Page 116 of Wanting You
Clearly I was right. She’s here, which means the two of them are okay.
I want to be happy for her. Truly, I do.
But I’m in turmoil. The man I thought was the love of my life loves someone else, and I can’t compete with a twenty-year-old memory.
I don’t know what Emily and River are talking about, but for once in my life I put myself first.
I knock anyway.
Out of necessity. Because if I don’t, I’ll spend the rest of the day spiraling.
Three soft knocks.
The door opens.
River is shirtless, damp and flushed in a way that makes it painfully obvious I’ve interrupted something. He doesn’t look annoyed, but he doesn’t look thrilled either.
Emily stands, also flushed, wearing nothing but a sheet. Her cheeks are pink, her lips slightly swollen. She looks…glowing. Happy. Awash in post-coital haze.
And I hate how much I envy her for it.
A third person is here as well.
Jake.
My competition.
“I need to speak to Emily,” I say quickly. “Privately.”
“Are you okay, See?” Emily asks, walking toward me. “No, of course you’re not. You look like the kettle’s broken and there’s no more tea.”
Even Emily’s British banter doesn’t make me smile.
“You poor thing,” she says. “Let me get some clothes on and I’ll be right with you.”
She disappears into the bedroom, the door clicking softly shut behind her.
I stay standing just inside the entryway, but the tension swirls around me like it’s stitched into the air itself.
Jake doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to. Everything is in his expression—the guilt, the ache, the embarrassment.
“Sienna,” he says finally.
I shouldn’t answer.
But I do.
“What?”
“Jake…” River begins.
“No, Riv. This concerns me.”
“She wants to talk to Emily,” River says.
“He’s right.” I sigh.
Jake nods and exhales slowly. “I get it. And I won’t take a lot of your time, but can we talk? Just us?”
