Page 108 of Playing A Risk
His Adam’s apple rolls as he swallows. “Dorothy and Jamison, please excuse us.”
I raise my brows as I take a sip of my whiskey. I’d pay to be a fly on the wall to hear what Isabella has to say, but Dori’s feelings are at stake.
All my attention goes to her. She nods at Hunter and watches him lead Isabella out of the room.
What the fuck is the deal with shit falling off the hinges at Efron parties?
“Are you okay?” I step in front of Dori’s view of the doorway.
She fakes a laugh. “Yeah, I’m great. I just found out you’re moving and Isabella just took Hunter off to give him a piece of her mind. We both know that can only be about one thing.”
I jut my chin out. “You’re jumping to conclusions.”
“About what? You moving or Isabella confronting Hunter about their night together?”
“Oh, you’re spot on about Isabella, but nothing’s set in stone for me.”
“But what about your job offer?”
“Give me a reason to stay, Dori, and I’ll find a way. I told you I’m fighting for you, so if there’s a chance for us, I won’t go. You have to know how sorry I am. I love you and want to be with you, so this is your call.”
She lowers her head. This isn’t the place for this conversation, so I grab her hand and pull her forward.
“What are you doing, Jami?” She stumbles a little and I give her a second to regain her footing.
“Everyone else who needed to speak privately had to leave the room. It’s only right if we do the same.” I give her two seconds to argue against it, but she doesn’t.
Our hands remain cupped together as I lead her out and down the hall. I open a few doors to other rooms, all of which are full of people. For once, it would be nice if things could go easier with her.
We get to the end of the hallway with one door remaining. I pull it and find it’s a storage closet.
“This will have to do.” I tug on her hand and we go inside.
She glances around the area. “Well, this is a first.”
“Forget where we are and focus on this conversation.” I run my hand over my stubble as I try to calm my breathing.
“Dori, tell me what you’re thinking. I’ve been trying with you and you’re giving me nothing. I keep apologizing and trying to make it right. Help me understand how you can just lock me out.”
She tenses. “Before we ran into each other, you had a life I knew nothing about. It’s hard for me to get past the fact you didn’t trust me enough to share that. Especially when we went through what we did.”
“I should’ve told you from the start. We’ve established that. As far as telling you when you got pregnant…” My heart constricts.
I take a second to reel in the pain of losing that baby with her. “We didn’t have any time from when we found out to when we lost it. I didn’t think it was appropriate to bring up losing my son when you were dealing with a loss of your own. Can’t you understand that?”
She takes a moment, her eyes scrolling across my face. She sighs. “I can, but it still hurts.”
“I get that and I wish I could take away your pain. What can I do to make it better?”
“Nothing, Jami.”
Not good enough.
I take her hands in mine. “How long are you going to punish me for it?”
“I’m not punishing you. I just finally saw all the obstacles you’ve forever talked about between us. So you see, there’s nothing you can do. It’s just not meant to be.”
“You don’t believe that. You can’t.” I step closer to her, pressing her against the wall. I cage her in with my arms on each side of her face. “If you did, this wouldn’t feel so right.”
