Jess ended her conversation with Payton, promising she’d call later when she had more time. After the fire, she’d called him, and they had talked. And he’d called to check on her several times since then, yet with the time difference between Alaska and Illinois, they had played phone tag all day. A part of her wished he lived closer to Chicago. The close emotional bond they had formed, while searching for his niece, had been hard to live without these past few months. But Jess knew in her heart that a visit from Payton would only complicate things.
She’d been in denial and had to deal with her feelings for Seth, whatever they might be.
Was she trying to sabotage her long-distance relationship with Payton, protecting her heart before he broke it off? Or were her feelings for Harper real? Two good men. And she had no idea if the choice was even hers to make. Maybe both of them would open their eyes and see her more clearly—a familiar pattern she’d noticed for the men in her life.
When she headed toward Seth, she looked up to see Alexa unbuttoning his shirt. The intimacy of her stance disturbed her. And Harper couldn’t take his eyes off the tall blonde.
“Damn it, Beckett,” she muttered.
Jess veered toward the van, hoping they wouldn’t see her. She had no right to be jealous. She’d cleared the path for Alexa. And Seth deserved a good woman in his life. But if she truly believed that, why did she have this damned lump in her throat?
“Hey, Jessie. Where are you going?”
She stopped when she heard Alexa’s voice, but she stayed where she was, and yelled back, “Something came up. I gotta go.”
Alexa narrowed her eyes and left Harper behind, walking toward her. The woman’s eyes never left her, and she found it hard to hide what was in her heart.
“You’re welcome to join us. We’re just grabbing a bite to eat…and take things from there.”
“No, really. I’ve gotta go.” She tried to smile, but couldn’t. “Take it easy on that Midwest boy. Break him in real slow, you hear?”
Alexa touched her arm as she turned to leave. “Are you okay with me…and Seth? Seriously. I’ll back off if you’re not.”
Jess stared at Harper standing on the curb near his vehicle. He’d tossed his suit jacket in the car and stood in shirtsleeves minus the tie, looking anxious. Alexa had given her one more chance to make her choice. But for Harper’s sake, she couldn’t do it.
She’d never be anyone’s prize.
“No, I’m okay with it. He could use a good woman in his life. It should be you.” She hugged Alexa, and this time she smiled at Seth and waved good-bye. “Thanks for all your help, Alexa. We couldn’t have done it without you. Have a safe trip back.”
“Well, I was hoping I wouldn’t go back to New York City alone,” the blonde said.
“Oh?” Jess’s heart lurched in her chest.
Was Alexa going to take Harper with her? Harper had shallow roots in Chicago. None that couldn’t be uprooted for something better. The thought of that kind of finality with him gripped her stomach.
“Yeah, Garrett would like to meet you. I think he wants to make you an offer you can’t refuse. Wielding your own justice can be addictive…and empowering. Think about what we could do.” Her friend smiled. “You game?”
Jess had almost forgotten about Garrett Wheeler’s interest in her. And after the background check she had done on the man, what little she’d found only made her more intrigued. Linked to the most powerful and influential men on the planet, Wheeler had access to money, resources, and connections she could only fantasize about.
And he wanted
Was she ready for the big leagues? Could she be the kind of woman he was looking for? It only took her a moment to make up her mind. Jess took a deep breath with her heart throttling her rib cage. A big change was coming. She felt it.
“Hell, yeah, I’m game.”
Downtown Chicago
Midmorning
Days later
Seth Harper had come to the realization that for him, women should come with warning labels—something fitting yet blatant like the tag he’d seen on a kid’s Superman costume that stated
Those options certainly would have been less painful.
In his limited experience, he found that being in love exposed a guy to losing a vital body part—the heart in most cases—unless your name happened to be John Wayne Bobbitt. But the hazards in love weren’t readily apparent or tagged with a warning. And he saw no easy way out of his current predicament.
Especially since things weren’t up to him anymore.
It had been days since he had seen Jessie at the cemetery, and she was ignoring his phone calls again. After leaving a couple of messages, he figured the ball was in her court, and she knew how to reach him. But playing hard to get was not his gig. And no guy in his right mind
She had put distance between them. And he had no say in the matter.
So this morning he’d agreed to join Jonathan Humphries for breakfast, something they did from time to time, but his heart wasn’t in it. His heart was with Jessie. He knew he’d be lame company for Jonathan, but he’d made a promise to the man. They walked together to a nearby hotel cafe and he pretended to enjoy it despite how he felt.
“Great day, isn’t it?” the older man prompted.
“Yeah, sure is. I’m glad you suggested this.” He forced a smile with hands in his slacks and barely glanced up. Ignoring the beautiful weather and his good friend, Seth had only one thing on his mind.
How could Jessie cut him out of her life so easily?
After the question formed in his mind, he realized how stupid it sounded. He had done the same to her not long ago when he walked out of her life after she left for Alaska in search of a missing girl. And he had been as miserable then as he was now.
“Allow me.” Jonathan pulled open a glass door and stood to one side, extending a hand into the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on East Pearson Street. Seth had been so distracted he’d forgotten his manners.
“No, here, Jonathan. Let me.” He reached for the door and let the man go first.
The cafe served a fine breakfast and overlooked the lobby. They were seated and ordered, but halfway through their meal Jonathan eased back in his chair and stopped talking. He stared at Seth as if he were a science experiment that had gone bust.
“What?” He’d kept up his side of the conversation, hadn’t he?
“You’re putting up a good front, but you can’t fool me, young man. If I had to guess, I’d say a woman was at the root of it.”
Seth winced at him, hating to be so transparent. But he’d known Jonathan Humphries too long to continue faking a good mood.
“Why are women so…complicated?”
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “Do you really expect another man to answer that?”
Seth crooked his lip into a smile and shook his head. “Guess not.”
“Dare I ask the young woman’s name?” the man questioned.
But as Seth thought about what to say, someone caught his eye in the lobby below. He saw Alexa Marlowe, Jessie’s friend. And seeing her gave him a good excuse to avoid answering Jonathan’s question. The man knew Jessie and might voice his disapproval, something Seth was in no mood to hear.
