Page 8 of Playing for Keeps

She’d graduated college just last week. I’d surprised her by showing up at her favorite coffee shop on campus as she entered with her parents in tow. I did my best to show them Jen meant the world to me, that I’d do anything to make her happy. But there was too much disappointment strung between us, and it was all directed their way.

Though she never voiced her displeasure, it was as clear as the Bahamian sun beating down on our skin. They’d hurriedly packed her things into their rented moving truck, then swept her off to a sports bar to eat. Through her entire celebratory dinner, her parents had one eye on the television, watching her brother and his team play on the screen.

I couldn’t let that slide. Couldn’t let that be how she remembered graduating from college. Before the night was done, I’d secured her a graduation present she’d never forget: One week under the sun, by my side, on our own little tropical vacation.

A throat cleared behind us, that same deep voice rumbling through the air. “Should we come back some other time?”

Jen jerked back, then hid her face in my chest. I twisted my body, holding her to me, as I glanced over my shoulder at my friends. “Sorry,” I said, the smile on my face telling them I was anything but. “We’re good now.”

“Oh God, Vinny,” my girl whimpered, and it was as if she was talking straight to my dick.

Clearing my own throat, I adjusted my grip on Jen, turning so we were seated side by side on her lounger, the girl’s back resting against me, the problem she caused with her whimpered words hidden from view. “Jen, I want you to meet my friends, Will and Geoffrey Paulsen. Guys, this is...”

The love of my life.

The girl I want to marry.

The woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.

“Jen Lucas,” she finished for me, extending her hand to greet my friends.

Geoffrey was the first to take her hand. And in true Geoffrey fashion, he knelt in front of her, raising her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, with his pale green eyes locked on hers. “So wonderful to meet you.”

“Geoffrey,” Will said, tapping his shoulder, then nudging him out of the way, “Don’t scare the girl away.” His tan was darker than Jen’s, less pink coloring his skin as he shook her hand. “Please, excuse my husband. I’m Will.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Jen said, that radiant smile on her face as my two friends settled in on the lounger nearby. “Do you two live here?”

“Oh, honey, I wish!” Geoffrey said, nudging Will before snuggling into his side. He took Will’s chin between his thumb and finger, stroking the untamed hair on his jaw. “This big oaf never takes me anywhere.”

“We’re here, aren’t we?”

Geoffrey’s face softened and he pressed a kiss to Will’s lips. “We are. Thank you.”

Jen squeezed my hand, then wiggled her shoulders, sliding down a little further on the lounger. The long fingers of her free hand trailed over my abs, over the scars I wanted nothing more than to cover up.

“Is this your first time here?” Will asked, and Jen’s hand stilled, settling on my stomach.

“It is, and I love it. It’s so beautiful here.”

“Jen just graduated from college,” I supplied. “I figured she could use a little break before she has to dive into the real world.”

“Congratulations!” Geoffrey lit up, the whites of his eyes glowing against the deep earthy color of his skin. “Now what are you going to do with your life?”

“I’ve had a few interviews already,” Jen told them, and I wondered if I was the only one who could hear the anxiety in her voice. “There are a couple jobs in Chicago I’d be really interested in, but if I don’t get them—”

“You’ll get them,” I assured her, squeezing her hand in mine.

She gave a shrug, then turned and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I hope so.”

“I know so.”

Jen ducked her chin, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, then turned her attention back to my friends. “How do you two know Vinny?”

Will raised a bushy brown eyebrow and looked at me, scuffing a hand over his jaw before draping his arm around Geoffrey’s shoulders.

“Will used to be my teacher,” I told her, snagging her hand and threading my fingers between hers.

“Oh? What subject?”