Page 92 of All In
I caught Dena’s eye and managed a smile. “It’s okay,” I said. “Go ahead. I’ll talk to you later.”
Dena nodded and slid into the passenger seat. I drew some comfort from the probability of Oscar getting an earful from his wife the second the door shut.
Or maybe Oscar will tell her I’m just using Kacey for sex. Another conquest.
They drove away, leaving Kacey and me to stare after.
“What was that about?” she said.
“Nothing. Let’s get you back to your hotel.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s cold out, Kace,” I said, softening my voice. “Come on, you’re shivering. Get in the car.”
I started the engine and cranked up the heat, pulling slowly out of the cul-de-sac when I only wanted to peel out and leave a scar of rubber a mile long.
“It was about us, wasn’t it?” Kacey asked.
“It’s not important.” My hands clenched the steering wheel.
“I heard enough,” she said. “And your mom. Jesus.”
“I know.”
“We haven’t even figured anything out between us, but they’ve already made up their minds.”
“Yeah, they have.”
“Where are you going?” she asked, frowning at the streets outside her window.
“Your hotel. You have an early flight tomorrow.”
“Teddy…”
“Let’s just call it a night, Kace.”
“Why? I thought we were going to talk?”
My gaze slid over to her, to the smooth skin of her thighs and the curve of her breasts beneath her dress. What if Oscar was right? What the hell did I know about getting serious with someone? I knew brute, emotionless sex. I could barely put together two words to tell Kacey how I felt.
I walked her to her hotel room door, where she hesitated with the key card in her hand.
“Teddy…”
“Look, it’s been a monumentally shitty night,” I said. “You have the most important meeting of your life on Monday. You should get some sleep, get back to New Orleans, and prepare for it.”
“Is that what you want?” she asked softly.
My hand itched to reach out and touch her face, but I didn’t dare. “I want you to be happy, Kace. Your whole life is about to change. Now isn’t the time for all this unnecessary headache in your life. My mom and Oscar and all the rest of it.”
She nodded slowly. “I’m sorry today wasn’t what it should’ve been for you. You deserve better.”
I bent and kissed her temple. “Have a safe flight.”
At home, I changed out of the suit into flannel pants and a wife-beater. I shut off all the lights and put SportsCenter on the TV, but I wasn’t watching. It was all mindless chatter.
The part of me feeling like I’d done the right thing was getting its ass kicked by the part of me worrying I was letting Kacey go without a fight.
