Hometown Love (Love on the North Shore #2)(71)
Jessie shoved her hand into her pocket before she started on yet another nail. Chewing every nail off accomplished nothing; only talking to Mack would answer her questions.
She’d planned to join them for movie night tonight like she did almost every Saturday night. However, when he’d left the store that afternoon, he said he’d talk to her later, not see her later. Did that mean she shouldn’t go over? Had Bethany decided to join them instead? Or had he been so relieved over finding Grace that he hadn’t even thought of it? She wanted the last one to be true. Still, she remained on the couch.
Usually they ordered pizza around five and started up the movie while they waited. It was quarter of now. Should she go over and confront Mack with her questions when Grace went to bed? Or should she stay here and let him make the first move?
Stay here, her heart told her. Bethany might still be there, and right now, she couldn’t deal with the woman flirting with Mack as if she didn’t exist. And besides, Mack might still be working things out with Grace. She could be a stubborn little girl.
Since Jessie was now planning for a night alone, she called for her own pizza and selected a movie. One adapted from her all time favorite book, the narrator had just finished setting up the story about to unfold when her phone rang around five-thirty.
“I thought you were joining us tonight?” Mack asked. His voice no longer shook with fear. “Grace won’t let me start the movie until you get here.”
Did your ex-wife leave? “I need to skip movie night. My head is about to split open.” She experienced a pinch of regret at the lie. “Tell Grace I’m sorry, but all I want is to rest my head and go to bed early.”
“I know the feeling.” Mack accepted the lie without question, only making her guilt worse. “Do you need anything?”
The concern she heard made her want to slap herself. “No, I took some medicine and now I’m laying down.”
“Call me in the morning and let me know if you’re up for dinner at my mom’s.”
She’d not thought of the dinner invitation since Mack had asked her earlier in the week. “I will.”
“If you need anything, call me.” Once again, she heard concern in his voice. “Get some rest. I love you.” He sounded one hundred percent sincere, but hadn’t Jeremy?
The headache Jessie claimed bothered her hit her not long after her phone call with Mack, preventing her from finishing the movie. So, after popping some headache medicine, she turned in and decided to figure out what to do about dinner tomorrow when she woke up.
Chapter 16
The headache that started Saturday night turned into a full migraine by midnight. Even still, by earlier Sunday afternoon, her body once again felt normal—at least physically. Her head, though, remained a jumble of questions. Was Mack the type of guy who’d cheat on her? And if he was, how would she know for sure? She’d always suspected Jeremy had cheated on her, but she’d never had any concrete evidence, just suspicions and little things that didn’t add up. Then, of course, there was Bethany. She’d straight-out told Jessie she wanted Mack back. Did she want to spend her time competing with the other woman? She’d put so much effort into putting herself back together after Jeremy that she didn’t want to go backward. She wanted to keep moving forward with her life. A life she wanted with Mack and Grace, but not if it meant lots of drama thanks to Bethany—or any other woman for that matter.
At some point, she and Mack had to talk. It might not guarantee she’d get an answer she liked, but she needed to start somewhere. Today though, wasn’t the day to do it.
After skipping dinner on Sunday, Jessie went out of her way to avoid Mack both Monday and Tuesday by covering for an employee who called in sick even though she’d opened the store both days and worked eight hours already each day. At any other time, she would’ve called the employees with the day off and asked them to come in. Only if she couldn’t get anyone to cover would she stay. This time, she didn’t even both calling anyone else. Staying at the store gave her a perfect excuse in case Mack invited her over.
While she avoided seeing him, she still spoke with him on the phone each night. Unlike in the past, she kept their conversations short. Sunday, she claimed her head still bothered her and she couldn’t talk. Monday, she told him she had work to complete for an accounting client. Tuesday and Wednesday, she pulled out the “I’m tired card” to end their conversation. Mack never questioned her. Each time, he accepted her excuses at face value. But on Wednesday, his tone insinuated he suspected she was avoiding him, which meant she needed to confront him soon, whether she was ready or not.
“The curtains I ordered for downstairs came in yesterday,” Jessie told Sean Thursday afternoon. As promised, she’d started purchasing the necessary items to decorate his house and surprise Mia when she came home at Thanksgiving. “The things for the master bedroom won’t be in until next week.”
Sean sat on the other side of her desk. He’d stopped in on his way home from work to grab a new saw blade. “That’s fine. I’m not done with the master suite anyway.”
When she’d stopped for the window measurements, she’d seen what was to become the master suite and she wasn’t surprised he still had work left to do. “Do you want me to start downstairs or wait until you’re done?”