SKYE

"Hi," Greg says with a little wave.

My jaw goes slack and my eyes widen.

"Wha-" I say as I walk up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd surprise you!" he says with a smile. "I know I spent a long time ignoring you, and I just wanted to show you that I still care about you."

"I- We... Greg, this is a lot right now. I told you I wasn-"

"I know, I know." He shakes his head. "No expectations. I just came as a friend."

I turn around and see Jacks with questioning eyes. Kay bites her lips as she looks back and forth between Jacks, Greg, and me. Kay walks up to Greg and me with a smile and an outstretched hand.

"Hi, I'm Kay. Are you the fiancé we've heard so much about?"

Greg's eyes widen for a moment before he looks back at me.

"Kay, this is Greg," I say, gesturing between them. "Greg, Kay."

Discomfort crawls through my veins and under my skin.

This entire situation is my fault. I should have told everyone that we had broken up, but I didn't, and now I'm standing here trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do while my boss and my ex make small talk in front of the man I love.

This is a disaster.

"Nice to meet you, Greg," she says, shaking his hand.

"Likewise."

"How did you find us?" I ask.

"You gave me your full itinerary before you left, remember?"

I nod, slack-jawed.

"Well, I was just telling Skye that we're having a crew dinner in the restaurant in about 20 minutes. You're welcome to come along and meet the rest of the team."

I look to Jacks, hoping for some cue as to what to do here, but he has his hands in his pockets and is staring off in the other direction.

"Sure, I'd love to," he says.

"Great! Well I'll see you two in a little bit then."

Jacks walks off without saying a thing so I assume he's upset. It's clear that I need to deal with this, and quickly. Kay returns to the front desk.

"Let's talk in my room," I say, walking toward the hall. When I reach the door, I pull out my room key and slide it into the lock. With a quick beep, it lets me inside.

The door closes behind us with a thud.

"Here, these are for you," he says, handing me the flowers.

"Thanks."

I take them and grab the empty ice bucket off the counter, filling it with water from the bathroom sink and placing them inside. When I return, he's sitting in the armchair in the corner. I sit down on the edge of the bed and sigh.

"You didn't tell them?" he asks.

"Huh?" I'm still in a daze, trying to process the situation I'm in.

"You didn't tell your coworkers that we broke up?"

"Oh. Um, I told a couple people, but mostly no."

"Does your family know?"

"Ollie does."

He nods, awkwardly staring down at his hands as he interlaces his fingers in his lap.

"Should I take that as a good sign?" he asks.

"Greg, I'm sorry, but no. I just didn't want to tell them yet."

He sighs and drops his head.

"That's fair. I'm sorry to push you. I'm just here as your friend and I'll follow your lead with everyone."

I don't know what to say, so I say the only thing I can think of.

"Okay."

We head to the back of the restaurant where a long table has been set up for us. I can hear the rain falling outside, but as we get closer the group's loud chatter drowns it out. Roman waves me over and I take a seat beside him with Greg next to me.

"Who's the new guy?" Roman asks.

"This is Greg," I say. "Greg, this is Roman Dewan."

"Nice to meet you," Greg says.

Concern flashes across Roman's eyes as he looks back at me for confirmation.

"Greg Greg?"

"Yep," I reply, screaming behind my calm demeanor.

I never should have brought him to this dinner. I felt so guilty that he had come all this way, and he insisted he just wanted to be friends, but now that I'm here I realize what an absolute nightmare this is.

Just get through this dinner. Somehow.

"Wow uh... wow," Roman says, his eyes wide as saucers. "This is a surprise. You came all the way from the West Coast for a visit?"

"Yeah," Greg says. "I missed Skye and I had some vacation time built up at work, so I thought I'd come by."

I hear a few murmured greetings at the other end of the table and I see Jacks walking up to the table. He walks over to us and sits down across the table just a few seats down. He gives me a tight smile and a nod.

The air is thick with tension and I can't help but think that this is my karmic punishment for handling this so poorly.

"Hi there," Greg says, giving Jacks a nod. "It's Jackson, right?"

"Yeah, hey," Jacks said. His body language is stiff and several of the people around us have silenced, tuning into the interaction between them.

"Nice to see you again. I'm glad you hired Skye, it was a big deal to her to get this opportunity."

"Well she's a great photographer," he says, shooting me a weak smile. "It was an easy decision."

"Yeah, she is," Greg says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me in with a side hug. "I'm very proud of her."

I shoot him a glare and his smile fades. He removes his arm from my shoulders and I look back at Jacks. His jaw is clenched and he won't look me in the eye.

Okay, this is beyond a disaster. How do I fake sick now and quickly bail on this dinner?

He gives my thigh a squeeze and leans in to whisper in my ear.

"Sorry," he says.

I lean back and whisper to him in reply.

"We need to talk. Come with me."

I stand up and excuse myself from the table; Greg follows after me. I make my way to a hallway in the back by the bathrooms.

"This isn't working. I need you to leave."

"Is this about the hug?" he asks. "Because I'm sorry about that, I really am. I know we're just being friends here, it was just a force of habit."

"No. It's because I haven't told everyone that we've broken up and the farce of all of this is totally messed up. I'm sorry, but you and I are not going to be a thing. Not now, not ever."

"Wha-" He scoffs and steps back. "Are you serious right now? I'm trying, Skye, don't you see that? I came all this way because I love you and I want to show you that I can be who you need."

"I'm serious. I can't do this with you. It's too late. I'm sorry, but it's too late."

"You tell me this now that I fly thousands of miles?"

"I gave you all the chances in the world, Greg. You made the decision to show up here unannounced. I don't owe you something for that."

He rubs his forehead.

"Okay," he says. "Bye Skye."

He walks down the corridor and disappears through a back exit.

Well that went great.

I walk back to the table and sit down in my seat.

"Are you okay?" Roman asks softly. "What happened to Greg?"

"He's leaving."

Roman gives me a sympathetic look and a pat on the shoulder. I look up and realize that Jacks is no longer in his seat.

"Where did Jacks go?" I ask.

"I thought he followed you guys. He took off right after you did."

"Shit."

If I were Jacks, I'd be pissed right now.

I pull my chair out and stand up, heading for the lobby entrance. Through the glass doors, I see someone standing in the pouring rain.

I step out under the awning and can just make out his silhouette leaning against a street lamp. He's just standing there, getting soaked. It's freezing out and I can't imagine how cold he must be.

"Jacks!" I call, but I don't think he can hear me over the howling wind and rain.

Shit.

I run out into the rain until I'm just eight feet in front of him.

"Jacks!" I yell. He looks up and seems to snap out of a daze. I've never seen this look on his face—he looks completely defeated.

"I couldn't take it," he cries. "I can't be in there with you watching his hands on you, hearing him acting like you're his. Seeing you two together, it eats away at my insides like a parasite. It fucking tears me to shreds. I can't do it, Skye."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this. I handled it really badly, but I-"

"I don't want to hear it." He ruffles his wet hair and looks away. "You don't have to say it. You're going back to him."

"What? No, Jacks! No! I told him to leave!"

His head snaps toward me.

"Are you still in love with him?" he asks. The look on his face crushes me.

I walk up to him and hold his face in my hands.

"I love you."

He blinks several times, raindrops falling off his lashes.

"You love me?" His voice is shaky but hopeful.

"I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier. I'm sorry I let Greg come to dinner and make things awkward. But I love you, Jacks. You."

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