Page 81 of Break the Ice

20. Marisse

“Is that a flight to Montenegro?” Jhene asks.

I jump in my seat, snapping shut my laptop. If I had any chance of plausible deniability, it goes away the second I act like a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar.

My face warms and I gently reopen my laptop as if I shut it by mistake. “It’s just me messing around. Wondering if I should finally book that vacation you’re always telling me I need to take.”

“Oooh, Montenegro, huh? We can do a cruise from Greece!” Jhene gasps, her brain already computing all the fun details. She pulls out her phone to begin looking up cruise lines. “I might have a deadline or two the week we go, but the ship’s got to have Wi-Fi, right?”

“Wait, slow down, Jhene. Let’s not book our seats just yet, okay?”

“Seats on what, girls?” Mom asks, wandering onto the patio. She pauses to stroke my hair and then moves to Jhene’s chair to give her a hug. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Jhene. How are you doing?”

“Great, Ms. Tanya. Thanks for having us over.”

Mom has finally taken her seat in the only wicker chair that’s a rocking chair. She reaches for the pitcher of iced tea and pours herself a glass. “Now, tell me what you girls were booking seats for. Is it another game? You know what I think.”

I roll my eyes. “For the last time, Mom. I’m not going to attend sporting events looking for a husband.”

“You don’t go looking, Mari. Have a little more discretion. You want to play hard to get.”

Jhene casts me an ‘I told you so’ sort of look. Her past lectures about moving on from David and dating again echo in my ears.

You’d think Mom and Jhene made a secret bet to see who could convince me to date first. I wouldn’t put it past either of them.

Since she lives in Manette, I only drive out to visit Mom two times a month. Widowed, retired and nosy by nature, Mom takes great pleasure in discussing her only daughter’s love life. Who better to discuss it with than the best friend I’ve known since grade school?

Jhene and Mom share another laugh and more chatting for the next few minutes, with my focus on my laptop. Eventually, Jhene gets up and excuses herself to the bathroom.

The moment she’s gone, Mom changes the subject.

“Any news on the Jasper Hawk investigation?”

I freeze in my seat. The laptop propped up on my lap starts sliding down my thighs. It’s not until it’s about to slip right off my lap that I push through my shock and grab hold of it again.

A sudden bout of nerves floods me.

It’s the unknown element. The fact that there are too many unknown variables in the situation for me to begin feeling comfortable. I wasn’t Googling flights to Montenegro for nothing.

Rafe might be confident we’ll figure out who’s behind what’s happening, but I’m not entirely sold yet.

The future’s uncertain, and I don’t do well with uncertainty. I need to at least have my ducks in a row in case things aren’t so clear cut. If shit hits the fan, I’m out.

Blinking several times, I fix a frown to my face. “I don’t have any new updates about Mr. Hawk. You know what I know.”

“I’m sure this has been hard on you.”

“Mom, I just got the job. I barely knew him.”

“But it must be drudging up bad memories from before.”

“I barely knew him,” I repeat.

Mom pats the hand resting on my thigh. “I’m sure it’ll all work itself out in the end. You’ve always landed on your feet in the past.”

“I’d prefer not to talk about that.”

“You can’t dwell on it forever,” Mom says. “What’s done is done. Remember when you first got injured? Remember when you were brokenhearted? You didn’t think you could survive. But look at you now.”