Page 34 of Walk Off

“Cassidy said she had no idea he was the friend from college that Benji had invited. All the info went straight to the wedding planner and she never paid any attention.” Zara finally got the wine open and poured a glass. “She feels horrible.”

“I know, she texted me several times and I told her it wasn’t her fault.” After several texts, Celia had to text Benji to take Cassidy’s phone away and focus on her honeymoon. She did not want to be the reason why she had a bad honeymoon with her new husband.

“Can we skip the boring stuff and get to the good part? I might have found you in the stairwell crying but I can’t imagine the sex was that bad.”

“Zara!” Hannah scolded her. “Read the room.”

Celia couldn’t help but laugh. “No, it’s okay. I actually need to talk about it.”

Zara rubbed her hands together. “Finally the juicy stuff. And can I just say, that man is not hard on the eyes? Holy shit, I’d seen photos of him, but I’d never seen him in person until the wedding. No wonder you fell for him all those years ago and couldn’t get over him.”

“She’s not wrong,” Hannah said. “Not to mention, now that I know he’s Jasmine’s dad, it’s hard not to see the connection.”

“It’s the nose,” Celia said. That sharp, pointy nose was all Kyle.

“That’s one part, but it’s also the way they both stand,” Zara said. “The genes are strong with that one.”

She hadn't noticed it before, but now that Zara mentioned it, Jasmine did stand just like Kyle. Straight backed and tall, but with the right leg a little loose, like she was ready to take off at any moment.

It was all Kyle.

“She’s sort of his mini-me,” Hannah said. “Except for her eyes. Those are all you.”

She didn't want to think about how much her daughter looked like Kyle. She wanted to figure out what to do with these feelings she had, and maybe, just maybe, move on. “You guys, what am I going to do? When he’s around, all I want, all I think about, is him.”

“What does he want?” Zara asked. “I mean last night, it was pretty obvious he wanted you, but what about now that you’ve told him?”

“That’s just the thing, I don’t know. Last night was incredible. He was everything I remember him being, but also so much more. He was domineering and forceful and it made me hot in a way I’d never been before. When we were together last time, we were both new to sex, and while it had been amazing, it was sweeter and less dirty.”

“I take it, you like the dirty?” Hannah asked.

“Um, yeah, you could say that. Then it all went to hell when it was over because I freaked out about the condom leaking. That’s why I was in the stairwell crying.” She pulled her knees to her chest on the chair and hugged them to her body.

“So the sex was great, you flipped out about a possible condom situation and you ran?” Zara inclined her head. “What happened this morning when you told him about Jasmine?”

This was a memory she wished she could remove from her head. She hated how rejected he’d looked. “He thought I lost the baby at first and was angry I didn’t tell him. When I told him I had the baby, he sort of shut down and walked away.”

“Oh man, that had to be horrible,” Hannah said. “For both of you.”

“He looked so angry, but also completely rejected. Like I’d taken a part of him away. Which, technically, I did.” She took a big sip of her wine. “Then he showed up at Ruby’s today after Dallas talked to him.”

“Why do I get the feeling you did more than talk?” Zara asked.

Fuck. “Because you know me so well.”

“What?” Hannah said. “Are you saying you had sex with him again? Today?”

“I’m not sure I’d call what we did today sex. It was more rage-filled fucking.” And it was phenomenal. She could still feel the sting of his hand on her ass, and she knew if she looked, there would still be a mark on her skin.

“Hate sex,” Zara said, nodding. “I’ve had that once or twice. Pretty good if everyone is on board.”

“And were you?” Hannah asked. “On board?”

“More than you know,” she answered honestly. These ladies deserved the truth and after lying to Kyle and everyone else for so long, she was determined to speak the truth from this day forward. She’d loved what they’d done together. It wasn't like anything she’d ever experienced.

And now she wanted more.

“Where were you?” Hannah asked.

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