“Wouldn’t have it without Grey. Figured he should keep it since I won that race for him.”
Grey arches a brow now and turns to look at Vox. “For me? You told me that race was for?—”
“We should probably go see if Rachel needs any help. We’ve been gone a while.” Vox claps Grey on the shoulder and leaves the room.
Before I can follow, Grey stops me, waiting for Vox to clear the room.
“Between you and me, Vox told me he won that race foryou.”
“Me?” My stomach does somersaults. “He can’t be more than sixteen in that photo. Why would he have wanted to win forme?
“Because you were his hero. You were everything to thatkid. And he’d just turned fifteen, actually,” Grey says correcting me. “He’d met you a couple of days earlier; it was the highlight of his life. He said you promised him that if he made it to the pros, you’d race him and give him a chance to beat you. Vox was good before, but after that promise, he brought a level of concentration to the mountain I’d never seen. When you disappeared, he took it personally, and he took it hard.”
My ears are ringing, and the edges of my vision are blurry as Vox’s words come back to me. ‘I’m not surprised that day meant a lot more to me than it did to you.’
Oh, hell.
The room starts to spin, and I sway to match its rhythm when I feel a steadying hand on my shoulder.
“Whoa. You okay there?” Grey asks, his voice full of concern.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Just a little overwhelmed at that news, I guess.” Thankfully, Grey believes the lie. “Why are you telling me thisnow?”I could have used that information when I first arrived, so I didn’t royally fuck everything up from the start.
“Because it’s not my story to tell, but since he brought you in here, I thought you should know. Especially since you two have come a long way in the last few weeks. I figured he wouldn’t mind you knowing that bit of truth at this point.”
It dawns on me like a hose to the face that Vox was abandoned by his parents, raised by a grandmother until she left him, too—even if it wasn’t by choice—and then he got passed off to Grey, who genuinely seems to care about him, but also sees him as an investment. No fucking wonder he doesn’t let people get close.
And the fucking icing on this cake was that after making him a promise, I, too, dipped out of his life…and then spent all this time jerking him around with myI want you, and I can’t have you, but give me a taste anywaybullshit.
The fact that he even wants to see me tonight is a miracle, and I can’t wait to be on my knees worshipping him, begging for his forgiveness.
By the time Grey and I reenter the dining room, everyone has already taken their seats. Rachel is at one end of the table; Grey’s empty seat is at the other. The only available seat is between Jennifer and her friend, Ashley. Vox is seated on the other side, between another friend, Kara, and Jennifer’s third friend,Aiden,who is currently eyeing Vox like a bag of Halloween candy.
As I approach the cramped space, Grey notices the difficulty I’ll have trying to wedge my large frame into a middle seat.
“Jennifer, honey, would you mind switching with Mr. Lang?” Grey says, trying to give me a seat with more room.
Looking at Jennifer, I jump into action even though the plan isn’t well thought out.
“Please, call me Connor,” I start. “And would it be too much trouble to switch with you instead?” I ask, looking at the guy to Vox’s left. “I’m left-handed, so I’m afraid I’ll be elbowing Jennifer all during dinner if I switch with her.”
The guy clearly looks disappointed, but he covers it up well enough. “Oh, yeah, sure. No problem.”
Vox avoids looking at me, but I can see the tension in his jawline, alerting me to the fact that I’m really playing with fire here.
“So, Voxy, you seeing anyone?” Jenn asks, diving right in as she begins filling her plate.
Vox chokes on a piece of prime rib as Rachel scolds her daughter. “Jennifer Patterson, what has gotten into you? Mind your manners.”
“We’re all dying to know, Mrs. P.,” says the guy currently sitting across from Vox.
“It’s fine, Rachel,” Vox smiles. I can tell he’s trying to rely on his media training. His smile is too wide, and it doesn’t reach his eyes. Normally, he’d eat this up.
Getting attention is not new for Vox.
Fielding questions about his relationships in front of the man he was balls-deep inside of a few days ago probablyis.
“No, Jenn. Still not seeing anyone,” Vox answers. “I don’t have time for any of that with the Winter Classic coming up.”
