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Twelve
The motivation to succeed was an attribute Jayson and Gia shared. Which was why they’d agreed that on Saturday, he’d return to the house and fire up Big Ben, and the three of them would make a decent bit of headway.
He’d been working for four hours straight without coming up for air when Gia interrupted.
“How’s it going?” She was carrying her own T13 while his was being used as a coaster for his coffee cup. Without a solution for the update, “coaster” was the only purpose the tablet would serve. She moved the empty mug, clucking her tongue.
She didn’t need to say anything. That small gesture spoke volumes.
It spoke of mini arguments about using a coaster or a napkin, about not resting his shoes on the coffee table. All insignificant, but they had a way of becoming bigger and bigger over time—the way individual grains of sand eventually became an island.
That’s what he and Gia had between them. An island of misunderstandings and assumptions.
“I thought I had a breakthrough, but it turned out to be nothing.” He might as well be talking about them. He’d had an inkling of the part he’d played in the deterioration of their marriage, but hell if he knew what to do about it now.
She seemed content to keep her distance. She’d worked by the pool today rather than inside the house, and when she did venture into the house, she grabbed whatever was fastest to eat before returning to the pool again.
“We’ll find it.” She sounded tired, as if she might not believe that.
He understood how hard it was to admit something was unfixable. Admitting as much about their marriage had been the most difficult thing he’d ever done.
“I’m going to run a few errands. I can’t look at a screen any longer.” She started to leave the room but he wasn’t ready to let her go yet. In an attempt to keep her attention, he dealt a low blow.
“Finally met our niece,” he said, receiving the smile he’d expected.
She crossed her arms over a simple sundress that looked anything but simple on his ex-wife. Her curves tantalizingly stretched every seam.
“I love that both Addison and Taylor have baby girls. Serves my male-dominated family right.”
Remembering what Bran had told him, Jayson said, “They were overprotective.”
“Men tend to treat me like fine china.”
“Not a bad thing to be cared for.” He still didn’t fully understand why she didn’t like her family looking out for her. He’d have given anything for a father who wanted to protect him at all costs.
“I had to run off to MIT for my brothers to admit I grew up. Jack didn’t catch on ever, I don’t think.”
Yeah. Jayson didn’t think so, either. Gia’s father had stepped in time and again to make sure she was taken care of. Including with her husband. Whenever he thought of Jack’s conversation with him before he and Gia married, Jayson bristled. Mistakes were definitely made.
“I’m not fragile,” she stated now, and just stubbornly as she had in the past. “And I don’t give up. On anything.”
He thought of something else he and Bran talked about—how competitive she was, and suddenly had a great idea.
“Except you’re going shopping. So you sort of are giving up.”
She made a disgusted sound. “I’m taking a break. Breaks are good for the brain.”
So was sex.
“I’ll bet you I find and fix the bug before you do.” She was smart, but so was he. “We’ve been stuck on this for far too long. Maybe what we need is a little friendly competition to motivate us.”
“I’m plenty motivated.” But her eyebrow arched high on her forehead, a sure sign she’d been properly provoked. “I know I’ll find the problem before you do.”
“If you’re so sure, then why not bet?” he goaded.
“What do you have that I could possibly want?”
When he held out his arms, she rolled her eyes, but her smile was worth it. “Be serious.”
