Diamonds for the Holidays
Auteur
Nicki Night
Lezers
16,4K
Hoofdstukken
32
Chapter 1
Jade spotted him right away. Her heart rate quickened and she could feel the rapid thump in her chest—a prominent thud that made her think the other folks at her table might hear it, too. Despite applying her best effort to keep her eyes on the gentleman she was meeting with, she fought hard against her will to avoid looking back at her ex, sitting at the table with a beautiful woman. She smiled at the executive director across from her, who was speaking so passionately about his nonprofit organization that served families of his community.
Jade was interested in what he was saying. She truly was, and had even called the meeting herself. But now, with Mitch Davidson seated just a few feet away from her, all she could think about was how she’d messed up and lost him for good. How could she let that perfect man escape her flighty grasp? Was that woman he sat with his new fiancée or was he entertaining business peers, like her? Jade nodded, agreeing to the bit she’d clearly heard from the man in front of her. The eloquent way he described his mission and vision was falling on filtered ears. Watching Mitch as she was, most of what she now heard sounded more like incoherent rambling. A few words here and there came through with clarity.
Hopefully, Mitch hadn’t seen her. There would be a possibility that she could get out of the restaurant undetected. Jade politely excused herself and headed to the ladies’ room.
“Get it together, Jade.” She scolded her reflection. “You’ve been over him for a while now.” Right?
A toilet flushed and a petite woman stepped out of the stall. She raised her brows at Jade in the mirror, connecting, letting her know without words that she understood. Jade smiled back and waited for the woman to exit. When the door clicked shut, she sighed.
Why was she reacting this way? They’d parted ways almost a year ago. Jade shook her head. The answer was clear. It was one thing to know he had moved on, but to see him at that restaurant—which used to be one of their favorite places—with another woman made everything more real. If this beauty was the new lucky woman, she truly had a prize. One that Jade failed to appreciate until after she’d tossed him away. And why? Because commitment frightened her—that was why.
“Okay, lady! You’ve got business to handle.” She washed her hands, stuck them under the forceful hand dryer and headed to her table.
On the way back, she noticed that Mitch was gone. Relief paraded through her core. Before getting too excited, she looked around the restaurant to make sure he wasn’t there. Just beyond the front door, she saw him, tall, handsome, and holding the woman’s hand. They kissed—a soft slow peck—one that clearly laid claim to the other. He let his free hand slip over her backside. The woman giggled. They released their grasp, the gesture slow and hesitant. They didn’t want to let each other go. Even from inside, Jade could spot the ring on her finger. Jade shook her head and, with one last sigh, let it all go.
At the table, Jade tried her best to give her full attention to the gentleman she was meeting with, and relished the excitement in his eyes when she invited him to submit a proposal for funding before ending their meeting. Inside her car, she dialed her cousin Kendall. To the world, Kendall was a famous pop artist. But to Jade she was her closest friend ever since the days of playing dress-up in their mothers’ closets.
“Hey, Jade.”
“I just saw him...and her.”
“Who? Oh no!” Kendall’s gasp was airy. “Him!” she sang. “And his fiancée?”
“Yep.” Jade took a deep breath and dropped her head back on the headrest.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I thought I heard he was engaged, but seeing them together made it so...real.”
“Did you say anything to him?”
“No. I’m not sure if he even saw me.” What if he had?
“Do you still love him?”
Jade paused a moment. “I don’t think so.” She was as honest as she could be.
Silence hung between them for several moments.
“I wonder if he did see you, but didn’t say anything because he was with her,” Kendall finally said.
“Yeah.” Old feelings bubbled to the surface. Jade wondered if the fiancée was giving him the things she couldn’t. “Anyway,” she huffed, “that’s in the past now.”
“Yes. It. Is! Why don’t you come see me? We can do a long weekend on Catalina Island. Meet some gorgeous men and get your mind off of him. It’s time for you to really move on and find someone new.”
“Humph.”
“Don’t sound so glum. I just said ‘meet’ some gorgeous men, not bring them home to meet our mothers and get married.” Kendall’s laugh poured through the phone and Jade pictured her bent forward, slapping her thigh the way she always did. “Let loose a little—know what I mean?”
“Hey,” Jade prompted when their laughter died down, “have you thought about settling down?”
Silence ensued, saying more than words could offer. “No time soon,” Kendall finally said. “Let history tell it and that answer may change to never. The public can be cruel.”
“I can imagine,” Jade said, without rehashing the viral debacle Kendall’s last breakup had become.
“What about your visit?” Jade perfectly understood Kendall’s timely change of subject. Their conversation was moving toward a heavy matter. “Check your calendar and see when you can come. I’ll send you my new tour dates and we can work around those. Why don’t you come to one of my shows? I could use a good dose of normal.”
“Yeah! And I could use a vacation.”
Kendall squealed. “Good. I haven’t seen you since Chloe’s wedding. I gotta run now, but call me later and we’ll work it out. Okay?”
“Okay, Ken.”
“And don’t sit around wondering ‘what if.’ Maybe things didn’t work out between the two of you because there was another amazing man coming your way.”
“You, too.” Jade chuckled. “Talk to you later, Ken.” Before she could think about meeting other men, she had to make sure she got Mitch all the way out of her system.
