Page 52 of About that Fling
“You’ve really never fired a gun before?” she asked.
“Not even a BB gun.”
“You’re not opposed to them, are you? I just do it for target practice, and I’ve taken a couple classes on self-defense. I don’t even own a gun of my own. We don’t have to do this if you’re anti-gun or something.”
“No, I’m fine. Besides, it’s all part of my post-divorce resolution.”
“Your post-divorce resolution involves handguns?”
“No.” One edge of his mouth quirked. “My post-divorce resolution involves a pledge to try new things. Things I never did in my ex-life.”
Jenna blinked, then she realized he’d said ex-life, not ex-wife. Funny how similar the two things were. Even so, she felt a pang of betrayal for her best friend. Would Mia be hurt to know Jenna was here firing pistols with Adam? Between the pregnancy and work drama and the challenges with Mark and Katie, Jenna knew damn well Mia was having a rough time. It wasn’t kind to rock the boat.
But hell, it wasn’t like Mia had peed on Adam to mark him like a fire hydrant. Had she ever actually said, ‘Don’t date my ex?’”
She never explicitly asked me not to light her house on fire, either, but I can safely assume that’s a given.
“Come on,” Jenna said, pulling Adam through the door of the shooting range before her train of thought could get any weirder. “We check in first at the front counter to rent guns and reserve a lane. Handguns okay?”
“As opposed to what?”
“Rifles. Grenade launchers.” She grinned, enjoying the novelty of being with him in a non-work setting with all their clothes on. “I’m kidding about the grenade launchers, but there is an outdoor rifle range. Can’t you hear it?”
“That’s rifle fire? I figured someone was playing with firecrackers.”
“You really are a novice.”
“Guilty as charged.” He looked around and lowered his voice. “I shouldn’t say that out loud, huh? They probably won’t give me a gun if I’m a felon.”
Jenna laughed and towed him toward the counter, unsurprised to see a line of women waiting their turn while the group at the head of the line debated the merits of a standard Ruger versus a Smith & Wesson. She watched Adam taking it all in, his green eyes studying the cases of ammo behind the counter, the posters for shooting classes and handgun safety.
It felt thrilling to be here with him. To introduce Adam to something new, something he’d never tried with anyone else.
You’re renting a handgun, not testing out a new sex position.
She shook off her annoying inner voice and studied him some more. His eyes were bright and curious, his rugged jaw pebbled with stubble. He’d donned an old T-shirt and jeans that looked so soft she wanted to rub her cheek on his thigh. She looked back at his face, amused to see he was still surveying the lobby.
The instant his expression froze, Jenna felt her heart clench. All the color drained from his face, and Jenna felt her mouth go dry.
“What is it? Adam? What’s wrong?” Oh, God—someone from work? “Who do you see?”
He opened his mouth to reply just as a female voice echoed over the crowd. “Adam Thomas? Is that you?”
Jenna turned to see a petite blonde woman making her way toward them. Their eyes locked, and the woman blinked in surprise. “Jenna? What brings you here? Are the two of you together?”
“Ellen.”
Jenna uttered the word at the same time Adam did, and some immature part of her wanted to call “jinx” and laugh about the whole thing.
But most of her wondered why Adam was so affected by the sight of Mark’s ex-wife.
“Hello, Ellen,” Adam said. “I didn’t realize you’d moved to Portland.”
“Well, when Mark relocated with—with her—it just made sense to do the same. I can work from anywhere, and it was important for Katie to have a relationship with her father, even if he does make piss-poor decisions in life.” She frowned and looked at Jenna. “Sorry, Jenna. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I know Mia is your friend.”
“It’s okay,” Jenna murmured, even though it wasn’t. She’d only met Ellen twice before, both times at Mia’s house when Ellen had shown up to retrieve Katie. She hadn’t been pleasant.
With the tension radiating off the woman like sonic waves, Jenna wasn’t feeling too pleasant herself.
