You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 880

“You knew she was messing around behind my back, and you didn’t bother to tell me?”

Jackson ducked behind the hedge, trying to keep out of Hector’s line of sight. “She just went on a date, man. She didn’t sleep with the guy. How is that cheating?”

“And how would you know she didn’t sleep with him?”

Jackson let out a sigh. “She’s busy every day. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and weekends she’s in the lab. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays she’s with you. When would she even have the time?”

“You know her schedule that well? And you still want me to believe you’re not in on it with her?”

Jackson stared at him, completely exasperated. “You’re out of your mind. This is between the two of you. Why are you coming after me? If you weren’t so against marriage, none of this would even be happening. Seriously, what kind of person with living parents refuses to get married? Wouldn’t your folks drag you to the family graves and beat some sense into you? Do you even remember who Chelsea’s father is?”

“Atticus. Of course I know. Atticus Parsons.”

“Exactly. The guy’s a total hardass, a war hero, straight as they come. If Chelsea ever said she wasn’t getting married, he’d probably twist her head off himself.”

“Mr. McKee, I’m just saying, you two should’ve ended things before you get yourself wrecked by a general…”

Hector wasn’t having any of it. He jabbed a finger at Jackson, his voice rising. “You. Get over here.”

Jackson just rolled his eyes, clearly done with the drama. He looked over the hedge at Hector. “Even if I do, you know you can’t take me.”

“You…”

Hector stomped over, throwing a punch at Jackson’s face.

He didn’t even get close. Jackson caught him off guard, landed a solid kick, and sent Hector crashing into the bushes.

Before Hector even managed to get untangled, Jackson was there, hauling him out and brushing leaves off his clothes.

“Sorry, Mr. McKee. I’m kind of rough, didn’t mean to go that hard,” Jackson said, still picking twigs out of Hector’s hair. “Look, it’s getting dark. Can we just go inside and talk about this, like normal people?”

And if that didn’t work… well, another round wouldn’t hurt. Not until Hector finally calmed down.

Chelsea just shrugged, turned, and handed the other half of the orange to Hector instead.

It was her version of an apology.

Hector ignored it.

He wasn’t about to accept an apology that casual.

As for Chelsea, she was always upfront, sometimes almost too honest. In her mind, she and Hector were just having fun. She never expected anything more, never thought about marriage.

They’d been fooling around for a few months. Sometimes Hector paid for dinner, but that was it. She never asked for anything else. She wasn’t in it for money or favors, just the physical sparks.

She honestly didn’t think she’d done anything wrong.

He was the one who didn’t believe in marriage. She just couldn’t be with someone like that. Whether it was dating or settling down, she’d always known what she wanted.