Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
That’s why I signal to Rich that I’ll be back in a minute, and I walk over to where Zeus is now sitting on a stool at the bar, waiting to be served.
I tap his shoulder with my hand, and those blue eyes turn to look at me.
“You seen sense and ditched Deputy Dick?”
“I haven’t ditched him. I just need to talk to you.”
“About?”
“Not now. Tomorrow. You’re still taking Gigi to ballet?” I check.
“Yes.”
“Would you mind coming fifteen minutes earlier, so we can discuss something?”
“Sure.”
“Great. Thanks.”
An awkward silence stretches between us. Zeus is staring at me, and I’m starting to feel jittery inside.
Walk away, Cam.
“Okay then”—I take a step back—“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He gives me a brief nod before turning his attention to the bar. When the bartender approaches, Zeus gives his drink order—coffee.
He came to the bar to drink coffee?
No, he came to watch the game, stalker Cam.
I turn and skulk away, like a groupie who was just given the brush-off.
I reach our table and slip into my seat.
Rich, whose eyes were on his cell, looks up at me, putting his phone away in his pants pocket. “Everything okay?” he checks.
“Yeah, fine.” I smile, way too big for it to be real. I pull my lips back together and try to relax my face. “I was just asking Zeus if he could come a little earlier tomorrow, so I can discuss the big talk with him.”
“That’s good.” He nods.
“Yeah,” I agree, picking up my half-drunk beer and taking a long swig.
Rich glances over his shoulder, looking toward the bar. “Hey, that’s Zeus’s brother, right?”
“Where?” I turn my head, half-expecting to see another Kincaid standing at the bar.
“On the TV. Playing for the Giants.”
I lift my eyes to the television and see Ares’s profile on-screen before he comes back into play. The sight of his face makes me smile. I always liked Ares.
Zeus told me that he hadn’t told his siblings and his dad about Gigi yet. He wanted to spend time getting to know her first, and then he’d tell them after Gigi was told.
That will be tomorrow. Because I can’t see Zeus disagreeing with telling her.
“He probably has box seats,” Rich muses. “Wonder why he’s in here, watching the game, and not actually there.”
“He wanted to take Gigi”—and me—“out for dinner,” I tell him, my eyes drifting to Zeus, unbidden.
He’s talking to the bartender, and another guy at the bar has drifted over to talk to him.
“Ah. Right. That makes sense,” Rich says. “So, did you hear about Larson?”
“No,” I say, moving my eyes back to Rich.
“He’s moving to Virginia,” he tells me. “His mom lives there, and she’s sick. He’d put in for a transfer on the DL, and it was approved today.”
“That’s good for him,” I say, “being closer to his mom.”
“Yeah. It’s going to be weird for me without him though. We went through the academy together…”
Voices lifting with excitement distract my attention from Rich, and I look back to the bar…to Zeus…where I now see that a group of women has swooped in on him, and they are falling all over themselves to talk to him.
“You’re so big.” One of them giggles as she wraps her hand around his biceps.
“That’s what all the women say,” Zeus replies.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I give a mental eye roll.
“You’re so bad!” She laughs loudly.
Then, one of her friends pushes herself forward, wedging herself between Zeus and the bar, a pen held in her hand. “Will you sign my chest?” she asks him, sticking her enviably sized chest out, giggling and batting her lashes.
Really? Fucking really?
I grit my teeth, waiting for his response.
Then, I see a flash of that smile of his, and I’m hit with a tsunami of jealousy when Zeus takes the Sharpie from her hand and proceeds to sign her chest.
And I’ve seen enough.
“I’m not feeling great,” I lie to Rich. “Sorry to bail early, but I’m gonna take off.”
His eyes examine me, and then he looks over at Zeus before coming back to me. He knows I’m lying, and for a minute, I think he’s going to call me out, but he says, “No problem. Let me walk you to your car.”
“Sure.” I smile.
We both stand. I grab my cell from the table and put it in my bag.
I can still hear the giggles of Zeus’s groupies, but I don’t look at him again.
When we get outside, the air is fresh, and it’s just what I need to help clear my head.
We walk to my car in companionable silence. When I reach it, I get my keys out and unlock it.
I turn to Rich. “Thanks for tonight. For listening to me complain about my woes.”
“Anytime.” He smiles warmly. Then, he reaches out a hand and cups my cheek. “I like you, Cam.”
“I like you, too.” I smile. I just wish I liked you more.