Page 62 of Curveball

“Why?”

“In his mind, he had a less than ideal upbringing and doesn’t want to duplicate it.”

“Ever?”

“Ever.”

She nods as she appears to think for a moment. “You know, I used to feel similarly. My father was absent from my life for a long time. My mom might be marrying a billionaire now, but she and I struggled throughout nearly my entire childhood. I was dead set against ever committing to one man or having a child. Now I have both.”

“What changed your mind?”

She turns her head and looks lovingly at Collin before looking back at me. “I found my soulmate. I want to be with him and no one else.”

“Maybe I’m not his soulmate.”

“Maybe not. If that’s the case, you need to stop hanging onto him and start looking elsewhere.”

I consider her words for a moment. “We met ten minutes ago. I love that you feel it’s appropriate to offer me life advice.”

She gives me a mischievous smile. “No need to thank me now. You’ll thank me later. I promise.”

Collin turns back. “Jade, you’re supposed to be helping me. I need you to focus on Quincy’s vision so you can make it come alive in your designs. You’re not listening.”

She places her hands on her hips and lifts an eyebrow. “Quincy wants a non-bachelor pad bachelor pad. A classy frat house vibe. He wants the amenities of a bachelor pad, like a stupid-big media room, unnecessarily oversized bars, and both indoor and outdoor party spaces, but he doesn’t want stripper poles, dance floors, and disco balls. I’m guessing leather couches and animal print rugs are out too. He’s from California, so we’ll add a touch of that by having a lot of big windows and other modern amenities. Obviously everything will revolve around this amazing view of the skyline.” She crosses her arms. “How’s that for not listening?”

Quincy mumbles, “Holy shit, she must have dog ears.”

Collin winks at her. “Let’s hope Tyson has your brains, baby girl.”

Jade blows him a kiss. “Agree. And for his sake, let’s hope he’s hung like you, big daddy.”

Quincy cough-laughs at the same time Collin nods and replies, “A perfect combo.”

These two are a riot. Though Collin’s right, Jade is smart. Maybe I need to start actively looking elsewhere so I can finally put Quincy in my past. As much as he can be while I’m still married to him.

A cute guy from my gym asked for my number and has texted me a few times. He’s asked me out, but I put him off. Maybe I should give it a go.

My thoughts are interrupted by Quincy. “What do you think?”

I look around. It truly is an impressive piece of land. “It’s a gorgeous space.” I look at Collin. “Quincy likes a lot of natural light, so the windows Jade mentioned make a lot of sense. He’s a big man, so everything should be a little oversized. The shower, bathtub, ceilings, doorways. Make sure the kitchen is gourmet, complete with a wood-burning pizza oven. Quincycan cook, and pizza is his specialty. He’s always wanted his own pizza oven. Not a high-tech one but an old-school pizza oven.”

Collin scribbles away on his notepad but Quincy turns to me. I think I catch tears welling in his eyes.

The drive home is met with silence at first. Eventually he turns to me and whispers, “You remembered.”

One day, when I was only six or seven years old, Arizona wasn’t at school and Quincy wasn’t on our bus. I didn’t know why, so I went straight to their house when the school day was over. I found Quincy in the kitchen. I asked him where she was. He said she was sick and that he stayed home to take care of her because their parents had to work.

He was making a pizza from scratch. Flour was all over the kitchen, which, of course, I immediately cleaned. I asked him about it. Normally, people eat soup when they’re sick. He said pizza was his specialty and that it always made Arizona feel better. And boy, was he right. It was the best pizza I ever had. He told me that when he was a rich baseball player, his dream was to have a house with one of the real, old-school pizza ovens.

I nod. “I remember everything you’ve ever said to me,” I mumble, “the good and the bad.”

He grabs my hand and squeezes it. “I’ve missed you.”

I don’t respond. I can’t.

Sensing a topic change is needed, he says, “I found this hole-in-the-wall pizza joint. They have one of those brick ovens you rarely see anymore. You have to order your dough in advance. Maybe we can go sometime.”

“You sure you want to be seen in public with me?”

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