Page 79 of From You to Me

I scurried to the door, my hand twisting on the handle as I pulled the door open.

And my heart stopped.

My eyes widened at the sight that greeted me on the other side of the door.

It was definitely not the food we ordered.

Instead, it was black leather. Blue eyes. And the smell of wood.

The kind of food that I would really love to eat anyway.

“Hey,” he whispered.

I held the door close to me, apprehension setting in. What was he doing here? The timing was not right at all.

“Jay,” I breathed, “what are you doing here?”

He cocked a brow. “I’m here to see you, Evelyn. If it isn’t obvious. Are you going to let me in or stand there all day looking like you’ve seen a ghost?”

I swallowed. “Yeah, about that.” Right then, Strawberry swept past my feet and went in to meet him. A bright smile lit up hisface as he crouched down to rub her ears. She wiggled her tail, nuzzling his palms.

“Evy, who’s that?” Will called out.

Fuck. Now was not the time, Will.

Jay’s hand froze on Strawberry’s head as his eyes flashed to mine. “Who’s that, Evelyn?”

I sighed out a painful breath. What kind of fucking twilight zone was I stuck in the middle of a door with two men asking me the same question.

The steeliness in Jay’s eyes told me he recognized that voice.

“Jay,” I started. “It’s not what you think.”

He rose, standing at full height as he towered over me. I craned my head to meet his blues. “Please don’t let it be who I think that is, Evelyn.”

“Jay,” I swallowed as he gipped the end of my door and dashed it open.

It was almost like a sense of déjà vu—the thunderous expression that crept over his face and the accusation that he held in his eyes.

Will’s eyes widened as he took in Jay. He held a hand up, realizing the situation that it painted. “Hey, man. It’s not what you think.”

“It’s exactly how I think it is,” Jay said.

I brought my hand to grasp his wrist. “Jay, look at me. This is a huge misunderstanding, okay? It’s not what you think. Will is just my friend. Actually, he was just visiting with his fiancée.”

“Save it, Evelyn.” His voice was so cold that it sent shivers down my spine.

Before I could say anything, he brushed me off and was already halfway through the hallway. But I didn’t think as I chased him.

My fingers circled his wrist, pulling him back to me. “Jay, will you stop for a second, and actually listen to what I have to say.”

He spun and was in my face in an instant that I had to take a step back. “What is it? What more are you going to say? What more stories are you going to spin? I knew you loved creating stories in your head, but I didn’t realize you would stoop so low to save face, Evelyn.”

Tears gathered in the corner of my eyes. “I wasn’t lying. I wasn’t spinning any stories. What you saw there was a misunderstanding. Will is just my friend, Jay.”

He gritted his teeth, grabbing my shoulder. “Are you out of your fucking mind, Evelyn? The man you cheated on me with is now your friend. What more are you going to say? You can’t blame Cece anymore. Are you going to tell me now that he forced himself on you and now that you’re the victim?” he roared; his eyes deranged.

I didn’t know what came over me as my hands swooped over the air and slapped him hard across the face.