Page 121 of Her Rival

The words came out the way they'd come out at Jett's kitchen island on Wednesday night, which was without warning, by a body that had been carrying them too long, and the carrying had finally exhausted the body's ability to keep them, and the keeping had become a thing the body could not do for another minute.

I told her I loved her.

She told me she loved me.

We hung up.

I sat on the bed with the phone in my lap for a long time after the call ended.

Jett did not say anything for the duration.

The morning came up the rest of the way.

After a while I said, "She left him."

"I heard."

"In September."

"I heard."

"She left him because of my essay."

"I heard."

"She is coming."

"I heard."

"You hired Marielle to extend protection to her without telling me."

"I did."

"On Wednesday morning."

"Wednesday morning. She'd have been served Wednesday afternoon if she'd taken the offer Wednesday. She took it today."

"Jett."

"Yes."

"That makes two things in twenty hours."

"I know."

"The size of you keeps getting bigger."

"I know, Hartley."

"We are going to talk about it."

"I know. Whenever you want to."

"Not right now."

"Right now I want to call Brynn."

"Okay."