Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
I need to be careful with the things I say.
Cannon smiles, and to my surprise says, “I miss you too.”
A surge of joy rushes through me, and I glance across the table to see Sophie and Jenna watching me with sappy expressions. My gaze returns to Cannon. “I’m going to let you go. I hope you have a good night’s sleep, and you better kick ass tomorrow.”
“I will. Y’all be careful and enjoy yourselves.”
“Bye.” I tap my screen to disconnect the call.
“Okay,” Jenna says as she leans forward, resting her forearms on the table and clasping her hands. “You’ve got to give me more about this relationship with Cannon. I mean, everybody on the team knows he’s an amazing, upstanding guy. But he’s also never been known to date.”
“He’s dated before,” I say.
“Not publicly,” Sophie says. “He never takes women to events.”
“How do you know?” I know this because Cannon and I have talked about it.
Sophie waves her hand at me in dismissal. “I googled him, of course. We all did once we found out he was going to be our coach.”
“It looks like it’s getting serious between you two,” Jenna muses.
I lift a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t know what we are. It’s complicated.”
“Because he’s a widower?”
“Not really,” I say. And while I would never give away specific details of what Cannon shared with me regarding his relationship with Melissa, I feel confident in explaining the way he’s dealt with the grief. “It was nine years ago, and while Cannon went through a very dark time following Melissa’s death, he’s processed it well. He grieves and has his sad moments, but he has moved on with his life.”
“As well he should,” Sophie says. “People wonder if he’s really past it since he hasn’t dated anyone seriously. But here he is, sharing big displays of affection in public and showering you with road trips and fancy champagne.”
“Our moments together are great. But Cannon has an incredibly demanding career, and I’m just trying to figure out where I fit in.”
“Okay,” Jenna says, leaning in closer. Sophie mimics her actions so she can hear what she has to say. “How is the sex? Because I’m sorry, he just looks like he would be really, really good at it.”
I snort and then laugh. I sip the champagne and once I swallow, I admit, “Let’s just say I thought I knew what sex was before meeting Cannon, but clearly I didn’t.”
Jenna nods with sage wisdom in her expression. “He puts you first, doesn’t he? And no one has ever done that in bed with you before.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I have the same thing, and I recognize that in you. Sophie has it, too, I bet.”
“I am not talking about my sex life with Baden,” Sophie says sternly and then immediately giggles. “Oh, who am I kidding. I’m totally going to talk about it.”
For the next twenty minutes, fueled by champagne, we share the highlights from our relationships. We compare notes, though not exactly in a tasteful way.
Okay, maybe in a very lewd way. I’m not sure we would be giving this level of detail if it weren’t for the bubbly.
My phone rings and I snatch it up, assuming it’s Cannon. I’m stunned when I see Derek is calling me. I hadn’t removed him from my contacts.
I flip the phone toward Sophie and Jenna. “It’s my ex-boyfriend.”
“The one Brienne so thoroughly humiliated at the game?” Sophie asks, and when I nod, she says, “Answer it. See what he wants.”
It was only five days ago that we were with Brienne in the owner’s suite at the arena. After she made it expressly clear to Derek that I had not only moved on but was doing quite well for myself, I never thought I’d hear from him again.
And I have just enough curiosity to answer. “Hello?”
“Hey… Ava, it’s Derek.”
No shit. “Why are you calling?”
There is silence on the other end for a moment, but then he says, “I’ve been thinking a lot since I saw you at the game. I think it was a bit of a wake-up call for me.”
“Wake-up call?” I ask, frowning in confusion.
“That I made a mistake. That cheating on you was probably the worst mistake I ever made. And that I miss you.”
My jaw drops, but I collect myself. “You made a mistake in cheating on me? How about having me fired, then kicking me out of our home? I had no money, nowhere to go.”
“I know. But I was just so angry that you had confronted me—”
“You were angry? You jackass, I had every right to confront you about cheating on me. And fine, that was the end of our relationship, so be it. But I worked in a different area of the company, and you never had to see me again. You could’ve given me a few days to get a place to live before you kicked me out. You could’ve done so many other things to make it easier for me to transition, but you didn’t. You are the biggest asshole I’ve ever known, and I cannot understand, for the life of me, why you are even calling.”