Faking It with my Billionaire Grump

21. Tilly

21

Tilly

While Jake heads to the bar, Chris leads me to a table where Joey and Phil are sitting. They smile up at me when I arrive, all clearly pleased with themselves that they got rid of Bryan.

“Thanks, guys,” I say when I sit down. “And I’m sorry for causing you all this trouble.”

“No trouble at all, Tilly,” Joey pipes up. In fact”—he grins to the others—“we enjoyed it, didn’t we, guys?”

Phil and Chris are grinning and nodding, too, and I can only laugh at them.

“You’re crazy. All of you. Completely nuts.”

“Yep,” Phil says. “But you always did love that about us.”

“Yes, I did,” I say, fiddling with the wedding ring on my finger.

It still feels strange, and I haven’t gotten used to wearing it yet. As I’m messing around with it, it slips off and goes careening across the table.

“Oh, Lord,” I cry.

Phil, with his lightning reflexes, catches it, and the guys make mocking sounds at me as he hands it over. “Better not lose that, Mrs. Coulter.”

“I know,” I cry. “Jake only bought it the other day.”

“No, he didn’t. He’s had it for years,” Joey blurts.

But when Phil and Chris spin their heads and glare at him, Joey looks suddenly guilty.

“You never could hold your liquor or your tongue,” Phil hisses.

“What do you mean, Joey?” I pierce him with a gaze. “Tell me.”

Joey looks at Chris and Phil as though he needs guidance as to what he is supposed to do now. Both of them shake their heads at him.

“Well, you’ve let the cat out of the bag. You might as well tell her now,” Chris growls.

Joey still looks bashful, but after heaving a resigned sigh, he looks at me and says, “Jake bought those wedding rings before you left town. He was waiting until after prom, and then he was going to propose to you.”

Chris and Phil still have faces like thunder, but I can only gawk at Joey with my mouth agape. There are no words I can think of to say. My whole body is in complete shock.

Joey shrugs at me. “You were never meant to know. Sorry, Tilly.”

A few seconds later, Phil and Chris’s expressions change immediately, and looking behind me, they pin on quick smiles, albeit false ones. By their reaction, I assume Jake is approaching. I don’t really know why, but I have a sudden urge to keep what I’ve discovered a secret. Quickly, I look at Joey.

“You haven’t told me, got it?” I hiss.

Sitting up straighter in his seat, he nods quickly, and then Jake reaches the table with a tray full of beers.

“The man of the hour,” Chris says, flicking a glance at me.

After everyone thanks him, Jake sits down beside me, and Phil starts talking about his work. I’m grateful that they understand the mission, though I’m pretty sure they’re likely doing it for Jake’s benefit rather than mine. I don’t care. In fact, I’m happy that he has such a loyal group of friends.

When the evening finally draws to a close and the townsfolk slowly meander to their cars, we say goodnight to the guys and head back to the ranch.

“Not as bad as you thought it was going to be?” Jake asks as we head down the road.

There are so many things I should say, but my mind is a whirl. The evening has been more than eventful, and if I’m honest, I need time on my own to think.

“No. Actually, I had a great time.”

He smiles over at me and nods. “Good.”

I wonder if he’s going to bring up that kiss. We didn’t talk about it earlier, and it’s not exactly a small thing, but even when we arrive at the ranch, he still hasn’t said anything, and I’m sure as heck not going to.

“Fancy a nightcap?” Jake offers once we get indoors after giving Elsa the much-needed attention she demanded upon our return.

“Actually, I’m pretty tired,” I lie. “I think I’m going to head to bed.”

An expression passes over his face. I’m pretty certain it’s disappointment. But it’s gone as quickly as it arrived, and he nods. “Yes. It’s been an eventful evening. Well, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sure. Goodnight, Jake.”

“Goodnight, Tilly.”

Once I close the door to my room, I walk over to the bed and drop down onto the soft mattress.

Holy cow!

My mind is racing, and I find it hard to slow it down enough to think about one thing at a time. I mean, the kiss, the ring, the conversation on our walk, Jake’s protectiveness when Bryan arrived.

There’s too much pent-up energy running through me right now, and pushing myself off the bed, I pace back and forth across the polished wooden floor. Jake had bought those rings before I even left. He was that certain that we were going to be together forever; he had them before he even proposed.

That makes me feel bad again, and I shake my head at what I must have put him through when I left. He gave me a glimpse tonight, when we were talking, of how hard it had been for him. But while he told me he felt lost, he didn’t mention that he was going to ask me to marry him.

But then, we were Baskington’s sweethearts, right? Everyone and their mother had our future set out for us. In high school, we were voted the couple most likely to stay together, and then there’s the fact that we were prom king and queen.

And I threw all that away.

Don’t do this again, Tilly. You can’t beat yourself up forever. If tonight showed you anything, it’s that the town has moved on and forgiven you. Maybe it’s about time you did the same.

Maybe it is. After tonight, there are a lot of maybes going through my mind. Like, maybe I should have stayed. Maybe Jake was always the man for me. Maybe there’s still a chance for us.

Is that what I really want?

After that kiss, that tremendous kiss that brought back so many feelings I forgot I had, I can’t deny that I’m now beginning to wonder if it is. Whether I’ve acknowledged it or not, being around Jake has reignited how I used to feel about him, even if those feelings do scare me to death.

I’m not afraid of love. I’m not afraid of loving Jake. Maybe I’m afraid that I’ve wasted ten years of my life when I could have been happy all along.

The sun peeking through the blinds in my room is brighter than normal this morning, so I know I’ve slept in. I shouldn’t be surprised. As if all the excitement of the hoedown wasn’t enough, I also struggled to get to sleep last night.

Between indecisions, fears, and regrets, I just couldn’t switch off.

Padding down the stairs, I head to the kitchen. I already know that Jake won’t be there. He rises with the birds. At first, I thought it was out of necessity, having to run the ranch and all, but I’ve come to realize that he actually enjoys those peaceful moments in the morning. Having shared a few of them with him, I can understand why.

It’s past 10:00 when I head onto the porch with my steaming coffee. It’s already starting to get hot, and even though I still don’t feel fully awake, I think about what I’m going to do today. It’s as my mind is wondering if I should go and see Mel that my phone rings.

Checking the caller ID, I frown.

Why is my boss calling me?

“Hey, Sharron,” I say when I pick up.

“Tilly,” she breathes enthusiastically. “How’s it going?”

“Good. Things are good,” I reply, still wondering why she’s calling.

I don’t want to ask her outright. It might seem a bit rude. Besides, Sharron is a straight-to-the-point kind of person. I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.

“You think you’re rested enough to come back?”

“Er, well…” I hesitate.

“Listen, I know you wanted a bit more time, but I really need you back on the Denby account. And I have great news. They’ve given you another promotion.”

“What?” I gasp.

“It’s true. You’re now brand manager. It’s what you’ve always wanted. To be able to work more closely with the client, creating advertisements for their brand. I mean, I did push it a little. You are the best on my team. I’ve probably shot myself in the foot because I’m going to lose your fantastic talent,” she goes on. “You’ll need to finish up what you’re working on, but then the job’s all yours.”

I’m completely dumbfounded. Partly because I’m still not fully awake and partly because I have coveted this position for nearly a year.

“It’s what you’ve worked so hard for, Tilly. All those late nights and long hours,” Sharron says when I don’t reply.

“Yes. Yes, of course,” I say, the excitement now taking over the astonishment. “I just didn’t expect it so soon.”

“I know,” she gushes. “But the position opened up, and I just had to put you in for it. I hope I didn’t do the wrong thing.”

“No. Not at all,” I reply, still reeling.

I’ve been employed by Avant for the last six years. Like everyone else, I started at the bottom and worked my way up. As it happens, I have a flair for advertising, and so I’ve made great leaps and bounds, as well as lots of money for my company’s clients. My promotions were the main thing that bothered Bryan so much.

“It has a time limit, Tilly,” Sharron says. “If you want it, you need to be back in the office. Besides, I need you.”

I can hear the smile in her voice, and I smirk. I like Sharron. She’s a good boss, and from the moment I was promoted to her team, we hit it off.

“Okay,” I say. “But can I call you back? I have a thing…”

“Sure. Just don’t leave it too long.”

When the call ends, I stare at the phone like I’ve never seen one before. I just can’t believe it. I imagined I wouldn’t get near that job for at least another year. It’s nearly twice my current pay, and I’d be doing what I love.

A movement at the corner of my eye makes me glance up, and I see Jake thundering across the field some distance away. As I watch him ride, my excitement wanes, and an inner turmoil begins.

If I take the promotion, I’ll have to give up on any hope of us being together. The city’s too far away. It just wouldn’t work. And while it is a fantastic opportunity, something has happened to me over the last few weeks. Feelings that I can’t ignore have been resurrected, not that my heart would let me ignore them even if I wanted to.

But I don’t want to. If there’s a chance to be happy, shouldn’t I at least try? There will always be other jobs, but there will never be another Jake. Or am I nuts to give up this offer?

What about Bryan? If you go back to the city, he’ll follow you there, and you know it.

Of course he will. And I won’t have the excuse that I’m married anymore to deter him.

Besides, I’ve enjoyed my return to the country life, the slower lane. Though the fact that I’ve been able to spend most of my time with Jake has a lot to do with that. I know my feelings have been reignited, and I’m pretty sure Jake’s have, too.

Oh, I need help.

I lift the phone again and send Mel a text.