Jessica led the way into the lobby, and I followed her through the ladies room door. Neither of us spoke while we used the stalls, although I kept my lips pressed tightly together to keep from telling her to quit f**king flirting with my boyfriend. If Lucas couldn’t see the way she wanted him, he was the crazy one, not me. And we were going to have a serious conversation about her when we got back to the room. I didn’t want to argue, but I needed to hear him say that he was going to ask her to leave after this weekend, during which he’d stay with me at the hotel.
Then I needed to hear him say dirty things in my ear.
Tie my hands behind my back.
Or maybe my legs to the bedposts.
Were there bedposts on the bed our room? I hadn’t noticed, not even when scrambling across it while he chased me. God, that was so nuts. Picturing it put a smile on my face, and my mood was damn near cheerful as I washed my hands. After drying them off, I found my lip balm in my purse and began reapplying it.
A moment later Jessica came out of her stall and used the sink next to mine. Her lipstick was bright red, so thick it looked shellacked on her lips. Lucas hates lipstick, I felt like telling her.
She noticed me looking at her reflection. For the first time, the phony smile was gone from her face.
In fact, her expression was downright arctic.
And when she opened her mouth, I had a feeling her words would be too.
I decided to strike first. “Is something wrong, Jessica?”
She narrowed her cool blue eyes. “He’ll never marry you. If that’s what you’re hoping.”
It was as if she’d punched me. “What?”
“I know him. He gets like this, all lovey dovey, and you think you’re getting to him. Did he tell you he doesn’t want to get married? That he doesn’t want kids?”
“Yes.” I was too stunned to tell her to f**k off.
“Well, he means it.” She dried her hands on a towel and threw it into the hamper beneath the counter. “We were together for years, and if he didn’t change his mind for me, he won’t change it for you.”
“This is none of your business.” Finally, I’d recovered some of my senses, but she’d touched a nerve.
She faced me. Arched a brow. “He still loves me, you know.”
“You’re crazy.”
“He does. He told me he’ll always love me.”
My stomach churned, and I fought hard to maintain my composure. I’d gain nothing by losing my temper in front of her. “He feels bad about the way things ended,” I said through my teeth. “He’s trying to be a friend to you.”
She nodded, licking her blood red lips. “Is that why he kissed me last night?”
Wrath like I’d never felt exploded inside me, and I nearly struck her pretty face. But something about her expression as she said it was off—or maybe it was the way she licked her lips a second time as she waited for my reaction. She’s lying.
“Bullshit.” I lifted my chin.
Jessica shrugged. “If I’d known about you, maybe I wouldn’t have done it. But he obviously didn’t want to tell me he had a girlfriend. I wonder why that is.”
“Because he doesn’t want you to know about his private life!” I snapped. “Maybe he knows you’re crazy.”
“I’m not crazy.” She turned to assess her reflection once more. “I just didn’t want to play his perverted sex games.” She cocked her head to one side. “Although I think I’ve changed my mind about that. I might be ready to give them another try. I’ve decided I don’t need to get married anyway.” She smiled slyly at me over her shoulder. “And Lucas is such a good f**k.”
Fury roared through me with the force of a freight train. Rushing past her, I stormed out of the bathroom and back into the bar, my entire body shaking with rage. I wanted to get Lucas and get out of there as fast as possible.
“Hey, there you are.” Lucas looked relieved to see me. Had he been nervous about Jessica and I being alone together? Maybe because he was worried she’d tell me something? The image of them kissing in his bedroom popped into my mind.
No. It’s not true. She was lying.
But I needed to hear it from him.
“Lucas, I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well. Would you mind if we went back to our room?”
For a second I thought he might try to convince me to stay, but he must have noticed the change in my demeanor or perhaps he saw the way my hands were gripping my purse. “OK.” He stood and addressed his friends. “Sorry, guys. We’re gonna head up.”
While he pulled some cash from his wallet, I flashed an apologetic smile at the group. “Sorry. I’m just really tired. Long day. Traveling.” The look of pity on Andrea’s face told me she probably knew what my problem actually was, but I avoided making eye contact with her. “But it was very nice meeting you.”
As soon as the money was on the table, I grabbed Lucas’s hand and pulled him out of the bar and through the lobby, refusing to look in the direction of the bathroom. When we reached the elevators, I punched the Up button and crossed my arms in front of my chest.
“Mia, what’s wrong?” Lucas took me by the shoulders and searched my face for clues. “Hey. Are you OK? Did Jessica upset you?”
Tears filled my eyes and I shook my head, not wanting to have a breakdown in the hotel lobby. “I’ll tell you upstairs.”