Page 110 of Unexpected Prejudice

She wanted to ask my boyfriend out to dinner? Why the hell would a customer do that?

“And why would you do that?” I asked, not trying to hide my hostility.

“She’s Jordy’s mom,” Jessie said before Serena could.

What the actual fuck? Suddenly, this scenario was a whole lot worse than I thought.

“Well, Jessie and Jordy are good friends.”

The way she said the word “friends” made it sound like she believed Jessie and Jordy were more than just friends.

Her eyes focused back on Jessie. “And ever since I met you in the hospital, I wanted you to join us for dinner, you know, so we can all get to know each other better.”

The smile on her face and the affection in her voice would’ve been charming if it weren’t for the small fact that Jessie wasn’t dating her son. I knew Jessie wasn’t cheating on me, but the fact that he was close enough to Jordan to make Serena believe they were a couple was just as bad.

“I’m going home,” I blurted out, not caring that Jessie was in the middle of saying something and started to walk the other way.

“Hey! Levi, wait up!” he called and ran after me, but I didn’t stop. I was too furious and hurt to face him, so when he grabbed my arm and tried to turn me around, I shrugged him off.

“I’m going home,” I snapped again, and while he let go of my arm, he didn’t give up and rounded on me. This time, he stopped me with two hands on my shoulders.

“What the hell just happened? You just walked out of—”

“What happened is that she just invited you for dinner.”

“So?” His brows knitted together as he shook his head nervously.

“Because she thinks you and Jordan are dating.” I was on the verge of shouting, and for the first time ever, I didn’t care how it affected him. I never raised my voice at Jessie, but I couldn’t help it.

“So, what if she did? It’s not like I’m dating him, and you know it. You know I would never cheat on you, Levi. You’re my everything.”

“Then why the fuck does she think you do?” I hissed, and he winced. I tore my eyes off him and looked at the busy street. It wasn’t the time or place to start a fight, so I bit back my anger.

“Levi—”

“No.” I cut him off and stepped back. “We’re not doing this here. I’m going home. Alone. We can meet there.”

“You don’t actually mean it. We took the Vespa. Let me drive us back.”

Already walking toward the bus stop, I ignored his pleading as he followed me. Then, I ignored him climbing the bus after me and sitting two seats behind on the ride back.

I didn’t say a word because I knew I’d regret it if I opened my mouth.

Jessie

My chest felt tight, and I could hardly breathe as I followed Levi back from the bus station to our home. Completely ignoring me the entire ride, he didn’t say a word, and now, he was walking a few steps ahead of me. It was the second time today I’d angered him, but unlike the argument we’d had outside Miles’s house, now he refused even to glance my way.

By the time we reached our driveway, I’d decided to try talking to him again. “Levi, please talk to me.”

Still not getting any response, I bit down on my bottom lip and cracked my knuckles. “Please talk to me, Babydoll. I know you’re mad, but I swear she got the wrong impression. Let’s talk about it—” Before I could continue, the front door burst opened, and Paris came running out.

“Jess! Levi!” he shouted with a big smile plastered on his tanned face, as he skipped over the fence with little effort. It had been almost a year since I last saw Kai’s kid. Even though I was happy he was here for the holiday, now really wasn’t a good time.

Not stopping to greet Paris, Levi continued straight into the house.

“Is everything okay?” Paris asked as he stopped before me, his turquoise eyes shining with worry.

“Y-yeah,” I stuttered and moved my hand through his golden curls. “We’ll catch up later, okay?” Forcing a smile, I let go of his little blond head and ran inside, only to be stopped again by Zoe, Kai’s ex-wife and Paris’s mom.