Ida Jane growled. “I’m going to throttle him.”
“I could whack him with my putter,” Keelie offered.
“Oh! They scored twice,” Naomi said, glancing over at the game. “And you didn’t have his number anymore. You told us that, Hana. His father changed it, remember?”
Paloma rose from her wingback chair and headed into the kitchen. She came back with the pitcher of virgin mojitos Naomi had mixed and topped off our glasses. “Silas didn’t sign him out of the draft because of his behavior after he broke up with you,” she noted. “He said Naese was less grounded, wilder, than he’d originally thought. If Lewis had worked out instead of choking for the first forty games, I’m not sure Silas would have ever considered Naese again.” She squeezed my hand gently. “I just thought you should know that.”
“Well, I can’t say I want bad things for Pax,” I told them. “He was my safe harbor for years.”
“Until he betrayed you,” Ida Jane said.
“Led around by his dick.” Naomi shook her head.
“Some of them do go wild,” Millie said.
A look of understanding passed between Ida Jane, Millie, and Naomi—one I didn’t totally comprehend. But I realized we were part of the same sisterhood. We’d gotten involved with men who had much more extensive sexual histories than we did.
“I don’t like how that makes me feel,” I said. I wrapped my hands around my elbows.
“None of us do,” Naomi said quietly.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to be here now, but I couldn’t stay in that lab with Jeremy, not after what Jeremy did,” I said. “He manipulated me. And no man should grab and threaten a woman—or anyone.”
“You got that right,” Millie said. “If you ever want to learn self-defense, I’ve been thinking about teaching a class.”
“Ooooh, I’d like that for Trix and me,” Paloma said. “Beatrix is our daughter,” she explained to me.
“Cool. Now that I’ve decided not to return to my position, I’m looking for something to do,” Millie said.
“Besides blow millions of bucks?” Ida Jane said. She bumped shoulders with her friend.
Millie sighed. “Yes, Idge, besides that.”
Keelie wrapped a supportive arm around my shoulders. “If it doesn’t work out with Naese, just tell one of us. We’ll help you get on your feet. You shouldn’t have to stay trapped in a situation where you aren’t happy simply because it’s what’s available. And for the record, I’ve always found Naese to be far more even-keel than some of these boneheads. No disrespect.” She offered a smile to the group.
“You can throw Silas into the group of boneheads in his youth,” Paloma noted. “It’s part of why he was disappointed in Naese and didn’t draft him like he’d originally planned. It’s not that he doesn’t believe in second chances?—”
“Silas isgreatabout second chances,” Keelie piped in.
“And our guys managed to get past their mistakes and make solid decisions for their current circumstances and their futures,” Ida Jane said. “I mean, by the time I met Maxim, he was years past sowing wild oats.”
“Same with Adam,” Naomi added.
“And Silas,” Paloma said. “And Naese.”
“It doesn’t make your stomach knot to know they’ve had those experiences with other women?” I asked.
“Every damn time I thought about it, for years,” Naomi said. “Which was too often.” She took a sip of her drink and set it aside with a sigh. She smiled at her son playing with his toes on the thick, soft blanket at her feet. “But there came a point that I had to decide: was I going to focus on a past I couldn’t change or create a life and a future I wanted—that I controlled?”
She grimaced. “IdetestAdam’s past. He knows that. He works hard to ensure I know I’m his priority now. Well, me and this little guy. But I had to choose to forgive him for things he did before I knew him.”
I licked my lips. “That’s the difference. I was with Paxton, and he left me—alone—so he could party and hook up.”
“But now you know it was his father’s urging,” Keelie said.
“And your mother, too, from what Paxton and your brother told you,” Ida Jane added. “I mean, that’s a lot of pressure.”
I stared down at my hands in my lap. “If he loved me enough, wouldn’t he have fought for me—for us?”
