Page 49 of Falling for the Enemy

He bit back any reply and gritted his teeth. Irritated—because she had a point—he tore into his burrito, biting through the tortilla like he wanted to punish it.

Wren studied him for a long moment. “Do you care about her?”

“I barely know her.”

“You’ve known her since the third grade.”

“Oh, I thought you meant Olivia.”

“Do you care about Olivia?”

“I… I don’t know. It’s early, Wren. And I haven’t had coffee.”

“It’s not a hard question, Soren.”

“On paper, Olivia’s the full package. She knows how my world works.”

“And Jocelyn doesn’t?”

“It’s not the same. Olivia knows how to play the game. She was bred to marry a successful man.”

Wren rolled her eyes. “And an egotistical one, apparently.”

“I’m just saying, Jocelyn’s…unfiltered. She says whatever she feels and bulldozes over anyone who stands in her way.”

“So? That’s why she’s successful. Everything she has, she provided for herself.”

“Exactly. Joce likes her independence and doesn’t want anything serious.”

“What if she did?”

He paused, taken off guard by the question. “Did she say something to you?”

“No, but I know my friend. Jocelyn isn’t as tough as everyone thinks she is. Strong, yes—incredibly so. I’d trust her with my life. But strong doesn’t mean unbreakable, and people tend to forget that.”

“Look, I would never purposely hurt Jocelyn. I…care about her. More than I want to admit. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s her and I’m me. We’d end up killing each other.”

“Does it make it easier to tell yourself that?”

“It’s true.”

“People who hate each other don’t sleep together.”

He looked away and mumbled. “Guess you never had a good hate fuck.” When she didn’t respond, he sighed. “Look, what do you want me to say, Wren? Sex and arguing are the only ways Jocelyn and I communicate. Even after all these months, she makes me fucking work for it. And I’m not the one chasing her out when it’s over. She’s always the first to pull away.”

“Why do you think that is, Soren?”

“How the hell should I know?”

“You could ask her. You could actually try talking to her, Soren. According to her, you go out on a date every week. I imagine that requires some level of communication skills. If you can talk to other women, why can’t you talk to Jocelyn?”

He rubbed his chest as a weird tightness formed. He must have pulled something at the gym. “I know what I want, Wren.”

“Which is?”

He glanced down at her belly. “In a few months, you’re going to be a mom. And Grey’s going to be a father. I want a family just as much as you guys.”

“Okay. I don’t see how wanting a family somehow removes Jocelyn from your life.”