Billionaire Best Friend [Complete]

34. Gracie

Jason's hand was on the small of my back, pressing in close to me in the entryway of the restaurant my mother picked. It was some fancy-smancy Italian place on the second story of a building that overlooked a view of the city.

I could smell the notes of tomato and fresh bread in the air, but as good as they smelled, my stomach was in knots, nowhere near interested in eating.

Jason's breath fanned over my ear from his stance behind me. I swallowed down the lump in my throat I had since returning home yesterday. I wondered what Sutton was up to. If he was already back in his office waiting for that woman to contact him.

I missed him, irrevocably, and considered excusing myself on a bathroom break to give him a quick call.

"Hope you're hungry," was all Jason said to me.

I only nodded, following the host to our seat and watching as Jason pulled out not only my chair but my mother's too. She ate it up. One look at her and I could tell she was falling head over heels for the man. Despite having Tim back in Arizona.

After he left last night, she gushed about him endlessly. So much that by the time I fell into bed for the night, all I could see was his face.

I wanted to work things out with him and in a way that offered us both closure, but my mother was prying and had a steady grip on him. After this dinner, I promised myself I'd have a conversation with him. One that redirected our paths. One that gave us what we both needed. Without one of us having to sacrifice for the other.

I got myself comfortable and we all ordered drinks as my mother asked Jason more about his life. He gladly gave over any and all details she wanted with a happy smile on his face. After appetizers, his hand fell to my thigh, which was precisely when I decided I needed a break.

I patted his hand. "You know, I'm going to use the ladies' room before our meals arrive."

"Oh," said my mother. "Good idea. I think I'll join you."

My stomach catapulted toward stormy waters. A break with her wasn't what I had in mind, but I smiled and led the way anyhow.

Before we made it to the bathroom door, she leaned into me. "He is absolutely divine. If I were you, I'd already have a ring on my finger."

An internal grimace made my insides sting.

I wasn't her.

She wasn't me.

Logically, I knew it didn't matter what she would have done if the shoe was on the other foot, but it hurt all the same. It scratched at that spot in me that reinforced the belief of pleasing everyone around me. A familiar discomfort washed over me. I felt stuck between a rock and a hard place, wanting to make those around me happy but also wanting that happiness for myself.

I cleared my throat and opened the door to the restroom. "But I'm not you. Jason and I...we've had our differences." What I failed to tell her was that the man betrayed me for another woman. Just like she had done to dad.

She waved a hand in front of her face. "Differences can be worked through. You think Tim and I haven't gone through our spats here and there? Please, Gracelynn. If you think everything is always sunshine and rainbows, you are sorely mistaken."

She stopped in front of the mirror. I felt like I had to stop with her.

"That's not what I'm saying."

She flicked away a few hairs that rested on her forehead. "No, but you are sabotaging what you have with that man out there. You finally find yourself someone worthy of a future and you're going to ruin it. You think it isn't noticeable how much you don't want to be out there with him? Other women will see that." Her eyes connected with mine through the mirror. "That crack will allow them to slip their way in and steal him in the blink of an eye."