“Okay. No promises. But I’ll ask.”
Kraft grabbed the cards and started shuffling. “Are we going to play or plan future dates here?”
“Wait,” Tank interrupted. “Hatch didn’t tell us about this guy Libby was dating. What’s up with that?”
Jason groaned. “Name’s Eddie. They had the one date. One. And the man won’t leave her alone. He sent her roses for nearly two weeks and then he sent her a dress that in my opinion doesn’t have enough material to leave the house in. If she were mine—and hell, in my mind, she is—I’d never share that much of her skin with other people.”
The guys laughed and Kraft spoke again. “That’s kinda creepy. Have you confronted him?”
“No. Libby doesn’t like people fighting her battles. I’m trying to keep my mouth shut and let her handle it. For now. He keeps texting her every three or four days. And she keeps telling him there isn’t a chance in hell she’ll go out with him again. I’ve read the texts. She’s doing her best.”
“What if things escalate?” Sweets asked.
“Then I’ll be grateful I have three friends who will gladly bring the shovel, bury the body, and not ask questions.” He smiled. He was kidding of course. Sort of. But he did know he could count on his friends if he needed to confront Eddie.
He couldn’t really blame Libby. She tried. The guy was apparently dense or stupid. He was also rich. Jason had looked him up, done some digging online. His family had money. Jason wasn’t sure where it all came from. They owned a business, but whatever they actually did eluded Jason.
He had his suspicions the company wasn’t on the up-and-up, but he hadn’t told Libby. He didn’t want to scare her. He was nervous enough for both of them. But he was paying close attention. If anything began to smell rotten, he would not hesitate to hunt this Eddie guy down and put an end to his freaky obsession.
Chapter 22
“You’re quiet today,” Libby said as she flopped down on a beige couch in the furniture store. “Everything okay?”
Jason nodded. “Yep. Just fine.” He pointed at the sofa. “You think I should go with something neutral like this or something with a splash of color?” He knew nothing about what might be fashionable as it concerned living room furniture, nor did he care, but he didn’t want to talk about why he was growing impatient right now either.
“Beige for the couch. Colors for the throw pillows. That way when you get tired of a color scheme, all you have to do is replace the pillows.” She patted the cushion next to her. “What matters is how it feels. You’re going to spend a lot of time sitting on this furniture. It has to be comfortable.”
He lowered onto the cushion next to her and leaned back. It felt like he was sitting on a couch. What the hell is she talking about?
“What do you think?” she asked.
“It’s fine.”
“Fine? That’s not really what you should be going for here. Let’s try another one.”
When she started to stand, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back down next to him. “I don’t really care about the fucking couch. Gotta be honest.”
She sighed. “I can see that. You want to tell me what’s bothering you then?” She bit her bottom lip.
He glanced around. He hadn’t meant to have this serious discussion right here in the store. “Let’s get out of here. I’m not in the mood to buy a couch today.”
“Okay,” she whispered, squeezing his hand.
Jason pulled her to standing and led her from the store. He never should have let her talk him into furniture shopping today. As soon as they were back in his SUV, he turned to face her. “I want to meet your parents.”
She winced before glancing away.
The more he hounded her, the more important this became to him because the longer she put him off, the less faith he had that she ever intended to share him with her family. That got way the fuck under his skin.
“Jason…” she groaned. “I’m not ready for that. You can’t begin to understand what you’re asking from me.”
He stared at her. “I know exactly what I’m asking from you. I’m asking you to tell your parents you have a boyfriend. If you can’t do that, I think we should stop seeing each other.”
She gasped. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.” He hadn’t meant to say that. It hadn’t been part of his planned speech, but the words came out, and he wouldn’t take them back. He meant every word.
Libby twisted her fingers together in her lap, not meeting his gaze.
He could guess why she was waffling. He just couldn’t tolerate it anymore. “I know we’ve only been seeing each other for about a month, but we’ve spent a lot of time together. We have a connection. I know you feel it too. I’m a smart guy. I get that you’re hesitating because you don’t want to upset your entire family dynamic unnecessarily. You don’t want to say anything to them until you feel confident this thing with us is solid.”
She winced. “You make me sound very shallow.”
He held her gaze. “I’m just trying to make you understand my feelings. I’m telling you this is solid for me. As solid as any relationship I’ve ever been in. I’m not saying I can guarantee forever because it’s too soon for that. What I am saying is that I’m not willing to even find out if you don’t put me as a higher priority. And, more importantly, your reluctance to tell your parents about me is contributing to the fact that Eddie is still contacting you. The two things are tied together. Your parents are apparently friends with Eddie’s. If you tell them you have a boyfriend, it’ll get back to Eddie. You have to realize it’s maddening to me that fucking guy keeps texting you, and you never tell him you’re with someone else.”
He
