Page 18 of Playing A Risk
He considers the idea for a moment. Tossing in Melanie is the carrot I needed to dangle before him. He’s wanted to fuck her for a while now. She’s not my type, but I can’t say I blame him. She’s an exotic beauty with a body to die for.
He nods. “That could work, but we have to get our stories in sync. Even with the ladies. Like you said, everyone has to believe it’s a group event.”
Hope flutters through me. “Then you agree to take Melanie?”
“Why not? At the best, we both get something we’ve wanted for a while. If nothing else, it’s exactly as we say it is. A group outing.”
My neck and shoulders relax. “Thanks, Jonah. I’ll set it up with Dorothy when I get home. I have no doubt Melanie will accept. She loves hanging out with Dorothy.”
Jonah smiles wide. “And don’t forget she gets me. Who wouldn’t want that?”
“Pick up your cue and let’s play.” I take a shot. “How was Jamison today at work?”
“He was crawling up the walls. Every half an hour, he made an excuse to come to our floor to look for her. He even asked me if he could get her new number. Somehow, he knows she’s not using her phone.”
I rise and stare hard into Jonah’s eyes. “Don’t share that number with him under any circumstances. And not just for me. She doesn’t want to talk to him. She’s so upset that he kept this from her. She may not forgive him.”
“Should she?” He bends over and picks up his cue.
Needing someone to talk to besides my therapist—someone who knows me—my defenses fall away. “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried because I have my own secrets I’m keeping from her and they’re just as bad.”
“Fuck, Hunter. What did you do now?”
My shoulders round, remorse and embarrassment sliding off my skin. “I went out one night, got wasted, and met Isabella from Sacks Commodities. She ended up taking my drunk ass home, and I passed out.
“I woke up with her in my bed. Nothing happened that I can remember, but her spending the night doesn’t look good.Isabella mentioned being interested in me to Dorothy, so something tells me if I don’t tell Dorothy first, Isabella will.”
He pushes me aside so he can take a shot. “That’s it. I’m reconsidering supporting you in this relationship with Dori. She fucks Jamison. You take Isabella home. When does it ever stop?”
“Calm down, Jonah. I didn’t do anything with Isabella.”
“Yeah, right.” He slams the white ball against the yellow one so hard it skips off the table. “Convince me I’m doing the right thing or I’ll walk.”
I pull in a breath of courage. “I want to start over with Dorothy. If I slowly come clean with her about my past, she’ll see I’m trying to be a better man. I can show her the respect she deserves by letting her in and trusting her with my biggest secrets. I think it’ll go far with her.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
Fear claws through my chest. “If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’ll deal with that when it comes. But I’ve got to try because she’s torn up that Jamison kept this from her. Honestly, I don’t think she would’ve gotten upset if he had told her out of the gate.”
“I think you’re playing with fire, but I’m who am I to say? I’m no better at the dating game than you. Maybe you can teach me something.”
We finish our lousy game and he racks the balls again. As he does, the pictures of Dorothy and me that Ava has come to mind.
If I’m going to come clean to Dorothy about my past, I have to find a way to tell her about Ava. And that thought has me wanting to jump out of the window.
“Jonah, do you ever think about our mother?”
“Really? You’re talking about loving Dori and coming clean with her about your past and now you want to talk about the woman who birthed us. What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing. I just don’t want the woman I marry to walk out on me like our mother did.”
He puts his pool cue on the top of the table and points to a high-top table in the corner. “Let’s sit this one out and get to the bottom of your emotional transformation.”
I do as he asks, feeling like he’s the older brother. “What are your thoughts about why our mom left us?”
“Hunter, she left us to be with a mobster. Nothing about her sounds like Dori, so don’t compare the two.”
“I’m not. This has more to do with us than with my relationship. I wonder if our mom will show up one day when we least expect it.”
