Page 68 of False Start
I wipe the smile from my face.
“Aww, look at the wittle bitty fella!” she says like she hasn’t already stopped by to see him fifteen times today.
“No time for cuddles. I’m taking him home.”
“Your home or Bryant’s home?” she asks with a devilish look in her eye.
I roll my eyes. “I’m taking Punter tohishome.”
“If I’d known all it would take is an awkward-looking cat to bring you two back together, then I would’ve adopted all the stray kittens in New Orleans years ago.”
“We’re not back together, and Punter is Bryant’s kitten, not mine.”
“I’ll come with you two. I don’t have anything else to do tonight.”
I’m reminded about Bryant’s two guests, who I’ve yet to lay eyes on. And I’m also reminded their move to New Orleans has slipped my mind with everything going on with Bryant and I. “Probably not the greatest idea.”
She frowns. “Why not? I used to hang out with you guys all the time.”
I take her by the hand and pull her over to the two chairs in front of my desk. “I’ve been meaning to tell you something, but it’s slipped my mind for the past few weeks. I apologize in advance for it.”
“You’re pregnant,” she says.
“God, no.”
“I give up.”
“After one guess?”
She starts talking with her hands, a sure sign of her anxiety. “Are you telling me or what?”
“Ben is back in town.”
“Okay?”
“For good.”
“He lives in Detroit.”
I reach over and pat my hand on top of hers. “Not anymore.”
“Oh my God. Did he retire early?”
I close my eyes and take in a deep breath before I blow it out and jumble all my words together. “Ben is signing with the Voodoo.”
She stiffens beside me. Shit. The longest moment passes before she speaks. “Well, okay.”
“Okay?”
“It was a long time ago, Zhanna. We’ve both moved on with our lives. He’s married and has a son now.”
I don’t know much about Ben’s life in the last few years, but Bryant and I were together when Ben married and divorced. “Zina, Ben hasn’t been married for three years.”
Her face pales when she realizes him being a married man may not play into her perfect little scenario where they’ll be good, old friends. Him being single scares her. “Oh.”
Yeah. Oh. “But Bryant would love for you to come over. I think it’d be great to have the whole crew together again.”
She quickly stands, shooting up from the chair as though her ass is on fire. “I think I’ll pass. We’ll see each other soon enough.”
