Jessie Slaymaker's Non-Existent Love Life (The Jessie Slaymaker Series) (30 page)

Chapter 75

Jack was back. For a fortnight, anyway. Sonia had wanted to meet his mother and so she had orchestrated a whole trip back to England in order to impress the Davenport matriarch. Jack knew for a fact that she was angling for a proposal from him. Her hints had been less than subtle. She’d taken to buying wedding magazines, and she’d even been reported in one of the Hong Kong tabloids as having attended a wedding fair in the city where she had apparently tried on no less than seventeen dresses. When Jack had questioned her on this, she had merely stated that she was helping a friend plan her wedding. Jack didn’t buy it for one second, and he wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised had she been able to tell him down to the smallest detail what her wedding would be like. And there was no question that it would definitely be
her
wedding. For Jack could never envisage himself ever tying the knot with this woman.

During the six months of their romantic relationship, their friendship seemed to have eroded away to a sliver of what it had been before. Yes, they were civil to each other, but their relationship was one of mutual acceptance. She put up with his bad moods as long as he did as he was told and accompanied her to various public appearances and charity events. The rest of the time he quietly whiled away his time at the gym. Theirs was not a relationship. It was weird. It was a charade, Jack bitterly thought to himself practically every day. Jack knew that living this way, day in, day out, was eating him up inside, but Sonia didn’t seem to care. From what he could tell, all she wanted was the label of being Jack Davenport’s girlfriend.

Jack had dismissed Jessie’s relevation to him that Sonia had schemed and plotted with Charlie to ensnare him, as an attempt by a jealous woman to interfere. But even so, he concluded that there was no way Sonia could be happy with their arrangement either, and he’d tried to broach the subject with her before. He’d encountered a cold response from her that was merely a reminder of the deal he’d reneged on with Mr Schum.

‘But I thought you wanted to be with me, Jack,’ Sonia had said. ‘You did sleep with me after all. I know you wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t love me and want to be with me.’ Unsure of what else to say, Jack found himself cowardly agreeing with her. He’d hoped she would have gotten tired of him by now, but so far, he’d not been in luck. For reasons unbeknown to him, Sonia was committed to him and seemed to want to commit to him even more so. Apparently living together wasn’t enough.

Living together. That had been
her
idea. And Jack, being the malleable man he’d turned into, had just agreed to it for fear of rocking the boat. Six months of living in Sonia’s cold and emotionless world had been almost like a prison, he regarded as he thought back. He’d essentially been her captive and at her beck and call. All because he had been so fearful of Sonia’s father. When Mr Shum had found out Jack and Sonia appeared to be an item, he hadn’t been pleased. But Sonia had provided a protective buffer between them, and seeing how happy she pretended to be around Jack had appeased the old man somewhat. Jack smiled at the irony of his situation. His life seemed to be safe for now, but it wasn’t a life he was enjoying living, or wanted to continue on its present course indefinitely.

For the duration of their stay in England, Jack had insisted they stay in a hotel. He couldn’t bear for his mother to be subjected to their charade any longer than was necessary; and Sonia had agreed, not knowing that Mrs Davenport was in actual fact a most generous host who would have been aghast had she known they were in a hotel. Jack had told her a little white lie, saying that they’d be travelling all over the place and staying with friends here and there.

Staying together in a hotel was a shock to Jack’s system. In Sonia’s spacious Hong Kong apartment they could pretty much steer clear of each other, apart from when they went to sleep. By contrast, their hotel room, although a suite, made Jack feel even more confined.

It was the morning when they were due to meet Mrs Davenport for lunch. It was to be Sonia’s introduction to the lady whom she knew Jack respected immensely. Jack was lying in bed, contemplating the lies he would have to tell his mother in a few hours. Sonia was next to him, sat up checking her emails on her phone as was her usual habit at this time of the morning. They had continued sleeping in the same bed, but the sex had stopped long ago. Jack couldn’t remember the last time they’d even kissed, let alone gone any further. Sonia didn’t seem interested in him unless there was a camera pointed in her face, and Jack refused to chase after someone who seemed to be so indifferent to him these days.

Therefore he had the shock of his life when Sonia suddenly pushed the duvet back and straddled him. She was wearing a sheer black chemise which looked expensive and had ridden up to reveal the tops of her smooth toned thighs. Sonia had a wardrobe of sexy lingerie which she wore on a daily basis, but that was all she tended to do with it. Wear it. It seemed to Jack she never wore it to entice him, but only as something practical to sleep in or wear under her clothes.

Jack looked up at her as she drew lines with her fingers across his chest, and he felt in a serious quandary. He didn’t know what had inspired Sonia’s sudden amorous mood, seeing as how she’d been an absolute ice queen of late. Jack wondered whether he should give her some of her own icy medicine and tell her to get lost. However, his primal urges overtook his head. He was only human, after all, and it had been a long time since he’d received any genuine affection from her, let alone sex. Plus, maybe it would bring them closer together and do something to repair their damaged friendship—maybe even go some way towards making their charade of a relationship into less of a charade.

In a swift move, Jack rolled Sonia over onto her back so he was lying on top of her. Although they both said nothing, it was a clear act on Jack’s part of him trying to assume some control over what was happening. A flicker of vulnerability crossed Sonia’s face and Jack kissed her slowly as he sought to reassure his old friend.

As their kiss grew deeper, Jack felt familiar stirrings down below and Sonia’s body seemed to respond as though she was definitely enjoying herself. All of a sudden it was like a switch flipped inside her and she just had to have him that second. Her hands were all over him, pulling him into a deeper kiss and fumbling with his boxer shorts.

Jack was too engrossed and frantically trying to keep up with her to think clearly about what was happening. All he knew was that Sonia was writhing around underneath him, her boobs hanging out of her chemise and her legs getting increasingly wider and wider apart. Sonia had managed to undo the buttons on his boxers and she was rubbing his hard dick between her legs.

The moment he entered, a voice started to speak loudly in Jack’s head and he pulled out gently.

‘I’ll just get a condom,’ he said, starting to move away from her.

‘No need,’ she said, pulling him back towards her and trying to guide his cock back inside her.

‘What do you mean?’ Jack said, using his physical strength to hold her away from him.

‘I’m on the pill,’ she replied with a tinge of irritation as she tried to force herself closer to him.

Now the little voice in Jack’s head turned into full-scale alarm bells. He leapt out of the bed. This was the first he’d heard about Sonia being on the pill and he didn’t believe her for a second.

‘You’re so bloody transparent, Sonia, do you know that?’ Jack asked her rhetorically, virtually spitting his disgust at her. ‘There’s no way I’m fathering any kid of yours given the current state of what’s going on between us.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Sonia said, dramatically clutching the duvet to cover her exposed breasts.

‘Don’t pretend you’re so fucking naïve. You haven’t been anywhere near me for months and now you’re all over me like a rash and not wanting to use protection. You’re fucking nuts,’ he ranted at her and stormed off to the bathroom to take a cold shower. He was furious with her for trying to entrap him, and cross with himself for getting so carried away with her. Desperate or not, he vowed that he would never have sex with Sonia Shum again.

Chapter 76

Jessie was at it again. Ignoring Tom’s repeated pleadings that she steer well clear, Jessie had agreed to be an extra pair of hands at yet another wedding. Unbeknown to Jessie, an extra pair of hands for this particular wedding actually involved decorating the reception venue, hand-tying all seven bridesmaids’ bouquets, table planning for over two hundred people she’d mostly never met, and countless other tasks that no one else could find the time to do—or, more likely, just couldn’t be bothered to do.

The wedding in question was that of Nick Donaldson, Charlie’s best friend, and Nadia So-and-So, the cousin of Natalie Donaldson née McAllister. The marriage of Nick and Natalie had been over pretty much before it got started, on account of Natalie falling in love with her new boss. Apparently the couple had split on good terms and Nick and quickly taken up with Nadia of the big boobs. Obviously remembering Jessie’s heroics at Natalie’s wedding, Nadia had called her to ask her to be part of the wedding party, seeing as they’d ‘really connected’ whenever they’d met before. Jessie had fought the urge to roll her eyes, but had politely accepted the wedding invitation and offered her assistance. That last bit had been her only mistake.

So here she was, a day before the wedding, tear-arsing round all over the place while Nadia was off at the spa being pampered from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toenail extensions. Tom had flatly refused to help, crossly telling her that she’d gotten herself into this mess and he didn’t have time to help her even if he’d wanted to. Which he didn’t anyway. Jessie felt thoroughly cheesed off and not at all in the mood to celebrate a wedding. Still, feeling alone and frustrated wasn’t going to get her commitments done. She went about her jobs with an efficient calmness and vowed that she wasn’t going to another wedding for at least the next two years.

Chapter 77

Jack and Sonia hadn’t spoken since he’d quit their bedroom for the relative safety of the bathroom. They were now downstairs in the hotel cafe waiting for Jack’s mother to arrive for their official introductions. The atmosphere was cold, to say the least, and Jack was fighting the urge to stand up and walk away.

‘Look, I’m sorry, Jack, but you have to admit, having a child with me is all just part of the plan. Perhaps I jumped the gun a little, but I’m keen we stop wasting any more time,’ Sonia said out of the blue once their coffees had been served.

Jack looked at her, flabbergasted.

‘I’m sorry. What plan is that?’ Jack asked flatly.

‘Don’t play so dumb, Jack. It doesn’t become you,’ Sonia replied loftily. ‘You know very well the plan is for you to marry me and give me as many babies as I see fit, all the while appearing to be my doting and loving husband.’

‘Do I get a say in this plan, Sonia?’ Jack asked her bitterly.

‘You’ll see it makes perfect sense. If I can’t persuade you, then maybe your mother can. All mothers want this for their sons. A wonderful wife and grandchildren.’

‘My mother is not like most mothers,’ Jack responded through gritted teeth.

‘I warn you, Jack. If you don’t do as I say, I can make things very painful for you when it comes to my father. After all, you did defile his little girl,’ she said, not even trying to hide the maliciousness in her voice.

The threat of her words sank in and Jack stared solemnly at the carpet in silence. This was the life she had decided for him, and it was clear she would do anything to have her way. This was his punishment for breaking his deal with Mr Shum. Jack started to consider what the ramifications would be if he left Sonia. What would Mr Shum do to him then? Could it really be any worse than a life and children with his nutcase of a daughter? Jack was starting to think that it might be better to just take his chances with the dad.

Chapter 78

And there she was. She was a good thirty metres away across the hotel lobby, but Jack knew it was definitely her. He remembered her as clearly as though he had just seen her yesterday. Thankfully, Sonia had left and gone off to a business meeting, leaving Jack and his mother catching up on news and artfully avoiding the subject of Sonia. When Jack’s attention had completely deserted her, his mother looked around to see what he was staring open-mouthed at.

‘Ah,’ Mrs Davenport said loudly.

‘What do you mean, ah?’ Jack replied, finally snapping his attention back to his mother, with narrowed eyes.

‘You know very well,’ she said with a wry, knowing smile on her face. ‘Well, off you go then,’ Mrs Davenport snapped when Jack didn’t do anything.

Jack didn’t need telling twice. With the help of a nudge from his dear old mum he was across the floor and marching towards Jessie in the blink of an eye, watched by his curious mother. Once he was within touching distance of Jessie he suddenly felt utterly clueless as to what to say to her. Thankfully she had her back to him as she spoke to someone at the reception desk, so she wasn’t able to witness his indecision, or the fact that he was loitering behind her like a madman.

Peering over her shoulder, he spied what looked suspiciously to him like a seating plan and subsequently put two and two together.

‘You’re getting married?’ Jack blurted out, feeling suddenly alarmed at the thought.

‘Ahhhh!’ Jessie screamed, high and sharp, completely dropping the sheaf of papers she’d been holding. She turned to look at him, a look of sheer utter shock on her face for a few seconds, before she forced herself to compose herself and they both dropped to the floor to pick up her papers.

‘Not me,’ she said after a couple more moments, standing back up again, smiling tentatively up at him. Jack felt a surge of relief wash over him.

‘So how have you been?’ she asked, when he didn’t say anything.

‘Fine. You?’ he said, unable to stop himself from gawping at her.