What the fuck was that? But instead of looking over her shoulder and asking that very question, she plastered a sweet smile on her face and nodded her agreement.
“Jessica and I are old friends,” Pierre lied. “It would mean the world to me if you’d spare her for a spin or two around the dance floor.”
There would be no way for Mathew to read the situation well enough to know if Jessica wanted to dance with Pierre or not. How could he . . . she didn’t know either.
Before Mathew could answer, in true Pierre fashion, he was leading her to the center of the dance floor and pulling her into his arms.
“Pierre,” Jessica whispered as he pressed himself against her. It had been so long since she’d said his name out loud. It tasted funny on her lips, forbidden. “What are you doing?”
“What I’ve dreamed of doing every day for the last five years.” His whispering words crawled delicately into her ear. “You are truly magic, Jessica.” The way he said her name, Jass-E-Caah, was still her favorite way to hear it. “And he is not your fiancé.”
She tensed, not expecting to be assaulted by the truth. But Pierre was notorious for steering straight into the discomfort of life if it meant finding the truth.
“Why do you say that?” Jessica asked, not able to pull away from his grip to make some stern face that told him he was wrong.
“Because I know what you look like when you lie. I know what you look like when you are sad. I know every look you’ve ever had. They’re in my mind every day. You are on my mind every single day, and now here you are. But he is not your fiancé. Which means you’re scared. You’re using him to protect yourself from me, and that breaks my heart.” He pulled her in another inch, as his voice rattled with emotion. He was a director, but Jessica knew now that he could have easily been an accomplished actor, lying as easily as the rest of the world drew breath.
“I’m not scared,” she lied and knew he’d be able to spot it. But it didn’t matter, she quickly reminded herself she was beholden to no one. Especially Pierre. “We should stop.”
“Tell me first,” he pleaded, “have you ever found anything else like we had? Have you ever felt again the way you felt that night in Sicily? Or the morning we woke up in Brazil to the sound of tropical birds? My life with you, it was everything. Have you found that again?”
“I stopped looking,” she admitted, her eyes filling with tears she couldn’t really label. They weren’t angry tears or sad tears. Just an overflow, like a valve had sprung a leak. She’d spent plenty of nights imaging what she would say to Pierre if their paths crossed again. Some versions were angry, violent even. Others arguments she’d crafted were quietly defiant and cool. But when faced with the reality the only thing she had were weak knees and drippy eyes.
“I never stopped looking,” he replied fiercely. “And it’s not out there. There is nothing that burns as hot as we did. There is nothing.”
“Pierre,” she said, now completely giving herself over to the tears. “Please don’t do this.”
“I have to Jessica. I have to. The moment I let you go I knew it was wrong, and I’ve spent the last five years being so very wrong. Life is different now. You are grown. I am free. Come away with me.”
“What?” Jessica gasped, finally pulling away slightly, but his tight grip kept her from running. “Are you out of your mind? You think I’ll just run off with you again because you ask?”
“Our timing was not right, but now, now it is. We can have it all back, and it can work this time. Come away with me. Give me back the best part of my life. The part I lost.”
“You didn’t lose me, Pierre. I wasn’t some trinket you misplaced. You broke me. Destroyed me.”
“Oh Pet,” he choked out, forcing her back into his arms completely. With those two words Jessica’s stomach flipped on itself. It wasn’t just a name he once called her; Pet was a person who could walk around and stand beside her. Pet was a girl Jessica today would look at with pity. Pet believed a man like Pierre could be the faithful hero in her love story. Someone that naïve deserved a fast slap across the face. Movie style, to break her out of her frantic trance. But Jessica knew back then no amount of slaps, or logic, or warnings would have broken her from the grip of Pierre’s attention.
“I’m so very sorry. Please believe how sorry I am. But come with me. Come with me and let me make it up to you.” He grabbed her chin and tipped her head up so she couldn’t avoid his stare. “Your tears are like acid on my heart.”
“I can’t,” Jessica asserted, but her falling tears betrayed the strength she was mustering. “Please don’t do this Pierre. Please don’t give me this option.”
“Because you can’t say no?” He smiled at the idea she was crushing under the weight of her desires. Pierre’s drug was control. Not through force or violence, he was too sophisticated and cultured for that. Somewhere along the way he’d learned there were more elegant ways to get people to do exactly what he wanted.
“Then don’t. Don’t say no.” His eyes were wide like an excited child set for a new adventure. “Think only of the nights, all those nights we spent in each other’s arms. The promises we made that can finally come true. I can give you everything.”
“Pierre, please don’t.” Like a spinner in a board game, her emotions kept rotating and landing somewhere different. She was overwhelmed. Then hurt. Disappointed in herself. Angry. And with each word he spoke, another spin of the arrow.
“Jessica,” Mathew’s voice boomed behind them, crushing their hushed and intimate whispers. “Come with me.”
“She’s dancing.” Pierre’s voice was suddenly harsh, and he didn’t spare Mathew a glance.
“She’s crying,” Mathew countered through gritted teeth.
“You wouldn’t understand this,” Pierre spat out. “A bullheaded fool like you couldn’t understand what love can do to a person. How much you can cry over something so beautiful.” Pierre’s eyes were locked on Jessica, as though Mathew didn’t exist, and he was answering a question that hadn’t been asked.
“Maybe you’re right,” Mathew said, forcefully pulling Pierre back and creating some distance between he and Jessica. “But this bullheaded fool will knock your ass to the ground if you don’t back up.”
“She doesn’t want to stop,” Pierre argued, gesturing wildly at Jessica. “Tell him, Pet. Tell him you want to dance. Dance with me and decide the answer to my question. You know I’m right.”
“This is done.” Mathew put his body directly between them, his wide back facing Pierre.
“He doesn’t understand this, Jessica. He couldn’t know this kind of love.” Pierre spoke in a desperate frenzy, clearly understanding that whether he acknowledged him or not, Mathew was a formidable opponent.
Mathew dipped his head down and locked eyes with Jessica, trying to reconnect, pull her back to reality. “Love doesn’t make you feel the way you do right now. It’s all over your face. It’s not supposed to make you hurt like this. Come with me.”