Jack's Surrender (Holiday Cove 5)

Noah cleared his throat. “If you need anything, you let me know, okay? Time off for appointments, extra rest, whatever you need. And of course, there’s an allowance for maternity leave. Paid maternity leave.”

“Thank you, Noah. This job means a lot to me, and I really appreciate you being so understanding.”

“Sure.” He looked at me like there was something more he wanted to say, but after a moment, he buckled and went back to eating his lunch.

As we continued our lunch, Noah asked a few questions, mostly about my family and whether they knew or not. We talked a little bit about the renovations I was working to set up on the house and he offered to give me some numbers for painters and interior designers that worked on his many properties, personal and commercial.

Lunch wound down and while I was relieved at Noah’s understanding, I became more aware of the ticking clock in my head, telling me that while one hurdle had been conquered, there was an even bigger one coming up all too quickly. While Noah settled the check, I excused myself to the ladies room.

A woman was standing at the sink when I exited the stall. She glanced up and saw me in the mirror. “Holly?”

“Oh wow, hi, Tina!” I said, smiling at the dark-haired woman. She worked as a bartender at Harvey’s the area’s most popular little bar and grill. I hadn’t been there since coming back into town. “How are you?” I asked, joining her at the sinks.

“I’m good. Still at Harvey’s. I didn’t know you were in Holiday Cove.”

“Yeah, I’ve been back for nine, ten months now.”

Tina nodded. “Oh, I meant still…I thought after—” She stopped herself and quickly moved to dry her hands. “I just meant, after the breakup.”

“Oh.” I frowned down into the stream of water. “Well yeah, my job is here, so I’m staying. Jack’s the one who left.”

“Left? I just saw him last night.”

I glanced up. “You did?”

“He’s been at Harvey’s the last couple of nights.” Tina moved over and propped herself against the counter with one hip. “The first night he was in rough shape. He got totally drunk and I had to call Aaron to get him.”

Drunk? That didn’t sound like Jack. I’d never even managed to get him tipsy before. “When was this?”

“Two—no—three nights ago.”

Hot guilt washed over me. That was the night he’d stopped over at the house.

“But he was in last night and…well…he was happier.” Tina’s eyes shifted away from me.

“Well, that’s good.” I forced a smile and moved to the door after drying off my own hands.

Tina followed me out of the bathroom. Noah was standing at the front and smiled when he caught sight of me. Tina whistled under her breath. “Wow. Is that your new boyfriend?”

I laughed. “No, that’s my boss.”

“Well, from the way he’s looking at you right now, I think there might be a little something more going on,” Tina said, her voice still low. “And after the way Jack treated you, I’d say go for it, girl.”

“Treated me?” I looked over at her, my eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Tina looked panicked. “He cheated on you, right?”

“No! Not at all!” I said a little too loudly.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Holly. That’s what everyone was saying.”

Anger rose up from my stomach and my knees shook. “Why would they say that?”

“The last two times he’s come in, he hasn’t been alone,” Tina said, avoiding my eyes for a moment. “He was with that new pilot Aaron hired.”

I shook my head. “What? Who?”

Tina sighed. “I’m really sorry, Holly. I don’t even know her name. Most of the guys down at the bar call her Double D.”

I kept shaking my head. Jack wasn’t with someone else. He couldn’t be. Was that the real reason he’d come to the house? To tell me he’d moved on? It wasn’t that he didn’t want to accidentally run into me while in town. He wanted to give me a heads up before I ran into him and his new—and apparently well-endowed—girlfriend?

I didn’t know, but I was sure as hell going to find out.

24

Holly

I kept my shit together as long as I could. But after the next few hours staring at my computer screen, listening to Tina’s words on repeat, and conjuring up image after image of Jack with some other woman, I was wound tighter than a Jack-in-the-Box and by five o’clock, I stalked out of the office ready to blow. The fuck off attitude worked as a natural deterrent and no one stopped me on my way out to chat or ask if I wanted to tag along for happy hour. I jumped into my SUV, threw it in drive, and zoomed from the parking lot with one target in mind.

The Rosen Air Museum was perched high on the bluffs overlooking Holiday Cove, and I pressed the gas pedal to the floorboard as I roared up the hillside. The sharp curves were no match for my fury. Along the way, I’d debated whether or not it would be better to catch Jack in the act or not. Sure, there was some small voice telling me that we were broken up, that he could move on with his life, but the rest of my brain was fuming with anger and venom and drowned out the rational part within seconds.