Chat (28 page)

“What are you doing, San?”

I gave a
startled cry, turning to Jason. He stood behind me, reading over my shoulder.

“I’m… sorry, I don’t know…,
”

He rubbed his left eye with the heel of his hand, lowering to the chair next to mine. “
Have I done something that made you feel that you couldn’t trust me?”

“No,” I whispered guiltily. “I’m sorry,” I repeated.

“Are you upset that I chatted with her?”

“Yes,” I slid the chair back and stood, moving to the refrigerator for more ginger ale.

“But you told me to talk to her.”

“I know! That was before… everything,” I cried, fighting the cap on the bottle. He took
the beverage from my hands, unscrewing the cap. “You’re going to be with her in Boston?”

“Not
with
her,” he defended, narrowing his eyes through the darkness. “I was stopping at her signing before I left. It’s ten minutes from the hotel where I’ll be staying. If you don’t want me to, I won’t,” he replied with a shrug, pouring the ginger ale into a glass for me.

“No, go,” I spat, cringing at the queasiness and reaching for the drink.

“You’re doing the pouting thing. Say what you feel.”

“I feel like I’m going to puke,” I snapped, carrying the glass to our bedroom.

He followed with a heavy sigh. “I won’t go.”

“You’re a grown man. You can do whatever the hell you want.”

“Wow. That’s not fair at all, but I’m just going to let those hormones fly, because I know you’re hard at work making me two beautiful babies.”

I stopped at the foot of the bed, fuming,
glaring at him in the lamp light. “I trust you, but I hate the way she keeps circling back to talk about sex in your conversations.”

“So do I, and if you’ll notice from reading my private
Facebook conversations- which I have no problem with, by the way- I deflected her. Every time.”

“
I hate knowing that you wanted to fuck her, and now you’re going to be there, all alone with her, and- and I-…,”

I cried like toddler. He took a deep, calming breath, crossing the room to me.

“
Wanted
to. Past tense. Not anymore. I stopped wanting anyone
but
you the first night I was chatting with you.”

I sniffed, lifting my face to his.

After a long stretch of silence, I took a shaking breath. “I think Jack was sleeping with someone in Miami. I never told you because I was too embarrassed. I hated to think that I wasn’t good enough.”

He cupped my chin in his hand.
“Oh, Sandy.”

“If you hurt me, I’d never survive it.”

“You’ve trusted me all of these years. Why would I hurt you now, when you’re finally mine?” he demanded. “Come with me, then. I didn’t want you to travel, but if you’re going to sit here worrying that I’m cheating on you, that’s even more stress. I won’t go to the signing. I don’t even care about her.”

“No, go,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I’m being very immature. There’s no reason for me to act like this.
I’m sorry,” I managed weakly.

“
You’ve got a bazillion more emotions right now than you’re prepared to deal with. I understand. You and me, San. Me and you. You’re in my blood, remember?”

He took my hand, lifting it to his lips. His gentle, chivalrous kiss forced a small smile to my lips.

“You’re too good to be true. Sometimes I wonder if you’re just an imaginary friend that I made up, all those years ago, and I’m sitting in some white, padded room somewhere, rocking back and forth, dreaming all of this.”

He laughed, sweeping me off of my feet.

“If that’s true, I hope you never wake up,” he warned, his lips catching mine in a soft, promising kiss.

CHAPTER
TWENTY

Jason

The sales training on Friday lasted for hours, and I was submerged in the land of insurance for most of the day. At lunch, I called Sandy.

She answered
with a soft, panting, “Hello?”

“Hey, are you okay? You’re out of breath.”

“I’m working out. I gained ten pounds. Ten pounds in two months is too much.”

“Sandy-
”

“Before you freak out, I called my doctor first, and I’m doing a prenatal workout that’s perfectly safe. And she said I could keep running throughout my pregnancy, as long as I’m healthy.”

“Please wait until I come home.”

“UGH Brew,” she complained, and I heard her drinking.

“I’m allowed to worry.”

“I know. How’s the training?”

“Long. Boring. I miss you. I’ve been trying to get a flight out tonight, but there’s nothing until tomorrow morning.”

“Well, tell Carissa I said hello, and she’s not hot enough for me to consider a threesome.”

“I’m not going to the signing, I told you,” I said patiently, glancing at my watch. “I have to go out to lunch, though, with all these trainers. I’ll call you when it’s over, okay?”

“Jason?”

“What, San?”

“I love you. And I miss you like crazy. And I’m going to count all the stars until you come home.”

I grinned, lowering my voice. “I love you too, babe. Rest. Put your feet up. Shop online for my sons.”

“
Daugh-ters,” she sang with a smiling tone, and I turned my wide smile to the wall.

“Either.
Both. I love you.”

I disconnected, and Greg, my boss,
scared the shit out of me when he rounded the corner. “Jason, are congratulations in order? I couldn’t help but overhear,” he said in a semi-apologetic tone.

I tucked my phone into my pocket
, nodding proudly. “Twins. Due on Christmas.”

Greg waved me toward the front door of the training facility, and
I followed him into the parking lot. He reached into his pocket and extracted a pack of cigarettes, gesturing to the smoking area. “Let’s have a smoke. Off the record.”

Fuck
. I knew where this was going, and I wasn’t prepared to have the conversation in the middle of Boston, hundreds of miles from home, without having discussed everything with Sandy.

“Off the record.”
I gave a low whistle, tucking my hands in my pockets and leaning against the wall of the building. “What’s up, Greg?”

“’The chain of authority’,” he
air quoted with a chuckle, taking a long drag on his cigarette and exhaling in the opposite direction. “I think that’s the only problem with your relationship with Sandy. Before the two of you march over to the HR office, I suggest you remedy that situation.”

“Suggestions?”
I drawled.

I’d known Greg for years, and had every confidence that our conver
sation was ‘off the record,’ just as he’d suggested.

The tall, jovial man shrugged. “I suggest you and your soon-to-be-wife work that out, that’s all I’m saying. I wish nothing but the best for both of you. Sandy’s been through too much. I don’t listen to gossip, but I know enough to know that both of you deserve happiness. And I’m happy for you. But don’t expect to walk into HR and ask for special favors. I can’t give them to you, and neither can they. She can’t be your wife and work for you. It’s as simple as that.”

“I know. And I appreciate you talking to me about this candidly.”

“No problem, Brewer.”

After the training came to an end, I drove my rental car back to my hotel, thinking about Greg’s words.  I wanted Sandy to decide; ultimately, if she wanted me to take a different position, I would in a heartbeat to make her happy.

I knew several of my associates were meeting for a drink in the hotel bar, and
I got there early enough for one beer before heading back to my room. I sat down and placed my order with the bartender, hearing a sharp gasp to my right.

“Jason Brewer?”

Carissa Steel sat two stools down from me, her bright, blue eyes and long, blond hair identical to her Facebook profile picture. I groaned inwardly, trying to paste on the most believable smile that I had.

“
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world,” I murmured, and she giggled, sliding her drink down the counter to take the empty seat next to me.

“Wait-
don’t tell me.
Pulp Fiction!
” She guessed at my quote.

“
Casablanca
,” I corrected, trying so hard not to roll my eyes.

“
Shit. I knew that. Well, it’s nice to finally meet you,” she said, extending her hand. I gave it a firm shake, nodding toward her empty drink.

“What are you drinking?”

“A Cosmo. Thanks,” she cooed, crossing her long legs slow enough for me to catch a glimpse of her thigh. Her dress was slinky and black, and the deep V cut down her chest to set her rack high on display. “How was the work thing?”

“
It was work,” I replied, gesturing to the bar tender and ordering her another drink. I needed to shoot the shit for at least fifteen minutes, finish my beer, and get the hell out of there before my co-workers showed up.

“
You’re a man of few words, Jason. But you make them count,” she flirted unabashedly, batting her long, dark lashes. “How’s your Sandy?”

“She’s great. Home, waiting for me,” I answered, thankful that she had the decency to mention my
fiancée.

“Lucky girl,” she purred, her long, red nails tapping against the counter.

“I’m the lucky one.”

She made an affirming sound that almost sounded sarcastic.

“Excited for the signing?” I tried, and she shrugged.

“I used to be. I was more excited to finally meet you. You’re way sexier in person, you know,” she pointed out.

The red flags slapped me in the face, and I smirked, taking a long swig of my beer. “Right back at you, sweets. Well, I’d love to buy a signed book off of you, if you have one,” I urged, eager to wrap up our meeting. “I was just heading back to my room.”

When I realized that she’d
already
mailed me a signed paperback, I cursed myself. Now, it sounded like I was looking for an excuse to get her back to my room.

She leaned in, and I recognized the same perfume that Elaina wore. “
I have some in my room. I’ll walk with you.”

I paid for our drinks
, and she followed me to the elevator. The moment the door closed, she gave a soft moan, rising to her tip-toes to crush her lips to mine.

I locked my hands on her upper arm
s, pushing her away. “Carissa-”

“Call me Cassie,” she ordered, reaching for me again. “And what happens here stays here Jason. I’m married. I know I never told you that, and I’m sorry. But what we have is physical, and it needs to happen. And no one needs to know.”

Her tits pressed to my chest, and I narrowed my eyes, setting my jaw angrily. “I’m not doing that to Sandy. And you just became so unattractive to me that, even if I
was
single, this wouldn’t happen.”

She froze, her brows whipping together.
“What, because I’m married?”

I have
her a
no shit
glare.

“
You’re a fucking twat tease, you know that? Leading me on for months, and here we finally are, and you’re walking away?”

She
was fuming, and the elevator door opened to her floor. I reached past her and held the DOOR OPEN button, jerking my head toward the hallway.

“Bye, Carissa.”

“Fuck
you
,” she snapped, stumbling a little in her high heels as she exited the elevator.

I closed the door, reaching for my phone as it buzzed in my pocket.

It was the airline, notifying me that there was a seat available. I rushed to my room and couldn’t pack fast enough.

I was going home to my family.

~

With the layover, it was nearly eleven PM before I pulled down my road. I wanted to surprise Sandy, and also didn’t want her worrying about me if I ended up missing my connection or getting delayed. As I got closer to the house, I noticed immediately that there was a car parked in my driveway.

And it wasn’t Sandy’s.

I knew hers would be in the garage. I gripped the steering wheel, adrenaline rushing through my veins when I realized that it was Jack’s SUV parked crookedly, with one tire on my lawn.

A thousand terrible scenarios went through my mind, and I left my keys in my ignition, running for the sidewalk. The front door was ajar, and the kitchen light poured into the living room.

I heard the pitiful whining before I turned my head.

Joplin lay on her side, her fur matted with blood.

She was panting heavily. When she focused on me, she whined again, trying to get up, but falling back down to her side.