Jericho ~ Present
“SO, WHAT’S WITH YOU AND Red?” Mick asked as we watched Jackson take his shot.
“They have a history,” Ty answered, before I could say anything.
“Really?” Mick asked. “Lovers?”
I almost spit out my whiskey at that.
“Who the hell says lovers?” I asked with a chuckle, lowering my voice to mimic Mick’s tone.
“Adults,” Mick replied with a wink. “Did you want me to call her your girlfriend? ‘Cause that’s a lady right there.”
“Well, when I met her, girl would have been a more apt description, but, yes, to answer your question, she’s my love.”
“Present tense,” Mick noted, never one to miss a clue.
“At least they’re on talkin’ terms now, the last time we were here, it didn’t go down as good,” Ty added, then clapped me on the back and said, “Progress.”
I nodded at Ty, then looked at Mick and said, “Yeah, present tense. At least on my end.”
“Little Red’s not feeling tall, successful, and brooding? Maybe she’ll go for a yoked, rough and tumble, Irish Mick,” he suggested with a chuckle at his own joke.
“Don’t go there,” I warned, the thought of Natasha with Mick causing red to flash before my eyes. Hell, not just the thought of her with Mick, the thought of her with anyone but me.
“Easy, Philly, no need to get out the boxing gloves, I’m just fucking with you,” Mick said, taking a drink of Guinness and not looking the least bit worried by my warning. “I gotta say, if I was gonna dip my toe in this pool, Millie’s twin seems like a firecracker.”
“Yeah?” I asked, looking over my shoulder to where the women were sitting around a table playing trivia. Natasha and Dru were laughing at something Millie was saying, while the other ladies watched the sister with amused looks on their faces.
I could see the appeal, all three sisters were beautiful in their own right, and although Dru had never been my biggest fan, I always thought we’d get along great, based on the things Natasha had said about her.
“Why not go for it then?” I asked him, turning my attention back and noticing Jackson trying to get my attention. “Sorry, Jax, what?”
“It’s your shot,” he said patiently, a knowing smile on his face.
“What?” I asked as I walked to the table to take my shot.
“Nothing,” Jackson said. “Just looking forward to watching this all play out.”
I ignored him, focusing on my shot instead, then rounding the table to find my next one when I sunk the ball in the corner pocket.
“My frustration is entertainment for you?” I asked wryly as I passed him.
Jackson’s grin fell.
“When we met, we were both a bit jaded and messed up from the women who’d left us behind. Now, my ex ended up doing me a favor by leaving, and allowing me to find Millie, but you, Jericho, have a second shot with the one that got away.”
I leaned on my pool stick and looked at my friend.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Natasha only just started talking to me again a few days ago, and although my end game is to have her back in my life where she belongs, I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”
“Well, I know you both individually, and I’ve seen the way you look at each other when the other isn’t looking, so I’m going to go on record now and say that a happily ever after is in your future.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
As an English teacher, and a lover of classic romance novels, Jackson had always been a believer in true love, even when his ex-wife had left him and his daughter behind in order to go find herself, and he’d been heartbroken.
“You’re such a romantic fool,” I chided.
Actually, Jackson was one of my favorite people in the world, and one of the best things about him is that he’s not afraid to be himself. He’s one of the corniest people I know, and he’s totally okay with it.
“Guilty as charged,” Jackson replied with a smile.
“Get out of my way so I can take my shot,” I said, shaking my head fondly at him.
When I missed my second shot and Ty was up, I went back to where Mick was half standing, half sitting on a bar stool, and resumed our conversation.
“So, as I was saying . . . why not go for it? With Dru.”
“I don’t mix business with pleasure,” Mick replied vaguely.
“What do you mean, what business?” I asked, confused.
“I may run my own company, but I have a strict policy against sleeping with my clients. It has served me well thus far,” Mick answered.
I turned to look at him and agreed, “That is a good policy, but I don’t see what that has to do with Dru. She’s not your client.”
Mick shot me a bland look, but didn’t say anything,
“Wait, she is your client?” I asked, looking back at the women again, as if they would give me the answer, then swung my head back to Mick.
“You know I don’t discuss my clients,” Mick replied, then went to go take his turn at the table.
I watched him for a moment, then looked over my shoulder and saw Natasha watching me. I smiled, but she just blushed and looked away, and I couldn’t help but wonder why Dru would be hiring Mick, and if Natasha knew anything about it.