Page 24 of The Other Side

My head turns to Jesse’s voice humming against my ear. He’s sinking into the leather of his chair, his thumb stroking the back of my hand as his eyes hood. “When she starts looking at the venues we can afford, she’s never going to look back.”

I swallow tightly, eyes dropping to the buttons of his crisp, white dress shirt. Porcelain dishes and wine glasses clatter around us, and then my gaze steers to the slate-blue satin of my mini dress. I gently rock my right leg that’s crossed over my left, the weight of my stiletto heel more blatant than ever.

“Yeah,” I say, nodding with conviction. A broader grin stretches across my mouth when my concentration parks on Lindsey again. “I’m sure when I start visiting halls and get a taste of the kind of wedding we can have, I’ll be more open to it.” Lindsey’s eyes sparkle against the artisanal pendant lighting, and my shoulders hike up. “I’m excited.”

Jesse brushes my side. His arm snakes around my back, his lips greeting my temple as he says, “I’ll never give you less than you deserve.” My chest vibrates with the same playful spirit, and then he’s shifting away to face Roger and Lindsey. “Not to mention, we can’t just show off a three-carat engagement ring for nothing. People will expect our wedding to be huge. We can’t let them down.”

My brief high nearly vanishes when Roger’s voice snags my attention. “How’s your finger holding up, by the way?” His chin jerks to my left hand as he sits back, leg crossed over his opposite thigh.

I ghost my teeth over my bottom lip. I fan my fingers out in front of me, the square diamond glistening under the ambient lights when my stomach tenses. “Feels heavy sometimes, but it’s worth it.”

“I’d hope so,” Jesse scoffs. “Color, cut, carat. All of it is well above average.”

My throat bobs, eyes still lingering on the jewelry. “To be honest, the meaning behind it is most important to me.”

“Aw, I love that,” Lindsey coos.

Jesse’s palm greets my bare thigh. “That’s why I’m marrying this woman. Isn’t she absolutely amazing?”

A flush of warmth spreads over my cheeks, surely painting them a faint shade of red. I’d like to convince myself that this knee-jerk reaction is because I’m flattered. But Jesse’s tone doesn’t make that possible.

It’s not what he says, but how he says it.

He flaunts me. Not to show me off, but to show himself off. To gloat about how well he selected from the dating pool.

“You’re embarrassing me, stop it,” I breathe through a timid smile.

“Listen, Jesse doesn’t hand out compliments often. Revel in them when you can,” Roger jokes.

I nod through a small laugh, lifting my wine glass to swallow a sip. Notes of plum slap my tongue, and then Lindsey’s extending her linen napkin toward me. “Here, let me just help you out,” she says, dabbing the corner of my lips. “Can never be too careful with lipstick and wine. Especially red wine.”

“Thank you,” I offer softly, leaning back into the leather.

I cradle my wine glass to my chest, whiffs of seafood and seared steak drifting about. Jesse steers the conversation in a different direction, talking about the real estate investments he’s made and the networking he’s engaged in lately. Both Roger and Lindsey perk their ears, but mine remain unfazed.

Bored.

It’s the same kind of stories when we go out, just a different place they’re being told. I want to laugh. Be able to take control of the conversation at some point. Only, I know exactly what’s going to happen before it does.

Jesse is going to go on a tangent about his success in the workplace. Roger is going to ask what Jesse plans to do with the new properties he’s bought. Lindsey is going to randomly chime in with a comment before taking a cautious sip of her drink. Then she’s going to pat the corner of her swollen lips with the linen napkin.

It’s all foreseeable. And the most alarming part is that Jesse doesn’t notice I hardly engage in conversation anymore. It doesn’t make him bat an eyelash.

When I first met Jesse, he charmed me off of my feet. Handsome, intelligent, witty. Everything I could’ve hoped to find in a man.

He was investing in real estate about a year before I met him, and so he was still working out the kinks of getting used to that position. Up until recently, Jesse hadn’t had one single flaw.

Maybe it’s the idea that when you’re with someone long enough, their flaws start to rise to the surface. And for some time now, Jesse’s personality has gradually transformed right before my eyes.

I’m hoping that after the high of announcing our engagement, Jesse will climb down the arrogant ladder a few steps. Hopefully, he’ll start to treat our wedding like a promise rather than another way to impress people.

Jesse’s mind has always revolved around money in some way. But ever since we bought a home in Hampton Bays and became engaged, his mind seems more consumed by it than ever. Then again, he grew up in Manhattan, surrounded by a wealthy family and rich friends.

Lindsey’s giggle snaps me from my thoughts. Jesse’s voice filters through next, and my head rotates to him. Eyes fastening to his exposed forearms as I taste my wine.

“See, the trick is to diversify the investments you make. As much as it pains me to invest in homes that look poverty stricken, I know there’s opportunity available when we fully gut it and flip it,” he explains.

It pains him?