Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
When I told her about the morning’s events with Jace, because I always told her everything, I expected her to find it amusing, but instead, she seemed concerned.
“What is it?” I asked, uneasy. I valued Margie’s advice, and if she thought getting closer to Jace was a bad move, then I had to give her opinion some credence.
“I’m just surprised. The way you spoke about him gave me the impression you weren’t ever planning to get back together. I mean, I’m all for you two getting along for Zara’s sake, and I guess if you really want to rekindle, it’s always something you could explore, but—"
“I don’t want to rekindle,” I said, feeling defensive because it wasn’t like I’d ever fully gotten over Jace. My feelings for him had dulled with his absence, but they’d still been there, simmering low.
“So, you’re not thinking of getting back together?” Margie asked.
“No, of course not. I …” Trailing off because I hated lying to her, I continued, “I just need to be stronger in resisting him.”
She reached across the table and placed her hand on mine. “I only ask out of care for you, Shan. I don’t want that loving heart of yours to get stomped all over again.”
Margie was normally the type of person to advise throwing caution to the wind, so the fact that she was preaching caution now gave me definite pause.
“I know, and I’m grateful to you for looking out for me. The best thing for me is to try and move on from Jace. It’s just hard.”
“Well, have you been chatting with any of the men I sent messages to?”
I hesitated to answer because honestly I’d forgotten all about my dating app. Jace had infiltrated my brain, and I couldn’t focus on anything else.
“A little,” I lied. “I’ll see about arranging to meet up with one or two of them.”
“That’s my girl. Seriously, I know movies and books make it seem like people get back together after a breakup and have happy endings all the time, but in real life, it’s usually a whole lot more messy and complicated.”
I couldn’t argue with her. Personally, I didn’t know anyone who’d gotten divorced and successfully rekindled with their ex later on. It just didn’t work that way.
We moved on to discussing our next Wine & Letters meet up, and then Margie had to get back to the office, and I had to get back to my computer. I was already falling behind on work with how much Jace had been distracting me lately.
Back home, I was in the middle of testing some code when it hit me how I knew the man Jay had met up for lunch with. Ollie must’ve been what his friends and family called him because I knew him by a different name, Oliver King-Clark, founder of the one of the most popular digital banking and financial services companies in Europe, UpRise. He also had a cryptocurrency exchange, but I’d forgotten the name. I’d heard him speak at a tech conference I’d attended a few years ago and had been impressed. It didn’t surprise me that Jay knew Oliver since Jace’s father had all kinds of acquaintances. He’d lived an interesting life and met lots of different people along the way. What did snag my interest was why Jay didn’t explain to me exactly who Oliver was when I asked.
I hadn’t planned on going to his out-of-season barbecue, but now that I figured he was hiding something, I felt the intense need to question him.
Thankfully, I was in the shower when Jace dropped Zara home, so I managed to avoid another run in. After this morning, I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to act around him. Margie’s warning rang in my ears, giving me an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Was I making a big mistake letting him get close?
I made sure to dress in warm clothing, putting on a high neck top and a thick jumper along with my thickest fleece leggings since we’d be eating outside. I also had Zara put on her winter coat and scarf. When we arrived at Jay and Matilda’s house, everyone else was already there. And yes, I timed it that way. Normally, I was an early bird, but I needed to avoid being alone with Jace. Ensuring there were lots of other people around was key.
Matilda appeared at the side of the house and motioned for Zara and me to follow her around to the garden. The patio dining area was all set up, and Jay stood by the barbecue cooking the steaks. They smelled amazing.
Jace was seated next to his aunt and uncle, while Roan, Elias, Angus, and Kami stood huddled around an outdoor heater that didn’t appear to be doing much to remedy the cold.
“This is insanity,” Jace’s uncle, Jack, shouted at his brother. “Why can’t we eat indoors? It’s freezing out here.”