Page 45 of Rum & Coke

“Yep.”

“Do you think the Giants will win today?”

“Nope.”

“Are you only giving me one worded answers because you’re mad at me?”

“Yep.”

“It’s not the first time you’ve seen me in Giants attire.”

“So?”

Tessa chuckled. I was just messing with her. I wasn’t really mad or using one worded answers on purpose. It had just come out that way.

When we pulled up to the cement building, Gabe and his fiancée, Autumn, were getting out of Gabe’s Yukon. Tessa started to open the passenger side door but stopped. “Is that his fiancée?” she whispered, looking over at me.

“Yep.”

“Now’s not the time for your one-worded answers Vincent.”

“Why?”

She rolled her blue eyes. “Because you didn’t tell me that I was coming to hang out with the fiancée.”

“Why’s that a problem? Autumn’s cool.”

“Do you forget how we met?” she asked, motioning with her hand between us.

A lightbulb went off in my head. “Oh. I don’t think she’ll care.”

“Does she know?”

I shrugged. No one had said anything to me. In fact, I hadn’t heard from Gabe much since the night of his bachelor party a little over two months ago. I had my class, dates a few times a week, and I was spending time with Tessa. He and Autumn were probably banging every second of every day in conjunction with planning a wedding and the arrival of their baby. The older you got, the busier you got.

“I don’t want to be confronted by the fiancée, Vinny. That’s not cool.”

“Why do you think she’ll do that?”

Tessa sighed and shook her head slightly. “Because women always blame other women when, in fact, it was the men—or in this case, the friend—who hired me.”

“Autumn knows what Gabe and Paul used to do for a living—”

“Use to do? Paul doesn’t anymore?”

“No. They both quit the game because of the women in their lives.”

Tessa stared at me, not saying anything. Did she want me to quit? Did she want to be with me? Like, truly be with me as boyfriend and girlfriend and not friends. She was starting to become one of my best friends, but at the same time, I didn’t know how to do the boyfriend thing other than pretending when I was on dates, and I just had to do that a few hours at a time.

“Let’s just go inside. I’m telling you that Autumn’s cool. She’s also pregnant, so I doubt she’ll start something with you.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “Just come on, Tess. I promise not to let anything happen to you. If she starts to get upset, I’ll step in and remind her it’s not your fault and you were only doing your job. Plus, nothing happened.” Shit, nothing had happened with us, and I’d spent more time alone with this woman than I had with any other woman in my entire life, including my ten-yearrelationshipwith Shelby.

“Promise?”

“Yes. Let’s go. Paul’s already here. That’s his Jeep.” I pointed at it parked on my side of the SUV.