Seth looked at her unable to hide his displeasure at the mere idea of her leaving Montana.
Glancing at Garrett and his parallel expression made him understand they were both fearful that she’d never come back if they dared let her out of their sight without a wedding ring on her finger.
* * * *
“No. Do not come back here. I can handle this. I promise,” Isabelle said firmly. Jessica only barely heard her, as she was watching her two men visibly freak out at the thought of her leaving.
“Okay. If you’re sure. I don’t want you to get in trouble at work.”
She heard a long sigh at the end of the line. Jessica’s focus shifted from two bereft men to her friend again. “What’s wrong, Isabelle?”
“I don’t work for the Barrington hotel chain anymore.”
“What? Why?”
Isabelle audibly sucked in a long breath and started to answer, but then hesitated.
“Tell me.”
“I was let go by your ex fiancé.”
“That fucker!”
Isabelle laughed. “Yes. That is the perfect word. He is a total fucker.”
Jessica thought about Gray’s offer to hire someone for the night manager. “Hey. I have an idea. Do you want to come to Montana and work with me?”
“Perhaps. What’s the job?”
“Night manager at an exclusive American West 1880s-themed hotel attached to an amusement park called Old West Town.” Jessica knew that Isabelle also didn’t have any family in Chicago. She wasn’t tied there with any obligations. “My new boss asked me if I knew anyone good who’d want a job here. I believe I’ll have some say in the hiring. If you’re interested, I’ll put in a very good word for you.”
“You know what? I am interested. I’ve sent a few resumes out to the local area with absolutely no results. I was led to believe I wouldn’t be getting a good reference from shithead, I mean fucker, currently ruining your old job.”
Chucky the fucker. That was how Jessica planned to think of him from now on. “Same thing happened to me with a local job search. But I got lucky coming out to Montana. I like it here. Come out and at least look around at the area.”
“Okay. I will. Can you set up an interview or something for when I bring your stuff out in a couple of weeks?”
“Yes. That would be perfect. Get ready to move to Montana, my friend. You’re going to love it here.”
“We’ll see,” she said, her tone cautious. But Jessica could tell she was intrigued.
Jessica hung up the phone, reveling in the idea that her good friend might join her here in Montana. The two of them hadn’t hung out much after Chucky entered her life. She still felt guilty over that unintended slight, although Isabelle was very understanding.
“Better call than the last one?” Garrett asked, breaking her reverie.
“Yes. So much better.”
“You don’t have to go back to Chicago, do you?” Seth asked.
“No. My friend, Isabelle, volunteered to take care of everything.”
“I like her already.”
“And you’re afraid of letting me leave Montana.”
“Of course, you might be carrying our child. We’d have to hunt you down.”
Jessica shook her head, smiling at their looks of male superiority. It had been foolish to treat herself to such decadent pleasures of the flesh, but she vowed never be sorry regardless of what happened.
She planned to take Seth’s advice and let fate decide her future in this indulgent matter.
Chapter Seventeen
Three weeks later
Jessica sped down the tunnel, seated in a golf cart driven by Lilianna and headed to work. Hunter, one of Lilianna’s husbands, had gone in to his woodworking shop earlier to complete a special project, leaving the two of them traveling alone this morning.
She counted herself very lucky. In more ways than one. But especially after learning she wasn’t pregnant more than a couple of weeks ago. While she truly did want children one day, she was too new in this occupational change to take on motherhood along with it.
Her foolish actions for having not one but two bouts of amazing sex without protection hadn’t led to pregnancy. At least not this time.