Page 31 of The Single Dads Club
We rejoin his friends, and soon dinner is ready and everyone sits at the table. The burgers are cooked perfectly, and they pair well with the salad and wine Jane and Weston brought. I’m glad I thought to make something for dessert later. Alexei said they had dinner covered, but my grandmother taught me the most amazing recipe for peach cobbler, and I haven’t made it in years.
“This is great,” I say, helping myself to another bite of the tomato-and-feta salad that Jane brought.
She smiles warmly at me again, yet I can’t help but notice the curious glances she’s been casting my way all evening.
As Weston and Alexei have an enthusiastic conversation about their odds of winning the next game, Jane gives me another smile. I would really love to know what she’s thinking.
“Alexei, everything turned out perfectly,” I say at a lull in conversation.
“Your name is Alexei?” Jane asks, her nose crinkling. “How did I not know that?”
He shrugs. “Everyone calls me Alex.”
“Everyone except for Ryleigh,” she adds helpfully.
My cheeks threaten to turn pink, and I take a big gulp of my ice water to temper the burn.
“So, are you two ...” Jane looks between Alexei and me with her brows raised, leaving the rest of her sentence unspoken.
Part of me is relieved, but the other part kind of wants her to put Alexei on the spot, wants to hear him define what this is.
Two people sleeping together?Check.
But is it more? Or am I just a charity case to him that he’ll see through until I’m on my feet again, or until Andi comes back?
Alexei dodges the question by lifting one shoulder and looking at me. The smirk on his full lips makes my stomach twist.Why am I the only one who calls him Alexei?From what he’s told me, he and Jane have been friends for years.
I duck my head and head toward the kitchen—flee is more like it—mumbling something about taking the ice cream out of the freezer to thaw a bit.
“I’ll help.” Jane smiles at me as though she knows something I don’t.
Once we’re alone in the kitchen, I grab two cartons of vanilla ice cream and place them on the counter, and busy myself with locating the ice cream scoop in the utensil drawer.
“So ... how long have you and Alexei been friends?” I ask.
Jane grabs some bowls from the cabinet. It doesn’t escape my notice that she knows exactly which cabinet they’re stored in. She thinks about my question. “About four years now, I guess.”
I nod. “And you and Weston? How long have you been together?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “That one is much harder. We grew up together, high school sweethearts. And when he left, I hated him for years. Then he got drafted to the Hawks, and well ... he slowly won me back over.” She pauses, catching my eye. “Oh my God, you wanted a simple answer like two months or something, didn’t you?” She places her hands over her face and groans.
I chuckle and shake my head. “It’s fine. You don’t have to censor yourself around me. I’m just some chick crashing the party.”
Her lips press into a line. “I doubt you’re just some girl, Ryleigh. I’ve never seen Alex have a woman around, unless it was his mother or sisters.There was a time a couple years ago. Let’s just say I know he wasn’t a monk, but it’s been a while since I’ve heard about anyone let alone a ‘real’ someone.”
Butterflies zip nervously around my stomach. Her words light something inside me. Still, what we have can’t be serious—it just can’t. We’ve known each other a matter of days.
“So,” I say as I begin scooping generous amounts of peach cobbler into each bowl. I’ll be surprised if I don’t gain five pounds staying here. “Alexei and I haven’t known each other long, but he seems ...”
I’m fishing for information, but Jane doesn’t seem offended. Thankfully, she seems all too happy to play my game.
Leaning one hip against the counter, she peels the lids off the ice cream cartons and scoots them closer to me. “He’s the best. He deserves someone amazing, you know?”
I nod. I agree completely. “He’s been single for a while then?”
She doesn’t even pause to think about it. “Yep.”
“And you and he never ...” My cheeks heat, and I pray she’s not offended that I asked her that. But I’m too curious not to. They get along so well.
