Most of the ride to his place passes in silence. I assume that he’s waiting until we’re back there to start The Conversation. Yes, it’s capitalized. It’s grown to feel like it’s a proper noun, not just a set time for open communication.
This is a Conversation that will potentially change our lives—my life—permanently. Irrevocably.
So many of those changes have happened without conversations, maybe it’s good that this one will be preceded by one. Even coming here, getting married, all of these irrevocable, life-changing choices happened with mostly spur-of-the-moment decisions. Not scheduled, adult Conversations.
I’m honestly not even sure if I know how to have this kind of Conversation. Have I ever had one?
Sort of, I think. With my mom, when I asked her for help. But I canceled the meeting where I was going to be presentedwith their contract. That would’ve been a capital-C Conversation more than any of the other times we talked.
Speaking of my parents, I didn’t notice if my mom responded to my earlier text. Should I look now? Or wait until later?
Will it matter later, though?
After this, there might not even be a reception for them to come to. Maybe Jason will decide that woman at the bar would be a better choice after all—or any of the millions of women just like her who I’m sure he could find that don’t have my baggage, my hangups, my problems—and this will all be over.
Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment, but I can’t help it. I need to know if she responded.
Opening my phone, I tap back out of Marissa’s texts and see there’s a new one from my mom.
Holding my breath, I open it, though the preview isn’t very inspiring.
Mom
I don’t know what you expect me to say to that
That’s it. That’s all she said.
I let out my breath in a huff.
“Who are you texting?” Jason asks, his voice low and restrained, like he’s … I dunno, angry? Irritated?
Brows together, I glance at him. “What? No one.”
He huffs, somewhere between a snort and a laugh, but clearly communicating his disbelief. “You were texting before we left the Salmon, and now your phone’s out again. Just tell me who it is. Jenkins?”
My head jerks back in shock. “Jenkins?” I ask in disbelief. “Why would you think I’m textingJenkins?”
“That’s not a no,” he grumbles.
I blink at him for a few seconds, unable to stop my laugh of disbelief. “Oh my god, are you serious right now? No, I’m not texting Jenkins. Why would you assume that?”
He shrugs one shoulder, smoothly making the turn onto his street. “You seemed pretty cozy tonight. Maybe you’d rather be spending time with him.”
“We were talking,” I say, fighting for calmness. “I thought you wanted me to be friends with your teammates.”
He mumbles something that I can’t quite make out, other than, “… fuckingJenkins…”
Pulling in a deep breath, I release it slowly. “I was texting with Marissa before we left because I felt bad for leaving without saying goodbye,” I say in the same kind of restrained tone he used just a second ago. “Were you jealous that I was talking to Jenkins?”
His jaw works, and he pulls into the parking garage of his building, waiting until he’s pulled into his parking spot, thrown the shifter to park, and killed the engine before turning to face me, letting me see the mix of frustration and anger on his face. “Goddammit, yes, I was. I was! You were laughing with him, looking all gorgeous and carefree, and you’ll barely glance at me. How else am I supposed to feel when one of the most notorious players on our team is flirting with you?”
That has me blinking at him again, doing my best to assemble all of those words into something coherent in my brain. It’s not that his words are incoherent, exactly, they’re just so unexpected, especially that he thinks I’m gorgeous, feels like he has reason to be jealous, and that Jenkins is a player. I mean, aren’t they all players? They’rehockeyplay—oh. OOHHH. That kind of player. Right.
“Okay. Sorry.” I hold my hand up, palm out. “I’m sorry, I just need a second here. You thought I was interested in Jenkins?”
His jaw flexes, but that’s a clear yes.
I shake my head. “So that’s why you felt the need to come over and basically pee a circle around me?”
