Hometown Love (Love on the North Shore #2)(62)
Maybe you should act more like a mother. The thought stayed in his head, testing all his willpower. “No one said you weren’t, but Jessie’s a part of my and Grace’s life now. You’ll just have to deal with it.”
Chapter 13
Jealousy kept Jessie awake much of the night. The unfamiliar emotion took root the moment Mack and Bethany walked into his home and grew when she returned home.
At first, Jessie denied it. She told herself her chest and stomach hurt because she’d eaten too much. When she closed her eyes and pictured herself clawing Bethany’s beautiful smile off her face, she’d chalked it up to anger. Bethany had been the one to ruin her and Mack’s night together. By the time sunlight peeked its way into her room, she gave up and labeled what she felt as plain old jealousy, something she’d never experienced before. Sure, she’d experienced envy, but that was different. She envied people for what they’d accomplished, but did not feel any ill will toward them. But as the room brightened, Jessie wanted to march over to Mack’s, pull Bethany out of the house, and drop her somewhere, telling her to find her own way back to the garage.
While she relished the thought, she recognized that particular fantasy would never play out. So rather than sit around and dwell on it, she prepared for the day. The original plan had been for the three of them to go hiking. With Bethany around, she assumed they’d need to alter their itinerary, but either way, she didn’t intend to leave Bethany alone with Mack any longer than necessary. The warning Bethany delivered still echoed in her head. Not to mention, the looks Bethany cast Mack’s way throughout the party and dinner spoke loud and clear: Bethany wanted Mack. Whether because she realized what she’d given up or just didn’t like seeing someone else in Mack’s life, Jessie didn’t know. Thankfully, Mack hadn’t shown an ounce of interest in his ex-wife, and Jessie trusted him.
The balloons from the party still swayed outside as Jessie climbed the front steps and the heavy door stood open. Through the screen door, she spotted Grace’s dollhouse with the furniture and dolls sprawled across the floor, indicating the little girl was up and about.
Jessie opened the screen door without a sound. She assumed the kitchen was the place to stop first, and she was right. Unfortunately, she’d picked the wrong time. At the counter Mack and Bethany stood together—and Bethany’s lips were locked with his.
Jessie watched his hand move toward his ex’s shoulder, although Jessie wasn’t sure if it was to push her away or pull her closer.
Unable to breathe, Jessie reached for the wall to steady herself then retraced her steps. She made it into the living room when Grace flew down the stairs and skidded to a stop near her.
“Jessie you’re here.” The little girl’s voice forced air back into her lungs. “Daddy’s making pancakes for breakfast.” She latched onto Jessie’s hand. “Come on.” Grace pulled her hand. “He’s putting chocolate chips in mine.”
Back in the kitchen, Bethany and Mack remained near the counter, but they were no longer kissing.
“Daddy, Jessie’s here,” Grace announced, her cheerful voice breaking through the tension in the room.
Mack’s head snapped in her direction, an angry expression on his face. When their eyes met, the anger disappeared and a forced smile replaced it. “I didn’t hear you come in.” Mack walked past his ex-wife and embraced her. “I’m making pancakes for breakfast. Do you want some?” He pressed a feather-light kiss on her lips.
No, she didn’t want pancakes; she wanted an explanation. And maybe to hit Bethany with the pancake griddle.
“Can we talk in the other room?” She forced a calm voice, no easy task when Bethany stood only feet away in one of Mack’s t-shirts. The damn thing only came to mid-thigh.
The anger she’d noticed in him a few minutes earlier returned, and he glared over at Bethany. “Watch the stove so Grace’s breakfast doesn’t burn. Grace, your milk is on the table.”
He knows I saw. Was he mad because she’d caught them or angry because Bethany had made an advance? And why they hell was the woman wearing his clothes? Jessie needed answers, but she didn’t want to come across as a jealous shrew either.
“What just happened in there?” she asked as soon as they entered the other room. Despite her best efforts, her words came out as more of an accusation than a mere question. “I walked in and you two were kissing. And she’s wearing your clothes.”
“It’s not what you think.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “She kissed me, not the other way around.” The concern and worry in his voice ate away at the anger simmering in her chest. “The only woman I’m interested in kissing is you, and I let her know that. As for the shirt, she needed something to sleep in. She had nothing with her.”
When she’d seen Bethany in the shirt, she’d not considered that the woman hadn’t planned on staying the night. Of course she had no clothes with her.
“Bethany slept on the air mattress in the spare room upstairs. I stayed in my room alone, thinking about you and what we never finished last night.”
The heat in his voice warmed her entire body.
The image of Mack and Bethany kissing stayed in her head, but she didn’t call him a liar. So far, he’d never given her any reason to doubt him, and kissing him sounded like something Bethany would do.