Page 40 of Playing For Keeps
“The reason I didn’t tell her.” My throat tightens as I lead us to the other room. “There’s something I need to explain.”
“What?” Jamison gestures to Jonah. “Does he need to hear this too?”
I glance at him. He’s in the kitchen picking at the food but keeping an eye on Melanie and Aiden.
I pull out a stool at the bar and get seated. “No. He already knows what I’m about to share.”
Jamison sits next to me. “We’ve got to find her, Hunter.”
“I know.” I swallow. “When Dorothy and I went out to lunch the other day, I realized I can’t tell her about her job.”
“Wow. I thought you would in order to get her to stay here with you.” Jamison runs a hand over the back of his neck. “Why?”
“As much as I hate admitting this, she’s meant to be with you. If I tell her about being reinstated, she’ll come back to work at Efron Worldwide.”
“And that’s bad for you, how?”
“I’ll never get over her if she stays, and we’ll keep circling around this pattern of her with me and then with you. It’s got to stop. You let her go once because we were tearing her apart, and you were right. Everything that has happened falls back on us.”
“What’s in it for you?”
My chest squeezes since I already long for her. “Getting over her and seeing her happy. Through my therapy, I’ve come to realize a lot of my fears, hopes, and hang-ups about my mother I transferred to Dorothy. I need to untangle everything and set myself up for a healthy relationship.”
He pulls back, knitting his eyebrows together. “That’s pretty insightful, but you can’t blame me for being suspicious.”
“I’m giving you my word, Jamison. I’ve got a son to focus on, and if we’re right and Isabella is a part of Dorothy’s abduction, then I’ve got to fight to protect him from her.”
His expression softens. “It’s a boy, huh?”
An unexplained warmth fills my blood. “It is.”
“Congratulations.” He rubs his hand over his heart. “I’ve always wanted a son.”
“And once we find Dorothy, maybe you’ll get that wish.”
From the kitchen, Jonah roars, “Do you think I could go to one place, namely my brother’s house, without running into someone else you’ve fucked?”
Jonah’s hands are in fists by his sides. Aiden’s got his arm draped around Melanie’s shoulders.
She brushes away from him and steps to Jonah. “You have no right to speak to me that way.”
“Really? No right?” Jonah’s face turns beet red. “We just discussed trying out a long-distance relationship. Unless you were just saying that to humor me.”
I didn’t see that coming, little brother.
“No, Jonah. I wasn’t doing anything like that.” Melanie points at Aiden. “He needed a friend.”
“A friend with benefits?” Jonah raises his brows.
“Hey, man. She’s not like that.” Aiden slides around Melanie.
“No? So you’re saying you two haven’t fucked?” Jonah squares his shoulders.
Damn, this could end in another fist fight with Aiden.
“Jonah, stop!” Mel pushes Aiden aside. “This is completely inappropriate.”
“Answer the question, Mel. Have you been with him?” Jonah gestures to Aiden.
