Jessie Slaymaker's Non-Existent Love Life (The Jessie Slaymaker Series) by Jo Iles

sounded like the hostess, but unsure of what else to say.
    ‘Dinner, silly,’ Nadia said as she pushed past Jessie and headed across the restaurant to a man seated at a table. The man stood up and kissed her. Jessie felt her chin hit the floor. The man doing the kissing was Charlie. Her Charlie. What the fuck?
    Jessie proceeded to shove past the actual hostess and speed-march her way over to Charlie. She arrived there like a black thunderstorm, staring at them, unable to speak.
    ‘There you are, Jessie. Are you alright?’ Charlie asked. Even he’d noticed the thundercloud standing there. There was an awkward silence, and then Charlie stepped up and continued.
    ‘Jessie, you obviously know Nadia,’ he said, giving Nadia’s bottom a pinch, which she giggled at like a naughty school girl. ‘And I think you’ve already met my brother Jack.’
    Jack stood up then, and Jessie nearly fainted with shock. He’d deliberately chosen a seat with his back to the door so she wouldn’t have seen him properly until she got close enough.
    She tried to compose herself and extended her hand. She hoped nobody would notice it trembling.
    ‘Nice to seen you again,’ she croaked out.
    ‘Hello Jessie,’ Jack said formally as he stood and shook her hand gently. She felt a flicker of a spark as he touched her, and she darted her eyes away from his in embarrassment.
    ‘Let’s not stand on ceremony, I’m starving,’ Nadia declared.
    They ordered some drinks and Jessie excused herself to go to the bathroom. She stood looking at herself for a couple of moments in the mirror, feeling hugely embarrassed. She’d obviously grabbed the total wrong end of the stick when Charlie had asked her to dinner. She had crazily assumed it would just be the two of them. Jessie hoped her performance out there hadn’t made it too obvious that she had been totally bewildered to see Nadia and Jack there. Especially during the part where Charlie was kissing and pinching Nadia. She feared her facial expressions had told the whole room exactly what she’d really been thinking.
    ‘Calm and serene,’ she muttered to herself. She looked critically at herself in the mirror. She thought she looked alright. She obviously wasn’t twenty-five anymore, but her face had character and her body was in good shape. Tom would never have let her go out dressed as she was if she didn’t look decent. Nadia, on the other hand, was all peaches and cream in her pastel pink floaty dress and softer, prettier makeup. Jessie looked more like a footballer’s wife, while Nadia was girly and youthful.
    ‘Should have gone with the first-date look rather than the scary funeral getup,’ Jessie muttered again. Men don’t want a strong woman. Well, judging by the way Charlie had been eyeing Nadia up so far, Charlie didn’t want a strong woman, anyway. He just wanted a piece of meat, she thought to herself. Jessie forced herself to hold her head up and push her shoulders back as she braved the restaurant again, and walked slowly back to the table.

Chapter 28
    Jack couldn’t help himself. She was mesmerising. Granted, her conversation skills didn’t seem totally up to scratch so far this evening, but she looked amazing. He studied her closely as she walked back from the bathroom, and was unable to take his eyes off her.
    ‘Let me guess, you scared the other two off already,’ she said, commenting on the empty state of their table.
    ‘Cigarette break for Nadia I’m afraid, and Charlie went to keep her company,’ Jack replied, rolling his eyes.
    ‘That old chestnut,’ Jessie said bitterly, rolling her own eyes. She took a big gulp of her wine which had thankfully already arrived.
    ‘Let me guess. You thought you were having dinner here this evening with Charlie. Just the two of you,’ he said, emphasizing the just . ‘You’ve probably been planning tonight for half a lifetime. What you’ll say, what you’ll wear… And now, Nadia and her great big chest have thrown a