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"And we take that role seriously. I'm proud of you, Jace." I had no clue in how many more ways I could show him that before it went to his head. He was the team's most valuable player, and had been celebrated tonight as such. That required a lot of work and dedication.
A pretty blonde waitress came up to us, carrying a glass on her tray. "Mr. Connor, I have your special order here. Should I bring it to your table?"
Jace shook his head, picking up the glass. "Thanks."
"Is there anything else I can get you?" She sounded a little breathless.
"No, that’s all." Poor woman had stars in her eyes. Jace was doing what he'd done since he was a teen—charming the opposite sex. I'd realized that smile would be trouble ever since my high school friends had blushed around him, despite the age difference. That smile had grown even more dangerous after Jace became aware of its effect.
"Question: why is there dessert here if all the players are on a strict meal plan?" I asked after she left.
"Because everyone else isn't? Amber arranged this. She likes to torture us."
"Oooh, I forgot to give her my thanks for that calendar. Best idea she's had."
"Please don't. That'll just give her more ideas."
"That's the point."
Jace sipped from his glass, then took a deep breath. "I meant to ask: did Jeff bother you again?"
/> "No, not at all. Not even my lawyer heard from him."
"Graham must have scared him good when he showed at the club."
I tightened the grip on my plate, suddenly feeling like the last bit of cake I'd swallowed was crawling up my throat. "Jeff came to the club?"
"You didn't know?"
"No, Graham didn't mention it. When was that?"
"About two weeks ago. Graham was in a mood afterward. Seemed out of it for a couple of days."
What was happening? Why hadn't he brought this up? And why the hell would Jeff bother Graham? I glanced around, searching for Graham, and found him talking with a player on the other side of the room. My stomach shrunk to a tight knot. Why hadn't he told me anything? Had Jeff's visit upset him that much? Maybe I hadn't imagined Graham's unease these past weeks. After Jace's teammates pulled him away, Amber and I talked about the baby shower, but I couldn't focus on planning anything. I wished this evening would come to an end faster.
Graham was still tense when we climbed in his car and drove off. The conversation with Nana had clearly rattled him, but I wished he'd talk to me about it. Whatever it was, we could work through it together. And even if there wasn't anything to work through, I wanted him to know he could talk to me.
During the drive, I kept wringing my hands in my lap, trying to decide on the best angle to tackle this. I was completely out of sorts. When we pulled in front of my house, Graham didn't turn off the engine. It was dark outside, and in the dim yellowish light cast by the lampposts, I couldn't make out his expression.
"I'm going to head to my place this evening. I'm not in the right headspace right now."
My stomach bottomed out. He thought that was the solution?
"I thought we were at the point where we could talk things out, no matter what they were. Don't close yourself off to me. Talk to me."
Graham bristled. I bit the inside of my cheek. Damn, that came out different than I'd intended. My tone was almost accusatory.
"Not much to say. I still have to figure out what to do."
I took in his body language. Shoulders hunched, head hung. I wanted to comfort him, but he didn't seem to want that. I wasn't going to let him pull away, though. I didn't want that kind of dynamic in our relationship. It wasn't healthy. Besides, he'd been the one who'd pushed me to share things with him until now. Why wasn't he reciprocating?
Since I had no idea how to tackle the issue with his dad, I switched gears.
"Jace told me Jeff stopped by the club two weeks ago. What was that about?"
I wanted to get to the bottom of this.
Graham straightened up in his seat. "I meant to tell you about that, but then I thought there was no point anyway."
