Page 95 of Heartless As Puck

“So?” he prompted. “People have made relationships work before in similar circumstances.”

“I know.” I was getting to my point, but I wasn’t used to talking about my emotions. The guy needed to be patient. “What I was about to say is that the only thing I’m sure of is that however my future turns out, I want Jane to be part of it.”

“Have you told her that?” His tone was light, but there was a weight to the question that made me uneasy.

“Not exactly.” I’d told her I didn’t want to end things and that I wanted to see where our relationship went, but I hadn’t committed and she hadn’t asked me to.

He glanced over at me before gazing over toward the nearest building. “You want my advice?”

“Sure.” It couldn’t hurt.

“Make it completely clear to Jane that you want to be with her but that you aren’t sure what that might look like in a year or two. Talk it over with her rather than trying to figure it out on your own. Maybe she’ll have suggestions you didn’t think of, and even if not, she deserves to have all the facts so she can decide what she wants.”

“You’re right.”

He smirked. “I know. Also, for the love of fucking God, keep the dirty stuff indoors from now on.”

I groaned and dragged my hand down my face. “I’m going to be so paranoid from now on, but I promise you, I won’t risk that happening again.”

He straightened and turned toward me. “Shake on it?”

I clasped his hand and gave it a firm shake. “Should we go back inside and find out what the damage is?”

“I’m sure it’s fine.”

I wasn’t, although I was cautiously optimistic. There were enough level heads on the team that I hoped they’d stop the more hot-tempered ones from aggravating the Dragons’ players.

We headed back to the door, nodding to the smokers as we passed, and I held it open for Alec. He gave me a weird look, and I ignored it because I had no explanation for being strangely chivalrous. I supposed my subconscious wanted to impress Jane’s brother.

We weaved through the crowd, many of whom were now up and mingling. The Chaos’s tables were largely empty, and when I looked around, I noticed that the team was gathered around the pool tables. At one, Rasmussen and Brown were teamed up against a pair of Dragons players, and at the neighboring table, Jesse and Schmidt were doing the same thing.

“Do you think they’ll notice if I leave and go home to Jane?” I asked Alec.

At that moment, Jesse raised his head and focused on me with laser precision. “Harris! I need your help to beat these guys. Schmidt’s not much of a pool shark.”

Alec gave me a little shove. “Go on. She’ll still be there in half an hour.”

I joined the others, surprised when a grumbling Schmidt thrust a pool cue into my hands. I’d expected him to want to keep playing just to spite Jesse. He was a bit of a contrary guy. Perhaps he cared more about us winning as a team than he did his own pride.

It didn’t take long to figure out what was what, and although Jesse and I made a comeback from the losing position they’d been in, it wasn’t enough to win. We conceded defeat graciously—after all, we’d won on the ice, where it counted.

When the team finally started breaking apart for the night, Alec appeared at my side again.

“I’ll drive you home,” he said, brooking no argument. “Don’t you have a declaration to make to my sister?”

My stomach immediately knotted.

Fuck, he was right. I had said I’d do that. Now, faced with the reality, it felt a lot more terrifying to put all my cards on the table.

I’d just have to hope that Jane was as smitten with me as I was with her.

TWENTY-SEVEN

JANE

“Do you think I need to worry about Austin being with other women?” I asked Hazel as I shifted closer to her on the sofa, hoping that Mom and Dad were too absorbed by Dad’s ongoing commentary on the replay of the game to hear me.

My stomach was still tangled unpleasantly from watching those women follow Austin and Nick out of the stadium earlier, and I needed reassurance.