“Dinner out sounds great. Chili’s again?” I scrunched my eyes closed, hating that I had to set up these boundaries, like meeting him on neutral ground. I didn’t know if I still needed to do that, but he hadn’t given me any hope of not needing it. We didn’t talk about it. We just… pretended like everything was fine the way it was.
Piper was seven, and she didn’t know any better. She didn’t know yet that most dads took advantage of their custody agreements and fought for more time with their kids. Rob did not. What he did subtly push for was time with me. If I invited him to the house, he’d try to stay late, maybe even ask to stay the night, claiming his hotel room was so far away or that he was too tired to drive there. And then the guest bedroom bed was too small or too cold without someone to share it with. Okay, he wasn’t subtle at all. His attraction to me had never been a problem. It was the commitment part that had always needed work. I turned him down every single time. And he still asked.
“I’m fine with Chili’s.”
“Cool. I’ll see if Isaac and Carmen can come along.”
“Sounds good.”
Rob didn’t mind my brother and sister-in-law joining us. More people made it less awkward, and he probably liked that Isaac often paid.
One thing I’d have to make sure of was that Isaac didn’t say anything to Dean about my ex being in town. I didn’t need another complication. In fact, the less I thought about Dean at all until Rob left, the better.
Chapter 26 – Dean
Isaac came into my office and rested his back against the wall, studying me. “What happened to your tie?”
“It was strangling me, so I put it in timeout.” I pointed over to the chair in the corner where I’d thrown it. The tie had landed perfectly, a fact I was prouder of than my reason for throwing it.
“Do you have time to play racquetball during lunch?” Isaac asked.
“You only ask me that when I’m driving everyone nuts.”
“You’re in here muttering to yourself. Connie already rescheduled your eleven ‘o clock appointment. She said for me to take you out of here by any means necessary.”
So, this was an ambush, not a friendly invitation. Good to know. “Fine. I’d love to play racquetball.”
“I already called the gym and reserved a court. I’ll see you there in thirty minutes. I have to leave right after for an appointment with Freedom Locksmith.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I finished writing up the assessment I’d been working on and sent it to Connie to read over. Among the many hats she wore was proofreader. Then I shut down my computer andwalked out. “I’m forwarding my calls to you,” I told her on my way past her desk.
“That’s probably for the best,” she said with a smile. “Go hit things until you feel better, dear. I don’t want to know what this is about. I just want my sunshine back.”
As if it was that easy. Grace was so good at freezing people out. I’d texted maybe twice in the six days since I’d last seen her. And when I’d finally checked in again and asked if she and Piper might want to make dinner with me tonight, her answer was, “It’s not a good night for it. Maybe this weekend.”
Translation:Slow your roll. Her enthusiasm for hanging out with me post-kiss was overwhelming.
I always left a gym bag with clean clothes and an extra set of athletic shoes in the trunk of my car. I never knew when a client might want to meet up that way. A lot of people worked through their lunch hour, but they didn’t mind company for their daily workout.
Isaac beat me to the gym. He was waiting by the front desk with our racquets and a canister of racquetballs when I walked up and scanned my I.D.
We got changed, talking about work stuff until we were in the racquetball court. Then Isaac pointed his racquet at me. “Let me guess. She let you get close to her, and then she ran as fast as she could in the other direction?”
“I don’t want to talk about Grace.” I moved to behind the service line and started the game, hitting the ball so hard it flew straight to the back wall without bouncing. A faulty serve.
Isaac picked up the ball and tossed it to me, and I tried again. It was a good serve, but Isaac was ready for me. We played a full game to fifteen points before Isaac put the ball in the canister with the other one and tucked the canister in his pocket. It stuck out, looking stupid, but I got the message.
“So, this is what we’re doing?” I asked. He was going to force me to talk about my relationship with his sister. By definition, he was the wrong person for this. “You’ve got the power stance going on and everything.” He had the audacity tostand there staring at me with his arms crossed and his feet spread apart like he was staring down a boardroom full of twitchy investors and it was his job to reassure them with nothing but his confidence.
“Yes, this is what we’re doing. Would you rather talk about this with Connie?”
“I’d rather not talk about it at all. The situation is in flux, and I’m grumpy. It’s not a reason to kidnap me and make me talk about my feelings.”
“I realize that. But I know you, and I know Grace, and you two have traits that are like runaway trains heading straight for each other. Maybe you don’t need this, but just in case you do, let me say it.”
“Fine.” I waved my racquet at him. “What do I need to know?”
