Page 54 of The Reality of Us
“What years did Michael Jordan and the Bulls win the championship? I can never remember when the second run started.”
Wilbur was watching him over the top of his glasses, a knowing look on his face. Busted. Once a detective, always a detective.
Owen picked up his beer. “’96 to ’98.”
Wilbur filled in the answer and asked, “Have you managed to convince Raff about the race?”
“He’s too busy with work.” Owen wasn’t going to push it, especially not when Raff had warned him about Phoenix. If he’d had managed to get to Alice … His fingers gripped his pint glass tightly. He flicked a glance at the corner table, swallowing when his gaze met Alice’s. She twisted to look at the specials board, tucking her hair behind her ear. Her skin was flushed … Is she embarrassed about what happened?
Christ. Here he was, reliving every tantalising second of their time together multiple times a day. He’d even locked his office door and taken matters into his own hands, literally, this morning before the office was open when he’d remembered the way she’d laid out across the bench, offering herself to him. There was no way he would have been able to focus if he hadn’t.
But ever since that night, she’d pretended he didn’t exist.
He didn’t know what to do and hated not knowing what to do.
He’d left her another message that morning outlining the implications Phoenix’s drug charges would have on her divorce. He sagged back in his chair and sipped his beer. The hoppy flavour was soapy, unpleasant.
Owen’s gaze drifted back to her table. Alice’s head was bowed towards Eloise, a glass of rosé in one hand, her profile covered by her newly short hair.
He’d stopped by the apartment twice in the last fortnight, waiting until he knew Teddy was out, but she hadn’t answered the door. He’d heard Murphy inside the second time and what he thought were footsteps, but still nothing.
Nate dropped into the empty seat next to Owen. “Sorry I’m late. My meeting ran over.”
Lulu pushed a plate of garlic bread towards him and signalled to Teddy behind the bar to order Nate’s meal.
“Where have you been all week? Haven’t seen you at footy training.” Nate tore a piece of bread in half, scooping out the soft, buttery middle.
Owen didn’t blink. No way was he admitting he’d been running the trails hoping to bump into Alice.
“Is your knee giving you trouble? I thought it was all better now?” It was no surprise his mother’s mind immediately went to his old injury.
“It’s fine. Raff’s not the only one snowed under at work.” He drummed his fingers against the table. Jessica had rejected two other custody split options from Rob, determined to go for sole custody and nothing else. Trying to find a way to secure the outcome she wanted was getting harder and harder. Their court date had been set for the week before the race. Add in whatever was going on with Alice and Owen hadn’t been able to face training, pretending everything was fine.
“Got a partner yet?” Nate swiped another piece of bread.
Owen’s gaze slipped towards Alice again before he snapped it back to the empty plate in front of him. “Nope.”
Lulu tapped her chin. “What about Alice? She dropped off stock yesterday, and she was all out of sorts. I bet she could use something to keep her busy that isn’t making candles.”
Considering she’d been giving him the cold shoulder since they’d had sex, Owen highly doubted she’d want to sign up for a weekend in the bush together. And even though Alice had changed her hair and was dressed quite casually by her standards—tonight’s jumper was an oversize pastel rainbow number paired with sparkly navy leggings that moulded to her ass perfectly—he was confident she thought camping was a dirty word.
Owen tried to look unfazed. “I don’t think this is her thing.”
“Why not? I see her running every morning, and she’s looking for ways to promote her new business,” Lulu said. “She was a huge help with sponsors for the calendar.”
He wasn’t about to tell anyone the real reason, let alone his mother. Owen picked up his drink. “There’s still a few days until the cut-off for team changes. I’ll sort something out.”
Half an hour later, the conversation had moved on to the bathroom renovation Lulu wanted to do, and Owen was listening half-heartedly, grunting when appropriate.
Teddy waved a hand in front of his face. Owen batted it away automatically. When had he sat down? He must be on his break. “What?”
“Has something happened with Alice?”
God, Teddy was a shit. Everyone’s heads swivelled towards Owen. “No, nothing’s happened …” He coughed. Unless he counted her making him come so hard his ears had been ringing for a solid hour afterwards. He picked up his beer again. “You know I can’t talk about cases.”
Teddy shrugged, shoving a spoonful of brownie and ice cream into his mouth. Typical Teddy skipping dinner and going straight for dessert.
“Why haven’t you been coming round to use the shower after your runs?”
