Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Aaron’s POV

I stood on the edge of the upper deck, the salt-heavy wind whipping the collar of my coat against my jaw, but my eyes never left Jess.

She was only a few feet away, seemingly trapped in the gravitational pull of my grandmother’s relentless storytelling.

From a distance, it looked like the perfect family tableau; the matriarch and the guest.

Then, I saw her gaze shift.

In that heartbeat, the air seemed to leave her lungs. I followed her line of sight to where my grandfather sat at the head of the table.

Their eyes met for a fraction of a second-a silent, jagged collision that told me everything I needed to know.

The change in her was physical. I watched her shoulders lock, her entire frame turning rigid as if she’d been struck by a sudden, invisible frost.

The light didn’t just dim in her eyes; it vanished, leaving them dark and hollow.

She didn’t look like the girl who’d been laughing with my sister ten minutes ago. She looked like someone who had just walked into her own execution.

A simple glance shouldn’t have rattled her like that.

I’d noticed the way she dodged every mention of their “little talk” back in his office. She’d brushed it off with a fake smile and a change of subject, but this?

Whatever words passed between them in that office had her feeling like her life was on the line.

My jaw tightened until it ached. My grandfather didn’t just ‘talk’ to people; he negotiated, he leveraged, and he broke. He’d done something to her.

A dark, cold resolve settled in my chest. Bringing her on this trip was the smartest thing I’d done all year.

Out here, in the middle of the Atlantic, I was going to get the truth out of her, whether she was ready to give it up or not.

“You look happy, dear cousin. Almost… content. It’s a terrifying look on you.”

The voice was like a grease fire-oily and uncomfortably hot.

I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Eric. My cousin by blood, a traitor by choice. The man who had spent months systematically dismantling my relationship with Fiona while smiling to my face.

I ignored him, keeping my eyes fixed on the back of Jess’s head. The last thing I wanted to do was feed his ego with a

reaction.

Eric moved into my peripheral vision, leaning against the mahogany railing with a glass of scotch that probably cost more than a month of my rent.

He took a slow, deliberate sip, looking out at the wake of the ship.

“Nothing to say?” Eric chuckled, the ice clinking against the glass. “I heard about the championship game.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t even give him the courtesy of a side-eye.

Chapter 49

I just stood there, leaning my elbows back against the railing, letting the silence stretch between us until it became heavy and uncomfortable.

The only sound was the distant hum of the ship’s engines and the wind whipping past us.

Then, he broke it.

“Big news in the small pond, I suppose. It must make it easier to forget that some of us are still out there playing the games you failed at.”

He took another smug sip of his scotch, his eyes gleaming with the intent to draw blood.

“But hey, coaching college kids? It’s a noble way to spend your retirement at twenty-four. Keeps you close to the ice without actually having to, you know… perform.”

“You didn’t win a game, Eric,” I said, my voice flat, still not looking at him.

“You think you’re ‘performing’ because you’re wearing the jersey, but everyone in this family knows you’re just a seat- warmer. I won that championship because I know how to lead.

You’re still out there hoping for a pass because you’re too mediocre to create your own play. If I’m ‘retired, why is it that everyone at this table is still talking about my season, while they only mention yours when they’re checking to see if you’re still on the bench?”

I heard the ice clink as his grip tightened. I’d hit the nerve-the deep-seated insecurity of the cousin who was always “the other Tyrone.”

He shifted his weight, leaning into my space as his eyes drifted across the deck toward Jess. She was now talking to my mom, her hands clutching her glass a little too tightly.

“She’s beautiful,” he murmured, his tone turning into something predatory. “But let’s be honest, Aaron. She’s not exactly the kind of girl you’d normally go for. A bit… unpolished for a Tyrone, isn’t she? A scholarship girl playing dress-up on a billionaire’s boat.”

I felt the temperature of my blood rise. “Stay away from her, Eric.”

The world went white.

Before I could even process the movement, I had him.

My hand shot out, fingers wrapping around the silk of his tie and the skin of his throat, slamming him back against the mahogany railing.

The scotch glass slipped from his hand, and shattered on the deck with a sharp, crystalline crack.

“Listen to me very carefully,” I snarled, my face inches from his. I could smell the alcohol and the expensive cologne, and it made me want to be sick.

“I let your betrayal slide with Fiona because she was exactly what you deserve-someone who can be bought. But Jessica?”

I tightened my grip, feeling the pulse jumping in his neck.

Eric’s eyes bulged, but he didn’t look scared-he looked delighted that he’d finally found my breaking point.

“If you so much as breathe the same air as her,” I whispered, my voice a low, vibrating promise of violence, “I will feed your eyes to the birds and leave what’s left of you for the sharks. I didn’t have it in me to fight for Fiona. But for Jessica? I will end the world. I will burn this entire family down just to keep her name out of your mouth.”

Eric just laughed, a wet, choking sound. “See?” he wheezed, grinning through the lack of oxygen.

13:15 Mon, Jan 12

Chapter 49

“Not like you actually have feelings for her, right? We both know you’re just using her. A little domestic distraction to keep your pride intact while you play-pretend as a coach. Or… to make your ex jealous.”

It was a lie. A filthy, calculated lie. But he was the last person on this earth I was going to explain myself to

I wanted to snap his jaw. I wanted to see if his blood was as cold as his heart, but I was held back by my sanity.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is this a private execution, or can anyone join in?”

David’s voice cut through the tension like a chainsaw. He appeared out of nowhere, his face a mask of exaggerated shock, stepping between us with a goofy grin that belied the sharpness in his eyes.

He grabbed my arm, his grip surprisingly strong.

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“Come on, Aaron. Grandma’s looking for you, and you know how she gets when the favorite grandson is busy committing homicide on the promenade deck. Leave the trash where it is.”

David whisked me away, physically steering me toward the bar. I didn’t resist, mostly because if I stayed there another second, I really would have thrown Eric overboard.

I looked over my shoulder as we walked away. Eric was standing by the railing, adjusting his tie and smoothing his hair.

He caught my gaze and smiled-an evil, knowing thing that riled me up.

He thought he could get to me through her. He thought she was another Fiona, another girl who could be swayed by a shiny watch and a few whispered lies.

But as I looked across the deck and saw Jess, saw the way she was listening to mom and Aria, her brow furrowed in that serious, beautiful way she had-I knew he was wrong.

I trusted her. I trusted her loyalty and her heart more than I trusted anyone in this family. She wasn’t Fiona. She would never follow that path.

I just didn’t realize that while I was worrying about Eric, a much bigger predator was already closing the net around her.

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13:15 Mon, Jan 12 J