
It’s then that I spot two figures off to the side of the dance floor, and my lungs seize up. A woman I don’t immediately recognize has her hands on Jesse’s chest, leaning into him and whispering into his ear.
She turns, and it clicks. Naomi.
I stand frozen, blood rushing in my ears, until Jesse’s eyes lock with mine.
And then I run.
31
JESSE
“Ada, wait!” I call out, catching only a glimpse of fluttering red before she disappears into the house. Jogging after her, I fight the panicked knot forming in my throat, knowing what she must be thinking. “Ada!”
I race up the porch steps, following her through the front doors and down an empty hallway. I catch her arm as she pushes into some kind of den lined with shelves of books and old movies. We stumble inside and she whirls around to face me, eyes blazing.
“Let go!” She jerks her arm from my grip as the door swings shut behind us. “You asshole. Couldn’t wait, could you?”
“It’s not like that. Listen?—”
“Oh, sure. You seemed pretty fucking cozy with Naomi out there,” she spits.
“I know what it looked like, but she was…”
Totally overstepping? Drunk? Both?
I’m grasping for the words to explain. “She was having trouble hearing me over the music.”
Oh, God, even I can hear how flimsy that sounds.
Naomi had downed a couple glasses of champagne in my presence and, from the way she was falling all over me, probably more before that.
“How convenient.” Ada glares and moves to push past me, but I block her.