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“Reese…” he said, frowning as she joined them.
“Hey, Janessa. I thought you were allergic to the gym.”
“I had Gareth give me a shot to help me endure exposures of short duration. I think I’ll survive.”
“I would have thought you’d avoid ever taking a shot like that,” Reese said with a laugh. “That’s a bet I would have lost, apparently.”
Will just shook his head as the two continued their conversation. They weren’t close friends, but they got along most of the time. They both were super sweet, but they also had a prickly, snarky aspect to their personalities, so they spoke the same language.
When Reese suddenly scowled in the direction of the doors, Will turned, expecting to see Jay and Misha, even though he didn’t know why his sister would be scowling at them. He spotted Marissa just as Reese began to march toward her. Will grabbed for his sister, but she was already beyond his reach.
“Oh boy,” Janessa murmured.
“You know what?” Will said as he turned his back to where Reese was confronting Marissa. “If I don’t see it happening, it didn’t.”
Janessa laughed, but she didn’t turn away. “I think this is amazing. Your own personal attack dog.”
Will groaned. “I doubt what Reese is doing is going to help the situation.”
“Maybe not,” Janessa agreed. “But it sure is entertaining.”
“That’s because it’s not your life being paraded in front of people.”
“Hopefully Marissa will think twice about spreading rumors after Reese is done with her. I know your sister would scare me straight.” Janessa grinned. “Oh, look. Jay and Misha just walked in.”
Will couldn’t keep from turning around, curious to see how Marissa might react to Jay’s presence with Misha. It wasn’t that he delighted in seeing a person taken to task, but with just a few words, Marissa had created a storm in his life that he didn’t want or deserve. She needed to know that it wasn’t acceptable to do that, and Reese and Jay might just be the people to help her realize that.
Marissa stood with her back to the door, so she didn’t realize who had walked in, though she spun around quickly enough when Jay said, “Hello, Reese.”
“Jay!” Reese said loudly enough for the whole gym to hear. “How nice to see you and Misha here tonight. Will and Janessa arrived a few minutes ago. Is it double-date night at the gym?”
Jay’s brows rose at her question while Misha grinned. It took everything inside Will not to slap his forehead, then run out of the gym. Reese was making things worse. He should have known this would happen.
“I would never consider time at the gym as a date, Reese,” Jay said. “I much prefer to take Misha someplace where we can focus on each other, not gym equipment.”
“I should have snapped you up when I had the chance.”
“You never had a chance, Reese,” Jay said with a laugh.
Reese lifted her hand to press the back of it to her forehead. “Oh, the rejection! I’m wounded! How shall I ever survive? Now I shall tell the world of my rejection, smearing your name in order to make myself feel better.”
“Uh…” Janessa leaned closer to Will, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. “Did they rehearse this?”
“I don’t think so,” Will murmured. “I believe it’s what they call improv.”
“This is amazing,” Janessa said, keeping her voice low. “Just look at Marissa’s face.”
Marissa glared at Reese, her displeasure clear for all to see. Reese might bug the life out of Will sometimes, but she was also quick to come to his defense. He was fortunate that she was on his side.
“Oh please,” Marissa scoffed. “No one wants Casey’s leftovers.”
Janessa gasped and moved toward Marissa, but this time, Will managed to grab hold of her arm. She turned a frown toward him but didn’t pull away.
As it turned out, Jay didn’t need his sister’s defense.
“Oh, but I do,” Misha said. “He’s a wonderful man, and I love him very much. I’m so glad that Casey didn’t realize how great Jay was because that meant he was available for me. Will is also a great guy, but he’s not the man I want to be with. Jay is. So don’t go trying to screw up other people’s lives just because you’re unhappy.”
Marissa stormed out of the gym, apparently abandoning her workout for the evening. Unfortunately, what Misha and Reese had said to her probably wouldn’t make any difference to Marissa.
