“If you’ve ever gotten together. If you think you might ever get together.”
She suspected what he’d been aiming at, but suspecting and hearing were completely different, and his words about Derek made her recoil. And why was Gage asking anyway? Did she detect a hint of jealousy? Possessiveness? Funny. She warmed slightly to the feeling it evoked—of being wanted.
But Derek and her? “Absolutely not.”
“It just seems like a natural—”
“He tried. Once. When he was really drunk.” Admitting it aloud shocked her. She’d never told anyone, not even Ivy.
Gage’s expression hardened, and though he didn’t say a word, his posture reflected a steeliness that made her rush to explain. She wanted the episode off her chest anyway.
She pulled in a deep breath. “I have no idea why I’m telling you this, but it was on the anniversary of Jack’s death a few years ago. Derek and Violet’s mom had just split up. We’d both been drinking, talking, grieving. And then we were crying, and Derek put his arms around me to … to comfort me. He was emotional. We both were. He got a little carried away. I don’t know who was more mortified.” A shoulder shrug eased some of her tension. “It was … awkward, to say the least. He apologized, and that was it. Nothing else ever happened, so I’d call it a blip of weirdness that came and went. End of story.”
Gage’s expression hadn’t wavered. “Do you worry he’ll try again?”
“What? No! He … he feels protective of Daisy and me, like it’s his job now that Jack’s gone. Derek’s the only Everett male left. He’s taking care of his tribe. It’s the same way you are with your family. Does it make sense in that context?”
Seeming to ease, Gage glanced at the ceiling before landing his gaze back on her. “Yeah, it makes sense.”
She felt a flush of unexpected relief.
“C’mon. I’ll walk you to your car so you can get home and make Derek a sandwich.” He smiled, and whatever had been tilted inside her was suddenly upright again.
Chapter 13
Game On
Athought struck Gage as Lily drove away. He’d been so thrown off by trying to grasp the nature of her relationship with Derek that he’d totally forgotten to ask about another chance to meet Daisy. Didn’t help that Derek had interrupted. Just like it didn’t help to learn he’d made a move on Lily once. The thought twisted Gage’s insides with surprising primal fierceness.
Fucking Derek.
Pushing a few cleansing breaths through his lungs, he put the thorny thought aside and swiped his phone.
“Hello?” his grandma said after two rings.
“Hi, Grandma. It’s Gage.”
“Hello?”
“Grandma? Can you hear me?”
“Hello?”
“Grandma!” he shouted.
Some fumbling on the other end, and he repeated her name once, twice with no answer. Then the line went dead. He dialed again, but it rang and rang and eventually went to voicemail she would never check. Had no comprehension how to check.
After reaching Evelyn, Skyview’s receptionist, to be sure his grandmother was, in fact, all right, he dialed his mom.
“Gage,” she bubbled. “Honey, it’s so nice to finally hear your voice.”
Yeah, heap on a helping of guilt. He should have called sooner.
They chatted about benign subjects like the weather, hockey, and Grandma.
During a lull in the conversation, his mother took an unfortunate detour. “Have you spoken to Jessica lately?”
Caught off guard, he sputtered, “No. Why?”
“Oh, Gage,” his mother tsked, disappointment dripping from her voice. “She says she’s left you messages. Haven’t you returned any of her calls yet? I thought I raised you with better manners than that.”
The rebuke made him bristle, but he let it go. Not wanting to let his mom down—again—he opted for a different strategy besides the out-and-out direct approach. “With playoffs coming and everything on my plate right now, I’ve just been too busy.”
“Maybe she could come stay with you and take your mind off things for a few days. She has some time off coming up, you know.”
Astonishment rocked him. Jesus, pushy much? He opted not to ask how his mom knew Jessica’s vacation schedule and went for casual instead. “Not a good idea, Mom. I wouldn’t be able to keep her company. She’d just be sitting around staring at four walls.”
“She could come to your games, cook you some nice meals, do your laundry.”
“You mean be my maid? Maybe she could trim the trees while she’s at it or refinish my deck,” he joked, hoping she’d get the hint.
Either she didn’t get it or she refused to. “Jessica’s a master in the kitchen, Gage. Remember? And she thinks you’re so perfect, you know, like we all do. You can’t be upset with her for wanting to be part of your life again.”
Oh man, she is not going to give up! And there was that word again—perfect. Ha! If he were so damn perfect, he wouldn’t have gotten all bent out of shape over Derek or Jack Everett when he had no right to.
Squelching his frustration, he used a familiar dodge. “Look, Mom, I’ve gotta go. I, uh, have a team meeting I need to get to.”
This was met by a long-suffering sigh. “Please just think about it, Gage.”
“Think about what?”
“About inviting Jessica out. Your house must be so empty and quiet. Wouldn’t it be lovely to hear a woman’s voice?”
It had been nice to hear a woman’s voice in his house today—because of who that woman was. Someone entirely different from the one his mom had in mind. “Mom, I’ve really got to go.”
Another fluttering sigh. “All right. Honestly, Gage, I wouldn’t carry on if I weren’t worried about you.”
Fingers massaging his forehead, patience on a fine thread, Gage cut off the call. “I love you, Mom. Don’t worry, okay? I’m fine. I’ll call you next week.”
An exasperated breath whooshed from him after he disconnected. He plopped on his couch, picked up his guitar, and cranked up the amplifier.
