Page 37 of The Hanukkah Hoax
No such luck. To Alec’s eternal misery, all he got back were indifferent shrugs and pointed glances that said Apologies still don’t get you free refills.
“I was going to say,” she added, smiling and seeming to take a particular joy in his distress, “that the kiss was . . . nice.”
His balls could have been buried in two feet of snow, and he still wouldn’t have moved.
Nice. Nice? Had the woman just said his kiss was nice?
Alec let Marisa conceal the enchanting smile that followed behind the rim of her coffee cup, because he couldn’t fathom a reason why she’d gift him with it after what he’d confessed. “Did you not hear me?”
“Oh, I heard you.” She nodded. “But I believe you didn’t hear me.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t follow.”
“I said the kiss was nice. More than nice, if I’m being honest.”
Alec’s breath froze behind his ribs. Please be honest. For all the bagels in Jersey, even those peculiar French toast numbers, please be honest with me.
“Jules showed me the picture he took of us before he posted it,” she confessed. “I said he could.”
Well, that was a ripe piece of news. “You did? Why?”
“I was a bit tipsy, and also . . .” To his utter astonishment, Marisa tried to look anywhere but at his face. “He had a picture of you on his phone.”
“He did?” Well, that was bloody news to Alec, though whether it was the nightly news kind or the tabloid kind remained to be seen.
Marisa nodded slowly but still wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Jules said he used to date a soccer player for the New York team. He saw you in the stands one time and snapped a photo.”
“Why would that bother you? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t exactly relish the idea of being in some bloke’s phone gallery, but it’s not an uncommon occurrence, I guess. I play all over the world and can be a bit recognizable in certain circles, so it’s bound to happen.”
However, his explanation didn’t soften whatever had set her on edge. She shifted uneasily in her seat and kept tapping out a rhythm on the table with her thumbs.
Alec placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“The picture was of you and Phoebe.”
Ice flooded his veins, and the shock of it somehow crisped up the circumstances he found himself in.
“Ah. It must have been from a few years ago, then.” Alec raked his memory bank, and sure enough, he’d gone to a few local sporting events with her when he was in the States.
“Why did you break up? Or I guess the bigger curiosity I have is, why the hell did you date her to begin with? You never answered me, and it’s still been on my mind.”
Outside, the light snow had begun to collect on the edge of the window glass, pooling in a slanted hill that seemed determined to frost over as much of the world beyond and block out any distractions.
Even the weather was conspiring against him, forcing him to reveal the truth lest he be buried beneath the weight of it.
Again, Alec looked for answers in his coffee. Again, he found none. “We were together for some time. Met her in New York at one of the opening night parties for a show Cal had been in. She had a friend who worked for the theater, so she got in as a guest, and I was on break in between rugby seasons and not opposed to a bit of fun back then. Break being the keyword in that scenario,” he said pointedly. “The way our tours work is that, each month, we play one jam-packed Friday-through-Sunday weekend of rugby in a different city around the world. There are seven legs, you see, all leading up to the Grand Final at the end. It’s a lot of travel, and though most people may not think so, it sets a grueling pace of play, pace of life, really. Playing Rugby Sevens at that level is not conducive to settling down, and at the time, I wasn’t interested in changing.
“Phoebe, however, was, despite the fun that my lifestyle afforded her. She was convinced that, with me getting on in years, all she had to do was wait out my career, and eventually, the ruthlessness of the game would decide in her favor. When it didn’t and I saw just how unhappy my professional happiness was making her, we ended it, though far later than we should have. I suppose I used all the travel as a convenient excuse to be a coward. It’s a bit easier to hide your injuries and true worries over video chats.”
It had been bad enough to have Brennan’s disgruntlement breathing down his neck over Alec’s desire to keep playing, but to have someone who supposedly loved him tapping her foot every time he took a tackle and spent longer in the infirmary than he had when he was younger had been the wrong sort of confidence vote.
“She didn’t have anything nice to say about the photos online,” Marisa added. “A few passive-aggressive emojis seemed to be the extent of her interest in the matter.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“Does she know how you got injured?” A bit of trepidation laced her curiosity as she tried hunting for answers she likely guessed others already knew.
“I’m willing to bet she does.” He sat back in his chair, leaning on the rear legs, and barked out a laugh. “I don’t even have a good story to tell you about that one. Probably should just make one up, to be honest.”
