Page 96 of Heartless As Puck

Hazel glanced at me but didn’t make a big fuss of the question, which I appreciated. “Was he a player before you guys got together?” she asked, toying with a strand of her hair. “Did he bring girls back here?”

“No.” The tangles in my gut loosened slightly. “I never saw him with anyone.”

I tucked my legs beneath myself. It was cozy in Austin’s place. I’d turned the thermostat up—finally brave enough to do that in the common living areas now that I was no longer Austin’s employee. He could turn it down later if he wanted, but for now, I wanted to be warm.

She lifted one shoulder and dropped it. “Then there’s no need for you to worry. If he wasn’t a player when he was single, why would he become one now that he’s with you?”

I rested my head against the cushion. “You’re right. Thanks, I needed to hear that.”

I’d let myself get worked up about nothing. I knew Austin. I’d spent months learning how he operated. There was no reason to second-guess myself now.

“Foul!” Dad shouted at the referee. “That was a foul! Any idiot could see that.”

Hazel and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Calm down, Pete,” Mom said from where she was perched on the arm of his chair. “We already know how this plays out. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“But that was blatant—” He cut off when Mom put her hand across his mouth.

“There,” she said smugly. “That’s better.”

I snickered.

Hazel watched them curiously. I recalled what Austin had said about how his father had treated them both growing up and remembered how he’d shouted at them outside the house earlier in the week. I hoped that Hazel knew my dad wasn’t like hers. He wasn’t actually angry. He just got worked up during games.

“Don’t mind him,” I whispered. “He just likes to yell.”

She worried her lower lip. “He won’t try to critique Austin, will he?”

“No,” I assured her. “Not unless Austin asks him to.”

“Okay, then.”

I reached for my half-drunk bottle of beer on the coffee table and took a refreshing mouthful. When I put it back, I grabbed a pretzel and popped it into my mouth, enjoying the saltiness.

Hazel tilted her head. “Is that a car outside?”

Dad paused the TV, and I strained to listen.

“I think it is,” I said. “Do you think it’s Alec or Austin?”

“Austin.” She grinned. “He won’t want to be away from you for any longer than necessary.”

I dismissed her comment with a wave of my hand, but I couldn’t deny the warmth that filled me at the possibility she might be right.

A couple minutes later, both Alec and Austin entered the living room. Together, wearing tailored trousers and button-down shirts, they looked like something from the cover of GQ.

Alec caught sight of the TV and chuckled. “Really, Dad?”

“You know your father has to yell at the refs,” Mom said, ruffling Dad’s hair.

“We still have plenty to go, if you want to join us,” Dad said, extending the offer to them both.

Austin turned to me. “Jane, can I talk to you in private?”

“Um, of course.” I got to my feet and walked over to him. He took my hand and led me through the house to his private suite.

I’d been inside his rooms before when I’d needed to fetch things, but even though the suite wasn’t new to me, I looked around as if it were. After all, the few times I’d been in here had been as his employee, and now I was here as—hopefully—his girlfriend. Or, if not that, then the woman he was dating.