Page 30 of Tactically Tied

Jed felt Jami huff in annoyance against his chest. He glanced down at her, catching the way her eyes darkened, her jaw tightening. There was that challenging look in her eyes. It was the same challenging look that had gotten him his first kiss with her. The same challenge he'd been using to his advantage ever since getting his ring on her finger. He didn't want challenges anymore. He liked Jami exactly where he had her.

Jules and Jacqui appeared beside them, their husbands trailing behind. “I hate to admit it,” Jules said begrudgingly, glancing sideways at Jami, “but Nãinai might have a point.”

Jed felt Jami tense even more. He shot a glance at Jules, who quickly busied herself by leaning into Fish. Jacqui remained silent, but her expression was a begrudging agreement as she leaned into Noah. The three husbands—Noah, Fish, and Jed—shared a look. A smug, knowing look as each man put a possessive hand around his wife.

"We could’ve been doing this back in high school." Jed's voice was low as he pressed his forehead against hers.

"You hated me in high school."

Jed’s hands tightened on her waist. "I never hated you. I’ve always liked you too much. That was the problem."

"Same," she whispered, the word barely audible, as though she couldn’t quite believe she was saying it.

He turned her fully in his arms then, gazing down at her, the weight of lost time heavy on his chest. "We wasted so much time. I’m still chasing the high from the first time you kissed me."

“I didn’t kiss you. You kissed me." She paused, her gaze searching his face as though trying to solve a long-forgotten mystery. "Why did you kiss me, Jed?"

"Aside from the fact that I wanted you more than anything? I wanted to steal you away from that idiot boyfriend of yours."

"Ryan?"

"Let’s not talk about him. I still can’t believe you went back to him after I kissed you."

"You kissed me," she insisted, poking a finger into his chest. "And I didn’t go back to him. Ryan and I were already broken up. He tried to get back with me, but I—" She stopped, biting her lip.

"You what?"

Jami hesitated for a beat, then sighed, her gaze dropping to Jed's chest. "He never kissed me like that. Like you did. I realized… I didn’t feel for him what I felt for you. He wanted to get back together, but I said no. I said we could be friends, but then everyone just assumed we were together, and you…" She looked up at him then, her eyes searching his. "You never spoke to me again. So…"

Jed’s chest tightened at the realization, the weight of his own silence in the years that followed suddenly hitting him. He hadn’t known. He hadn’t tried to know. Instead, he’d pulled away, let his pride get in the way.

But now? Now he wasn’t pulling away.

Jed cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing her skin with the gentleness he wished he’d shown her back then. "I’m talking to you now."

Without waiting for her to respond, he leaned in, catching her lips in another kiss—this one slow, lingering, full of all the words they hadn’t said back then and everything he felt for her now. And this time, he was never letting go.

"I have a lot riding on this competition."

Jed's arms fell away from Jami as he turned at the sound of that unwelcome voice.

He turned his gaze toward the source and spotted Ryan standing in front of the camera, looking every bit the weasel he always had been.

CHAPTERTWENTY

Jami’s ears perked up at the sound of Ryan's voice. He was betting again? This time, on her and Jed winning the competition. It was flattering, in a twisted way, that her ex-boyfriend believed in her enough to bet on her. But the realization that he might have a gambling problem started to gnaw at her. How many times had he gambled on something without her knowing?

"Yeah," Ryan was saying with a cocky grin, "I’ve got a lot riding on Jami and Jed taking this home. Jed’s ruthless, man. Always has been."

Ruthless? Jed? Single-minded, maybe. Driven, definitely. But ruthless? No.

"Really?" said Rick, turning on the producer snake charm. "How do you mean?"

"You know," Ryan continued, his voice loud enough for anyone nearby to hear, "I once bet Jed back in high school that he couldn’t get Jami to kiss him. And guess what? He did it."

Jami felt the ground slipping away beneath her feet. The air around her grew thin. The crowd and the cameras faded into a dull roar. That kiss… that kiss that had haunted her for years, the one she had replayed in her mind countless times. It had been a bet?

She turned to look at Jed, searching his face for any hint that this was a sick joke. But when their eyes met, he winced. And in that second, she knew.

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