He winced. “Ease up there, Attila. He didn’t say a word.”
“But …” I’d only gone and fallen for the oldest trick in the book. “Did he even hint at it?”
“Not at all. I asked him why you were off with each other and he blamed me! Said I must have done something to piss you off that I couldn’t remember.”
That made me chuckle. Typical sneaky Nazarov.
“It’s under control.”
Jason’s eyes bugged out. “That’s it? I think I need a little bit more than ‘it’s under control’. How? When? What the fuck, Lo?”
I offered up an abbreviated version of events while I readied my cupcake for the Great Vanishing down my gullet.
“So as you can see, this is a bit of a pickle. But I’m handling it. And now you can talk to your know-it-all girlfriend about it all you want.”
“The doc knows?”
I smiled, revealing cupcake-covered teeth. “Maybe your blessed life isn’t as perfect as you think. She overheard me talking to him at the Cup victory party and I swore her to secrecy. Don’t give her a hard time—she was just being a good friend. In fact, I got the impression that she had scientific ways of inflicting pain on any man who might be threatening me.”
“She thought that about Nazarov?”
I sighed. “He hinted that he might blab to Thad if I didn’t go to dinner with him. Another deke I fell for.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t know that’s his style. So you’re what—dating now?”
“We are negotiating the terms of surrender.”
I thought back to dinner and how much I enjoyed it. Not just the food and the fact someone else was paying—always loved that—but the company. When we stayed away from the landmine issues of our past and what happened in Vegas, it was fun. Talking hockey, careers, how much the game meant to us. The sizzle of energy between us was electric.
And far too dangerous. I shouldn’t be even thinking of that Russian tool, never mind the fun times. No more martinis!
“What does Thad think?”
I squirmed in my seat. “Nothing. Because I haven’t told him.”
Cue the cartoon double take. “You’re kidding.”
“He’s been so busy putting together a deal, then he had to leave town on business. I had hoped all this nonsense would be squared away by the time he returns. And it will be—I can make it happen. I just need some leverage with Ass-arov to make it go faster.”
Jason put an entire cupcake in his mouth, chewed once, twice, and swallowed.
“Do you want to marry Thad?”
“Of course! Why do you think I’m trying to get rid of the Russian deadweight?”
“Okay. So you’re planning a life with this guy and you’re not going to tell him that you’re married to someone else?”
Cold unease trickled through me. “I’m used to handling problems like this—making them go away before they’ve even become real issues.”
“For your clients, Lo. But this isn’t a client. This is the guy you plan to love, cherish, and the rest. That’s not a good way to start your life with your person.”
Your person. Why did Nazarov’s face swim into focus on hearing that phrase instead of Thad’s? I lay my head on the desk and groaned.
It didn’t stop Jason from droning on with his morality TED talk. “Believe me, I’m a big fan of the white lie for self-preservation, but that’s one of your things, isn’t it? Honesty. After what your dad put you through, liars are the kind of people you despise. And you want to lie about your marital status to your future fiancé and husband?”
I peeked up. “This upright integrity spiel is very disturbing. I expected better.”
He remained serious, which was when I knew he was right. I had to come clean.
