Page 90 of The Waiting Game

Colton grimaced “Birdie doesn’t. I love that woman so much but she does love her gossip. I’ve started saying, ‘that’s not my story to tell, babe.’ She doesn’t push it after that but we had to learn that the hard way.”

“Yeah, that’s perfect,” Felix said. “I’m not gonna tell you guys what to do in your relationships. I trust your judgment on how much you share with the SAPs.”

“Agreed,” Jonah said. “And thanks for lunch, D,” he added, gesturing to the decimated containers of food from the local market. “That was surprisingly delicious.”

“Not as good as Charlie’s food,” Jordan said.

“Yeah, I know,” Dustin said with a sigh. “But he’s got a big work project going and I did actually manage to survive before we got married.”

“Yeah, but you were a sad husk of a man then,” Dominic teased.

Dustin made a face but Jonah noticed he didn’t deny it either.

“Hey, D,” Felix said, pulling his hand away from Jonah’s thigh to reach for his phone. “I’ve been meaning to message Charlie. Do you think he’d be up for redoing my place?”

Dustin nodded. “I’m sure he would be. His bosses are over the moon with how many projects he’s already lined up.”

“You’re planning to remodel your condo?” Jonah asked, surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

Felix shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. When I designed it initially, it was for Whitney to come here and join me but my life has changed a lot since then. I thought it might do me some good to focus on a fresh start.”

“Sure, that makes sense,” Jonah said.

“Shouldn’t you be getting Jonah’s input on stuff like that since you’re engaged?” Matty asked.

Jonah tilted his face toward the sky and prayed for strength.

Rather than answer, he grabbed some plates. “I’ll help you clear the table, D,” he said.

“Maybe they really aren’t engaged,” Colton whispered as he walked away.

“I think they’re just a couple with bad communication skills,” Jordan said.

Ignoring the idiots he called friends, Jonah headed for the stairs leading up to the kitchen and reminded himself he couldn’t kill his teammates. That would be very bad for their playoff run.

Still, it was very tempting.

Jonah had just set the plates on the counter and opened the dishwasher in Dustin’s gorgeously remodeled kitchen when Dustin cleared his throat.

“Hey, do you have a sec?”

“Sure,” Jonah said, turning to face him. “What’s up?”

“Are you really sure you’re okay with this?” Dustin waved his hand.

“Okay with what? Felix remodeling his condo? Yeah. I was surprised that he hadn’t mentioned it to me before but I do think it’ll be good for him. It means he’s ready to move on from Whitney, right?”

Felix had planned every square centimeter of the place in the hopes of making it perfect for her. Thinking about Whitney still made Jonah angry. He understood why she’d made the decision she had but God, how could anyone pick their job over Felix?

“Not the remodel. I …” Dustin rubbed the back of his neck. “I know you have feelings for Felix.”

“What?” Jonah croaked. His heart sped up, tripping madly. He’d really thought he’d hidden that very well over the years. Apparently not.

“It’s fine. I mean, I get it. We’ve all had that person we’re kind of pining over. I know you said this fake engagement is to give your grandmother some peace of mind and that you want to help Felix. I just worry that it’s going to be really hard for you. Emotionally, I mean. Once it’s over.”

Jonah blew out a heavy breath.

“Look. Yeah, I do have feelings for him. He’s … he’s been a big, big part of my life for almost as long as I can remember.”

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