He sits and turns so his body is completely facing me. He stares at me before answering. "I guessed, Ivy. Usually when a man cheats he'll do it more than once."
"I suppose he will." I look down at my hands before taking a deep breath. I can feel my emotions swiftly coming to the surface. I don't want to cry over Mark again.
"How many in total?"
"How many what?" I try to divert the question not wanting to continue the discussion.
"How many women did Mark cheat with?" He takes another healthy drink.
"Why does any of this matter?" I bite my lip to hold back the tears.
"How many?"
"Three." I jump to my feet. "Three. Are you happy? Mark fucked three other women when he was supposed to love only me. One of which is...or...was my best friend. And he did her in my...in my bed."
He stands and reaches to embrace me, guiding my head so it rests on his chest. "I'm sorry. Upsetting you wasn't what I wanted."
I pull back so I can look up into his face. "Why are you so curious about Mark?"
"I'm not." He motions for me to sit again. "I'm curious about you and what you're feeling."
I take a drink before settling in next to him on the couch again. "I'm devastated." I draw in a deep breath before continuing, "It was much easier when I didn't know who any of the women were."
"So Mark never told you about the other two?"
"No." I sigh. "I don't want to talk about Mark anymore."
Jax stares at my face before he reaches for my hand again. "No more Mark talk. Let's eat."
***
"You've barely eaten anything," he says before taking another mouthful of the perfectly prepared mushroom risotto he's served alongside the grilled swordfish.
"I'm just not hungry," I confess. "It's delicious though."
He smiles before finishing the last bite on his plate. "You should eat, Ivy. You're going to need nourishment for later."
"For later?" I raise my eyebrow teasingly. My heart jumps a beat thinking back to earlier when Jax took me so brazenly, so wantonly that he didn't even undress himself.
"You'll see," he offers before standing to remove both plates from the table.
The distant ringing of my phone from the other room startles us both. I don't move from my spot knowing that it's very likely to be Liz calling yet again. Before I left my apartment there were eight missed calls all from her number.
"You're not going to get that?"
"No. I know who it is."
"Mark?"
I frown at the mention of his name yet again. "No, it's Liz. She's been trying to reach me all day."
"From now on it would be best if you turned off your phone when we're together."
I flash back to earlier in my apartment, right after we made love when he was eagerly checking the messages on his phone.
"You should turn it off now." His voice pulls me from my thoughts.
"And you'll turn off yours?" I counter.