Page 63 of Playing for Keeps

“I slept with Aaron.” Her hands went to her face again when I flinched. “I wanted to and then I didn’t, but I was too drunk. I couldn’t stop him. I hate myself for it. I hated every moment and I would take it all back if I could.”

“Jen.” I pulled the girl toward me, giving her all the comfort I could give while my mind spun a million miles a minute.

“You must hate me.”

“I’ll never hate you,” I told her, squeezing her to me. “Don’t ever say that.”

“Then why did you stop?” she begged, tear-filled eyes falling on me. “Is it her? Do you love her?”

“Love who?”

“That woman I saw you with at the restaurant.” Jen pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. “God, please don’t tell me it’s true.”

Pulling her hands away from her face again, I took a deep breath. “Please. Jen. You’ve lost me, love.”

With a sniff, she shook her head. “I saw you at the rehearsal dinner. I went to find you, to talk to you, and I saw you with that woman.”

“Carina.” My eyes slammed shut and my skin burned at the reminder.

“Do you love her?” Jen asked, her voice breaking on the final word.

“No,” I promised. “No, it’s not like that. Carina, she’s a... business associate. We haven’t slept together in years.” I dragged a hand across my face. “I was weak, Jen. I was so weak. After Frankie met Aaron, she told me about him. And when Carina came to me, I couldn’t bring myself to stop. But the other night, I wasn’t with her. She wanted to, she always has, but I told her, someone else holds my heart.”

Another sob broke free from Jen’s chest. “I’m so sorry. I never would have slept with him if I didn’t see you with her.”

“What are you talking about? You were with Aaron for four months.”

She blinked at me, her head tipping to the side. “No. I wasn’t. Not really. We were friends with a glorified title. He never made a move on me. The other night, I asked him why, and he told me it was me. That I acted like I didn’t want more. And I didn’t, Vinny. I didn’t want him. I only wanted you. I was just too scared to tell you.”

Every inch of my skin tingled and a weight settled hard and heavy in my stomach. I’d pushed her into his arms because I’d been too weak to tell Carina no. My eyes clenched shut and I reached a hand to my side, searching until I found hers.

“It’s okay,” I said, breathing in a deep breath through my nose. “We weren’t together. It’d been over a year. We were bound to have a moment of weakness.” Opening my eyes, I found her watching me. “I love you, Jen. We’ve been apart for too long, and I don’t want this to come between us.”

With that bottom lip still quivering, Jen wiped her face with the back of her hand. “But?”

I worried my bottom lip between my teeth, taking a steadying breath. “But that’s not why I stopped you. I have something to tell you. And I understand if you hate me. If you never want to see me again.”

“What is it?”

“Come with me.” I helped her from the couch, leading her into my office. She stood quiet as I went to my desk and booted up my computer. It took a moment to login to the game, for the gray-green landscape to come into view. I could feel Jen’s confusion rolling off her in waves as the red, blue, and green monsters showed up on the screen. With a short command, the landscape faded to black, the five screens in front of me going dark.

“Vinny?” Jen asked as I stood at my desk, my head hanging low. She let out an audible gasp as the screen on the left filled. “Mr. Frost?”

“Good evening, Ms. Lucas,” Butterman said, formal as could be. His face filled the screen as he leaned closer to his camera, and it took all I had in me to hold back my groan. He was wearing a tweed cigar jacket with a golden ascot tucked into his brown, button-up shirt, hair slicked down for once as if he were ready for his part in a play.

“What are you doing here?”

Before he could answer, Angel’s face came on the screen above his, signature blue glitter eyeshadow in place. “Oh my goodness, would you look at that? Darling, you’re absolutely stunning in that dress. Vinny, please tell me your sister made that? I’m dying to have something of hers in my closet.”

“Jermaine?” Jen asked, stepping closer to the desk. Her hand gripped my arm, yanking me back. “Vinny? What’s going on? Why are my recruiter and leasing agent on your computer screens?”

I turned my back on the screens as another flickered to life. Confusion flickered across Jen’s face as she blinked a couple times, then tipped her head to the right. “I know you,” she muttered, almost too quiet to hear.

“Pleasure to see you again,” Ford said, and recognition dawned on Jen’s face.

“You’re... the security guard? Or that bartender?”

“One and the same.”