Page 74 of Chain Reaction

As he shifted, his necklace caught her eye. She’d seen it before but had never seen the pendant on it. He kept the jewelry tucked into his shirt.

But this time, the chain swung like a pendulum.

On the end was . . . a wedding ring.

A wedding ring?

Shock coursed through her.

She must have made a face because Jake quickly tucked the necklace back into his shirt.

But her thoughts still raced. Had he been married?

She wasn’t sure why the thought surprised her so much. She almost felt off-balance.

Her heart pounded faster.

“What was that?” Raven’s voice was scratchier than she would like as she asked the question.

Jake swallowed hard before saying, “A wedding ring.”

“Yourwedding ring?” she clarified. “Or your grandmothers? Is it an heirloom?”

“It was mine.”

“I didn’t realize . . .” Raven had no idea Jake had gotten married. She’d assumed he was the type to avoid any type of commitment.

In her mind, she’d thought that was why he’d left her.

But now, she knew it wasn’t. He simply hadn’t wanted to be committed to her.

An ache crushed her heart.

She hadn’t expected this, and now she didn’t even know what to say.

“My wife died,” Jake explained, his voice low and gravelly.

Raven’s heart lurched into her throat. Another surprise, one that softened her hurt, morphing it into compassion. At least temporarily.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she murmured.

He only nodded slowly, an emotional storm raging in his gaze.

Thankfully, their food was delivered just then.

Good. Raven would need some time to process that information, and eating was just the distraction she needed.

After they finished eating, Jake headed back to Blackout.

The rest of his meal with Raven had felt awkward, to say the least.

He’d waited for her to ask questions about his marriage, but she didn’t. Instead, she’d talked about anything but his wedding ring. The weather. Her favorite ice cream. Sports even.

He couldn’t blame her. But he didn’t want to push either, especially not while they were in public.

The conversations they needed to have should be private.

He wanted an update on what had happened yesterday, but today’s events had delayed that.