Speak To Me
Chapter 67 –

(Jamie)

I stepped through the Kitchen, my eyes glancing towards Ray before nodding once as he picked up the message immediately.

No way in hell was I going to leave Rylan alone with my pregnant wife..especially not with the stupid shit he has been pulling lately. Knowing him he would probably take her out to get some ice cream or something when we are supposed to be hiding out. I seriously need to have a talk with him...

But first, I do need to handle this. I don't know how it got to this point honestly. Jolie and I have always been closer..well..as close as I would let people get before Gabriella.

I always kept my walls up..staying guarded and refusing to show weakness. I guess now that Jolie can be some type of threat to the one person I can truly be myself with..I wanted to avoid her all together.

Of course Gabriella doesn't care...she has even become close with Jolie..but I just need to know for sure that Jolie understands where I'm at.

Rylan was right about one thing though..we have known each other for far too long to let it get like this..but I won't tell him that..he doesn't need a bigger ego than he already has.

Walking to Jolie's room, I heard some shuffling around in there as I knocked on the door gently.

"Jolie..can we talk?" I spoke up, making a sniffling sound come out of the room as silence soon followed.

"Umm..yeah, sure." She finally said before opening the door.

I glanced into her bedroom and instantly knew we shouldn't talk in there. That's where the "incident" happened last winter.

"Let's go to the balcony." I said, making her nod before wrapping her arms in front of her body as she walked ahead.

Glancing back towards the kitchen one last time, I let out a deep breath and tried to mentally prepare myself for this conversation. It could go either way honestly..I have no clue where Jolie's head is at.

She opened the back door and stepped towards a patio chair and swiftly plopped down. There was a small glass firepit on the table infront of her and she pushed the button to turn it on.

I sat in the chair across from her becore resting my elbows on my knees and leaning forward.

"Can I start?" I asked.

Jolie nodded softly, her legs curling up beneath her as she bit her lip nervously and stared down at the fire.

"I'm sorry if I seem cold. I understand that you had nothing to do with this and were just as blindsided as we were." I started as Jolie scoffed.

"He sure loves to meddle.." She muttered under her breath, and I couldn't disagree..Rylan loved to insert himself in any fucking situation..he is overly optimistic and totally unrealistic..but I know he means well.

"I know after what happened here..well..we never fully talked about it. And then with Gabriella coming into my life..I didn't know if it would be appropriate or not..or how you would feel." I stated as calmly as I could, not wanting to make her feel bad but I know this didn't start because of Gabriella..we just swept what happened under the rug..and I tried to act as normal as I could, which didn't fucking help.

"I don't want you to think I'm still pining after you..or have some type of plan to steal you from Gabriella or something.. Honestly..seeing you with Gabriella has made me realize something..well..You're kind of a dick Jamie." She said with dry laugh, making my eyes widen as her words completely caught me off guard.

"Like..it's not a bad thing.." She rushed out, making me frown.

"Didn't realize being called a dick was a good thing now." I muttered under my breath making her laugh harder.

"No..it's just that..you are super controlling and over protective. I know Gabriella needs that..especially now. But I guess seeing you with someone you really love..it made me realize we probably aren't that compatible..Your idea of fun is doing a fucking puzzle on a Saturday night.." She added, causing me to sigh dramatically.

"Gabriella and I did one puzzle.." I grumbled, causing her to lean forward slightly as she seemed to relax a lot more.

"I know..I'm just teasing..but it's the truth. My idea of fun is going to the club, or wine tasting in Manhattan..oh..or even spending the weekend on a yacht." She added excitedly as I couldn't help the bored expression that filled my face.

It's true..Jolie always liked the finer things in life and enjoyed them frequently. But with Gabriella..she hasn't experienced a lot..so it's almost like she appreciates the little things so much more..and just sitting down and doing a puzzle together is fucking exhilarating to me because of the way she reacts.

"So..I guess what I am trying to say is..I don't feel that way about you any longer..but also, I don't necessarily know where we go from here..we haven't had a true friendship. One where we just get along because we actually have things in common..so maybe I just feel a little lost.." She explained while picking at a loose thread on her sweater.

"I guess that's true.." I muttered, realizing that we never really did have a close friendship like that..it was more because Jolie was my best friends sister and I watched out for her like family..because Rylan was family..

"As weird as this is to say..it almost feels like Gabriella is my friend and you are just her husband who I see every now and then." She added, causing my gaze to meet hers.

"Well, that's not such a bad thing right?" I said, watching a small smile twitch in the corner of her lips as she nodded in agreement.

"Maybe..but I still don't want to intrude..I know there is a lot going on and this added stress isn't helping." She declared while getting up and glancing towards the house.

"I will go to the hotel tonight and then fly back to New York tomorrow." She explained as I felt that guilt rising once again.

"Jolie..wait.." I stopped her just as she turned to go into the house.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to stay..besides..if you left now, it leaves a trail for this asshole to possibly follow.." I sighed as my eyes glanced to the woods just across the way.

As much as things have been weird with Jolie and me..I definitely dont want her to get hurt or be at risk because of Rylan's dumb ass mistake..

"Are you sure? I really don't mind.." She added as I slid my hands into my pockets and nodded my head yes.

"Stay..someone has to keep me from killing Rylan..and I'm sure Gabriella will be more than pleased to hear that her friend isn't leaving."

Jolie finally smiled widely as her eyes darted to the house.

"You are one lucky man Jamie Sinclair..I really hope you and Gabriella live a long and happy life together."

"Me too.." I agreed, knowing I truly was the luckiest man in the world.

We started to walk into the house just as I heard my phone ring, making me freeze.

"You go ahead, I need to get this." I informed Jolie as she gave me a thumbs up before slipping into the house.

I glanced down at my screen, seeing that private number as I took a deep breath and swiftly answered.

"Did you replace him?" I asked, knowing it was Mr. X as I waited with baited breath for what he would say. "Yes sir, and you might not like what I found."

Shit..that can't be good..