Page 95 of This Time Around
He thought about denying it. The old Jack would have. He’d have gotten defensive, maybe thrown it back on her with some stupid accusation of his own.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
“Want to talk about it?”
He shrugged, wondering if he should just swallow his stupid insecurity about Wade. But she’d asked, and he owed her an answer. “I don’t know. Isn’t it weird sometimes hanging out with a guy you used to sleep with? Someone you’d planned to marry at one point?”
Allie frowned, but seemed to consider it. “A little, I guess. But since I’m sleeping with him again now, I guess that makes it?—”
“Wait, what?”
Her brow furrowed. “We’re talking about you, right? About the fact that we have a history together?”
He laughed in spite of himself, shaking his head. “I wasn’t, actually. But thanks for the heart attack.”
“Wade?” Allie raised an eyebrow at him. “You were talking about Wade?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” He dragged a hand through his hair, feeling a bit idiotic. “I know I’m being a jealous prick, but it rattled me a little. Knowing you used to be engaged to him, and that you’re still so close.”
“But in a different way.” She reached out to hook a finger in his belt loop. He knew she didn’t mean it to be suggestive, and it wasn’t. It was more possessive, and something about it made Jack relax a little.
“Besides,” Allie said. “Wade is with Skye now.”
“I know. Like I said, I know it’s not reasonable. I’m being a jealous prick, and I’m sorry.”
Allie nodded. “How’s Lacey?”
The question caught him off-guard, and he almost laughed. “Lacey?”
“The woman you were sleeping with up until a few weeks ago. The one who texted you just a few days ago to say, and I quote, “Miss you and that big, thick c?—”
“How did you know about that?”
Allie smirked and tugged the belt loop. “About the text message, or about your big, thick?—”
“About the text,” he interrupted, though truth be told, he did sort of want to hear her take on the other thing. “How did you know about that?”
“Relax, Jack. I’m not snooping on your phone. The message popped up on your screen Sunday when you handed me your phone so I could re-read that message from Paige.”
“Ah,” he said, wondering if Allie’s casual indifference was real or a front. She’d never had the jealous streak he had, but she’d sometimes seemed bothered when he brought up his first girlfriend or when girls in his college classes touched his arm and told him he was too young to be engaged. “Lacey’s fine. I think.”
“Hey, it’s none of my business,” she said with a shrug. “You and I have only been hanging out for a little while. It’s not like we agreed to be exclusive or anything.”
Something flared in his chest. Something primal and possessive. Something that had him pulling his phone out of his pocket and flicking it on. He scrolled to “Lacey” in his text message history, then held the phone out to her.
“Read,” he said.
Allie rolled her eyes. “What are you, a caveman?”
“Read,” he insisted, still holding the phone out. “Please.”
“Jack, I don’t need some sort of reassurance that?—”
“Please,” he said again, softer this time. And this time, it worked.
Allie took the phone from him, and he watched her eyes move back and forth as she skimmed the words on the screen. Her forehead creased, and he couldn’t tell if it was worry or confusion or something else. When she looked up, it wasn’t either of those things he saw in her eyes. It was amazement. Exactly the emotion he’d hoped to see there when he’d come back to town, but for a different reason.
“You told her you’re back together with your old girlfriend and asked her not to contact you anymore?”
