And she couldn’t be more…proud.Which felt weird.But there it was.
She wasn’t going to say she was proud of him; that would be weirder.In fact, she had better, more encouraging words to say.“I’m so glad you’re spreading your wings.”
“Yeah,” he said.“I’m excited.Obviously, I’ll tell you what I’m doing and in what order once I know.”
“You better, “she said, smiling up at him.
“But,” he said, taking her other hand and clasping it with his free one.“Until I go, you have all of my support.And whatever time I have.”
“Thank you,” she said.“But more importantly?”
“Yes?”
The expression on his face, full of excitement and anticipation spurred her on.“Happy new year, Jason.”
“Happy new year, Naomi.”
And when he leaned toward her, she met his lips with her own, the feeling pouring out of her, from emotional to physical just for that moment.
He broke the kiss, and instead of jerking away, he did something he’d done many times before.She watched as he moved his stool to her side of the table, sat down and put his arm around her, pulling her close.
It felt…perfect.
And for some reason, she didn’t want to let him go.
Chapter Four
Two weeks later
Jason was startingto hate poker.He liked pizza and hockey games and random knish-folding days, spending time with his friends.But poker was becoming annoying as hell…and not because of the game itself.
“You’re running away.”
Poker gave some of his friends the excuse to interrogate him, which was a pain in his ass when they were supposed to be discussing the bachelor party.And not the random bullshit that was stuck in his head.
Especially the kind of shit that he’d mistakenly blurted out one night, thinking Lev would be a good sounding board.Unfortunately, Lev came with built-in training and counseling—why he thought talking to a guy whose day job was being a rabbi was a good idea, he didn’t know.
The answer, of course, was that he hadn’t been thinking, and was paying for that mistake three weeks later.
But he wasn’t in the mood to open up that can of worms.Not ever, and especially not then…in a group that included Samuel, who was dating Naomi’s cousin Leah, and Artur, who was now dating Naomi’s sister Liv.They were there for legitimate reasons; because of who they were dating, they were getting involved with the bachelor party prep.And though they seemed like good guys, Jason didn’t feel like discussing the most intimate parts of his personal life with them.
Especially since Jason had discovered Samuel was a nosy nudnik worse than his brother.Artur hadn’t quite opened up fully, but from what Jason knew, once the man figured out the proverbial lay of the land, that would change.Whether for the good or for the bad, Jason wasn’t sure.
But way too many people in that group liked a hanging conversation thread, so he did his best to answer Lev’s very pointed question in a way that made it clear the conversation was over.“I’m not running away,” he said.
“From who or what are younotrunning away?”
He turned toward the sound of the question and looked right into Artur’s eyes.From the way Naomi talked about the conversation she’d had with her sister before she called him on New Year’s, Jason imagined Artur knew a bit more about what was going on with Naomi, and with Judith’s wedding, than he let on.
Luckily for Jason, from what he could piece together, Artur was in crisis PR, and as a result was also a professional at keeping secrets.So, Artur deserved at least some of the answers to the multi-part question he’d thrown in Jason’s direction.That, like most of the others that he’d been asked since he walked into this house, were about Naomi.Without saying her name.
But more specifically, the questions weren’t about any crisis he or Naomi were dealing with.They were about commitment.And whether he was leaving Naomi, and whatever relationship they had, behind.
Which was complete nonsense, considering how it had been Naomi’s idea that he take this trip in the first place.
Not that he’d tell any of these nudniks that.
But Artur, at least, deserved honest answers.“I have a fantastic set of business opportunities that have been arranged.And I’d be a dumbass if I turned them down.”
