Jilted (8 page)

“The glasses would ruin the effect. Besides, you have gorgeous eyes; you should show them off more.”

“I have no one to impress.”

“What about Dr. McHottie?”

“You sound more excited about this date than I do.”

Izzy had happened to come by the office earlier that week, in between her classes while Jeremy had been there. The teenager was quite smitten with the doctor and had gone on and on about how hot he was. “Well, I am excited. You never go out unless you’re doing something with the children or you have some work-related thing to attend. You work so hard and you deserve to enjoy yourself. Besides, it helps having a handsome escort.”

“Sounds like someone has a crush,” Skylar teased.

“I just appreciate a good-looking man when I see one. Besides, even if I was interested in Dr. McHottie in a romantic way, I wouldn’t stand a chance. He only has eyes for you. And Skylar?” Izzy rested her chin on Skylar’s shoulder and looked at her through the mirror.

“Yeah, hon?”

“I’m really happy to see you getting back on the dating scene. I mean after what happened with Ash—, well you know who, it’s just good to see you putting yourself out there again.”

“Thanks Izzy. And I won’t fall apart at the mention of Ashley’s name. Yes, it took me a while to get over what he did and I still get a little angry when I think about it but without him, I wouldn’t have my beautiful babies and for that I will forever be grateful. I don’t know what’s going to happen between me and Jeremy but I do like him. And depending on how well things go tonight, maybe our friendship will lead to something more.”

Izzy grinned. “That’s the spirit.”

“I’d better go downstairs and wait for Jeremy. He should be here any minute.”

When Skylar entered the living room, the kids were all in their pajamas watching their favorite cartoon movie. Her mother sat in between them. She was the first to notice Skylar enter the room. “Oh my, don’t you look gorgeous.” Priscilla beamed as she stood up. “Do a little twirl so we can get the full effect.”

Skylar spun around.

“You look pretty, Mommy,” Tristan complimented her.

“Yes, really pretty.” Finn agreed.

Skylar smiled at her boys. “Thank you, babies. What do you think, Harper?” She asked of her daughter who looked at her with wide-eyed wonder.

The little girl slid off the couch and walked over to her. “You look like a princess, Mommy.”

Tears sprang to Skylar’s eyes. “Are you three trying to ruin my make-up? You’re going to make me cry.”

“Well you really do look like a million bucks,” Izzy added.

“Yep, you guys are definitely going to make me cry.” Skylar dabbed the moisture from the corner of her eyes.

Just then the doorbell rang.

“There’s my date.” Skylar headed toward the hallway to answer the door, but Izzy halted her.

“No. You have to make a dramatic entrance when he catches his first glimpse of you. Go upstairs and wait for me to call you down.”

Skylar rolled her eyes. “You’re being dramatic, Izzy.”

“That’s how it’d done in all the movies. Come on. Mom, back me up here,” Izzy whined.

“Well, it’s kind of silly to make her go all the way back upstairs. Maybe you can just go into the kitchen and then walk into the room.”

“Et tu, Mom?” Skylar threw her hands up in the air.

“Aww, come on honey. This is your first date in a very long time, let us have our fun. But hold up while I grab my phone. I want to get a picture.”

Skylar groaned. If she would have known her family would make such a big production out of her date she would have met Jeremy at the function. But seeing how excited they were for her, she couldn’t begrudge them this moment. This date was just as much for them as it was for her. It was proof that her life was once again intact and that Ashley Hollingsworth might have left her temporarily broken, but she’d come out stronger from the ordeal. Now she was ready to finally take the plunge into possibly starting a new relationship.

Though she and Jeremy had gone out for lunch and coffee a handful of times she’d always considered them casual meet-ups with a friend. But this was something different. Skylar headed to the kitchen while Izzy ran to the door. She waited a few minutes before her mom poked her head into the room and signaled that it was time for Skylar to make her entrance.

When she stepped into the living room, Jeremy was waiting for her with a large bouquet of white roses. Sporting a well-tailored black tuxedo, he was quite handsome. “Hi, Jeremy.”

He widened his eyes to the point where she thought they’d pop out of his head. “Wow! You look….amazing.”

Skylar smiled, feeling shy all of a sudden. “You look nice too.”

“These are for you.” To her surprise, he only gave her a third of the flowers which made Skylar realize he was carrying three separate arrangements. She took the offered roses. “And these are you for, Ms. Brown.” Jeremy handed the second bouquet to her mom.

Priscilla giggled like a teenager. “Please call me Priscilla.”

“And one for you.” He gave the last of his flowers to Izzy.

“This guy is definitely a keeper.” Izzy nodded in approval.

“I hate to do this to do but do you mind if I have one of your roses, Skylar?”

“Uh…okay.”

He plucked one of her roses. “I was remiss. I should have ordered four bouquets. He knelt down and held out the single rose to Harper. “Here you go, princess.”

Harper stood behind Skylar, staring at the stranger warily.

“Go ahead honey, take it.” Skylar gently prodded, touched by Jeremy’s gesture to include her daughter.

Harper stepped forward, snatched the flower out of Jeremy’s hand and hurried back to her spot behind Skylar. “Thank you,” she whispered so softly she could barely be heard.

“You’re very welcome.” Jeremy smiled at her.

“Hey, where’s our present?” Tristan demanded pulling his brother along. “And we don’t like flowers. Those are for girls.”

“Tristan. Don’t be rude,” Skylar lightly chided.

“Well, everybody else got something.” He pouted.

Jeremy focused on the little boy. “You’re in luck. I have these action figure trading cards that you and Finn might like.” He dug into his pocket and produced two sets of sealed trading cards and handed one to each boy.

“Thank you!” Finn grinned.

Tristan nodded his approval as he stared at his gift. “Thanks.”

“Can I offer you anything to drink, Jeremy?” Priscilla asked.

“I’d love to stick around a little longer but we have to get going. It was a pleasure meeting you all. Skylar has told me so much about everyone that I feel like I already know you.”

Izzy batted her lashes at him. “Well I certainly hope we get to know you better, Jeremy.”

“Likewise.”

Once they were settled in Jeremy’s SUV, Skylar initiated conversation. “I think you’re a hit with my family. It was very nice of you to bring gifts for everyone. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I wanted to make a good first impression. Besides, it’s important to me that your family likes me.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Because they’re important to you.”

Skylar couldn’t keep the smile off her face. This guy was almost too good to be true. “That’s really sweet of you.”

He chuckled. “I won’t argue with you there. Your children are adorable, by the way.”

“Thank you. And I’m sorry about Tristan demanding a gift from you the way he did.”

Jeremy waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. He’s four. That’s what kids his age do. From the looks of things, you’ve done a great job with your children.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m just glad you agreed to come out with me tonight. I’ve wanted to take you on a real date from the moment I met you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I? You’re smart, beautiful, and have a great sense of humor. I’m surprised some guy hasn’t already snapped you up.”

Skylar bowed her head, not sure how to respond to that statement. She’d never told him about her past, only that things didn’t work out with the triplets’ father.

“Skylar?” he prompted when she didn’t reply.

“To be honest, you’re the first date I’ve had in over five years.”

“Your children’s father?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Did he hurt you?” He asked softly. “I’m sorry if I’m being too intrusive. It’s just that sometimes I notice sadness in your eyes and it makes me wonder.”

“No, it’s okay. You can ask. Yes, he hurt me. Not physically but in a way that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. But I believe I’ve gotten past it. It’s one of the reasons I agreed to come out with you tonight. I really like you, Jeremy, and I look forward to see how things develop between us.”

He reached over and took her hand. “I’m glad to hear you say that. It really means a lot. And I just want you to know, I will never hurt you or your children.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Jeremy.” She squeezed his hand. “Very glad.”

<><><><><>

Denise’s hand inched further up Ashley’s thigh until she touched the outline of his cock. Thankfully his chair was far enough beneath the table that no one else noticed. He caught her hand and shoved it away with enough force for her to take a hint but not enough to draw attention to them.

The table was surrounded by his fellow law associates. William was in the middle of telling one of his long stories about his travels. While the others listened to him, Ashley was trying to not to look bored. These types of events were not his cup of tea, but in his line of work he had to make appearances at social functions to keep in touch with clients, make connections or possibly learn of any goings-on in the world that pertained to him and his firm.

Denise learned over and whispered in his ear. “What’s the matter, baby? Don’t you like it?”

“Not here,” he answered through gritted teeth.

“Well, your dick doesn’t seem to mind. You’re hard.” She attempted to place her hand on his thigh again but he pushed it away.

“I’m a man, Denise, if you touch it, it gets hard. That’s how penises work.”

“You don’t have to be a jerk about it,” she said in a tone that started out as a whisper but got progressively louder.

William stopped talking mid-sentence and all eyes fell on them.

“Sorry about that,” Ashley apologized. “Denise and I have decided to go outside for a little air. Excuse us.”

Everyone nodded and William went back to his story. Ashley took his date by the forearm before she could protest and led her out of the ballroom, not stopping until they were in the hotel lobby.

Denise yanked her arm away. “What’s the big deal? You seemed to like what I was doing earlier.”

“Earlier we weren’t surrounded by a roomful of people and sitting at table with my colleagues. When I brought you here tonight, I thought you understood that this is business for me.”

Denise crossed her arms over her generous breasts. “It’s so boring. And the band isn’t even good. Let’s ditch this place and do something more fun.”

He knew it was a mistake to bring Denise to a function like this. The few times he’d taken her out didn’t generate any meaningful conversation. If she had a solid thought in her head that wasn’t superficial, he would have been surprised. She was good for when he needed to get his dick wet, but beyond that she bored him. It just so happened that he’d forgotten to arrange for a date to this gathering and knew she’d agree to go with him on such short notice. He’d met her at an associate’s barbeque. He was in between lovers at the time and Denise was a beautiful woman. She was a model, slim with alabaster skin that made a startling contrast to her ink black hair. She was the kind of woman who knew she was beautiful and expected special treatment because of it, and after they left this function he intended to end their association.

Besides, he never dated the same person longer than a couple of months. His friends and associates teased him about his playboy ways, but Ashley didn’t consider himself a player. He was just practical. He’d vowed never to be fooled again after what had happened to him and if that meant a life of bachelorhood then so be it, it was a lot less complicated than dealing with unwanted emotions and the baggage that came with them.

“I’m staying, but you can leave if you’d like.”

Denise’s mouth fell open. “What? You’re just going to let me walk out of here just like that?”

Ashley shrugged. “Did you really think you’re good enough in bed to make me leave here? You flatter yourself, my dear.” He dug into his pocket, extracted his wallet and pulled out several bills. “Here. Call yourself a cab.”

“But…but I don’t have to leave if you
really
want to stay.”

He rolled his eyes. Whenever the women he dated saw the writing on the wall that it was over they rarely went quietly. He should have expected that Denise wouldn’t be any different.

“Actually, I find these events tedious and boring; I’m only here because my friend asked me to be so I’m honoring that commitment.”

“Well if you’re so bored then come away with me.”

He smirked. “I insult you and you still beg for my company?”

She snuggled close to him. “I can make it worth your while. You can do whatever you want to me. Any hole.”

Ashley pulled away in disgust. “Denise, I might find these functions boring but what bores me the most is you. Have a little pride and leave graciously. Take this money and go have the fun you’ve been seeking all night.”

She glared at him, finally realizing she wouldn’t get her way. “Fuck you, Ashley Hollingsworth. You’re making a big mistake.” She snatched the money out of his hand before storming off.

He made a mental note to be pickier the next time he took a lover. As he turned to go back into the ballroom, someone called out.

“Ashley? Is that you, man?”

He whirled around to see an old college buddy of his whom he’d lost touch with. A smile tilted his lips. “Jeremy Sullivan!”

As Jeremy and his date got closer, the smile on Ashley’s face fell because on Jeremy’s arm was the woman he’d spent the last five years trying to forget.