The Heart's Game (The Kelly Brothers, Book 4) (5 page)

Instead, he asked, “Was this the news you wanted to share?”

She nodded, unable to read his reaction from the tone of his voice.

Jason wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “A few months ago, Mike and I asked Jenny if she’d consider being a surrogate for us since she’d be able to give us the closest thing to our own child. She agreed, and we just found out this morning that she’s pregnant.”

Her father leaned back in his chair, his chin in his hand. “And you slept with Mike?”

Mike coughed and cleared his throat. “Actually, we did artificial insemination. I love Jason too much to cheat on him, especially with a woman.”

“My confidence is really taking a nosedive here,” she rebutted, her voice dry with sarcasm.

Mike placed a kiss on her temple. “I didn’t mean it that way, Jenny. Next to my mama, you’re the only woman I love.”

Her father continued to mull over the information for another minute before nodding. “Then it is happy news. Congratulations.”

Her father’s calm acceptance contrasted with the banging of the front door and her mother’s livid expression when she returned to the dining room. “I can’t believe you would sabotage everything Tam and I worked so hard for. You had a man willing to marry you, and you had to announce that you’re a slut who slept with your brother’s husband. You have disgraced our family. Now you will never find a man who’ll want to marry you.”

She then ran toward her bedroom and slammed the door. Loud wails echoed through the house, and her father rose from the table with a heavy sigh. “I’ll go talk to her. Once she realizes she’ll finally be a grandmother, she’ll be happy.”

Jenny remained at the table, waiting for her parents to reappear, but her mother’s angry shouts continued to come from the bedroom. After ten minutes passed, she decided it was time to leave. “I’m going home.”

Jason and Mike nodded, holding hands as they stood, and followed her. “Just give Mom time,” her brother said quietly. “Like Dad said, once it sinks in that she’ll have a grandchild, she’ll come around.”

“I hope so.”

But the sinking feeling in her gut warned her it would be a long time before her mother let her forget about this. She’d managed to make her brother and Mike happy, but she’d never felt more miserable in her life.

Chapter Three

Dan pulled his BMW into the empty driveway of a lakeside house and double checked the address. It matched the one his former college roommate had given him. Whatever Paul was doing, it was paying well, judging by the size and location of the Craftsman-style home. Dan grabbed his bag of dice and jogged to the front door, his step lighter than usual despite the busy week at his new practice. For the first time in years, he was going to enjoy a good afternoon of gaming.

His friend opened the door before Dan had a chance to knock and greeted him with the special combination handshake/high five/chest bump they’d created their freshman year at Northwestern. “Good to see you again.”

“Same here.” He made a quick perusal of the entryway of the house. “Impressive, man.”

“Please.” Paul waved him off. “I saw the house you grew up in. This is a shack compared to that.”

“It’s better than the place I’m renting.” The surgery group he’d joined wanted him to start as soon as he was credentialed, leaving him very little time to find a place and settle in after finishing his residency. He’d started seeing patients the day after he returned from Comic-Con two weeks ago, and his apartment still was lined with boxes.

“For now, Dr. Kelly.” Paul laughed and motioned for him to come upstairs. “The game room is this way.”

He climbed two flights of stairs to an open loft space that had breathtaking views of the early afternoon sun glittering off Lake Sammamish. A large table dominated the center of the room, and at the end of it stood a full-scale replica of the Iron Throne from the
Game of Thrones
TV series.

Dan let out a low whistle and ran his hand over back, noting how it was made of fiberglass and not real metal. “Impressive.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe how much my bank account whined when I ordered it.” Paul settled into his throne. “But it suits me, right?”

Dan laughed. “Indeed. I suppose I should start calling you Joffrey now, huh?”

Paul wrinkled his nose. “Only if you want to lose your head.”

The door opened downstairs, and three more people filed into the room, all in costume. Paul introduced them as friends and co-workers, but Dan immediately began sizing them up. A stocky guy and his wife were both wearing studded leather jerkins over green shirts, which he suspected made them more of a ranger or druid type. The other member of the game wore a long cloak and was as long and lanky as the wizard’s staff he carried.

Dan rubbed his palms on his button-down shirt. “I didn’t know I was supposed to dress up for this.”

The jolly ranger, Derek, chuckled. “You’re still new.”

“Besides,” his wife, Jessie, added, “we love getting dressed up for gaming. It’s one of the things we look forward to every weekend.”

And on the weekends he wasn’t on call, he’d be looking forward to them too. Thankfully, he had several boxes of costumes to choose from.

Two more gamers arrived—a woman in a flowing medieval style gown and a guy in chainmail—but it wasn’t until the sixth player arrived that his mouth went dry and his body froze with recognition.

It was the Sailor Scout from Comic-Con.

Only now, she was dressed head to toe in solid black with a pair of daggers on her belt and another peeking out from the top of her boot. Her long black hair hung in a thick braid over her shoulder, Lara Croft style.

The overwhelming urge to strip her out of her costume layer by layer filled him. He clenched his hands into fists to keep from stripping off those tight leather pants and plunging into her.

Her eyes widened when she saw him, and her greeting to the rest of the room halted mid-sentence. He caught the slightest shake of her head before Paul moved in to intercede. His old friend wrapped his arm around Jenny’s waist, and a bout of nausea kicked him in the gut.

“Dan, this is one of my co-workers, Jenny.” He gave her a jostling half-hug that shook away her shock. “Jenny, this is one of my good friends, Dan.”

She gave him a tense smile and offered her hand. “So good to finally meet you, Dan. Paul’s been anxious to add you to our game.”

So that’s how she wants to play it. Pretend like we’re perfect strangers
. And why not, especially since she and Paul were obviously a couple. He returned her smile and took her hand, squeezing it a bit harder than necessary. “Nice to meet you, too,” he replied, fighting hard to keep his voice level. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was a cheating woman.

Paul glanced between them, his brows furrowed in worry. “Am I missing something here?”

The silent plea she sent him was enough for him to keep quiet. For now, anyway. “You know how I feel about rogue types.” He gestured to her costume. “Am I wrong about the class of the character you’ll be playing?”

Her grin widened to crinkle her almond shaped eyes, and the muscles in her forearm went lax. He could almost hear her silent thanks as she said, “Not at all.”

“Jenny always plays rogues.” Paul gave her one more hug before returning to his throne.

Dan stayed where he was, his gaze locked with Jenny’s like they were two gunfighters in an old Western, and he was the one wearing the white hat. “Funny. I usually play paladins.”

“Then this should prove interesting.” Her expression remained wary as she moved to the empty chair between Jessie and the wizard boy.

Dan took the remaining chair across the table, studying her as they passed around character sheets and rolled the dice for ability scores. Paul talked about the characters and explained the world he’d created for this campaign, but Dan only half-listened. He was still trying to wrap his head around running into Jenny again.

Awkward
didn’t begin to describe it.

And judging by the way she refused to look at him, she was feeling the same way.

Time to set her on her heels. Normally, he chose to play a member of the warrior class that upheld the law and fought evil, but maybe it was time for a change. When it came time for him to declare his class, he stared directly at her and said, “Rogue.”

Her lips parted, but her eyes glittered from the challenge. “There’s usually only room for one rogue in our band.”

“Then we can either work together or weed each other out.”

Paul snickered from behind his DM board and scribbled something on his notepad. “I’m going to love this.”

Dan crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, hoping it concealed the rapid pounding of his heart. His D&D characters were lawful-good to a fault, and no doubt, Paul had created a campaign with some challenges fit for a paladin. Now he was going outside his comfort zone, but he still wasn’t quite sure why. Part of him liked the idea of working closely with Jenny while another part of him was still recoiling from the possibility that she could be involved with his friend.

And if she was, would he be able to tell Paul about what happened at Comic-Con? After all, Paul had been the one who’d revealed Cait’s infidelity.

Of course, Paul hadn’t been the one who’d slept with Cait.

The tension started to ease as the game got underway. Everyone at the table was a skilled table-top player, each getting into character without venturing into the annoying territory most
n00bs
did. As the hours progressed, he could actually imagine himself going on a quest with them. Their skills complemented each other, and the feeling of camaraderie enveloped him as they accepted him as member of their group.

But every now and then, he caught himself watching Jenny. As soon as the game was over, he wanted answers.

Unfortunately, she dashed out of the room during the first break, and Paul intercepted him when he got up to follow her.

“Having fun, Dan?”

“Definitely.” He glanced over Paul’s shoulder one more time before giving up on going after her. “Do you mind if I ask you a question about Jenny?”

“She’s not seeing anyone as far as I know, if that was what you were about to ask.”

He released the breath he’d been holding. “So you two aren’t…?”

Paul laughed and clapped him on the back. “Me and Jenny? No way! I know better than to date a co-worker, especially one of the most brilliant minds on my team.” He dropped his voice and nodded to the woman in the gown. “Besides, I have my own thing going on with Gretchen.”

“Good to know.”

“Yeah, but keep it quiet, okay? I don’t want the others to accuse me of giving her special treatment.”

“You mean the manticore you charged at her character wasn’t your way of telling her you love her?” Dan teased. Learning Jenny was available gave him a whole different outlook on this game.

“Shut up.” Paul’s expression sobered as Jenny came back into the room, her face pale. “But if you’re interested in her, don’t treat her like your previous girlfriends.”

Dan’s spine stiffened. “Meaning?”

“I know your track record since Cait, and I don’t want you doing the same to her. Jenny’s a nice girl. Very shy. Maybe even a little innocent.”

Dan resisted a contradictory snort. The woman he met at Comic-Con was anything but innocent.
Seductress
was a better word. A memory from that night flashed through his mind, and the blood rushed to his dick.

God help him, he still wanted her.

But judging by the looks she was giving him, she wanted him as far away as possible.

It tempered his desire. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The game resumed, and he lost himself in the world of magic and mayhem Paul created. One thing he hadn’t expected were the witty exchanges between him and Jenny. When she slipped into character, she became a whole other person. Fun. Flirty. Fearless. Far more like the woman he’d met two weeks ago than the shy girl Paul thought she was. If this was going to be their in-play dynamic, then he was definitely looking forward to each week’s game.

He just wondered what it would be like if he asked her out after the game.

By the time the sun had set, his stomach was grumbling for something other than Cheetos and Mountain Dew. A glance around the table told him he wasn’t the only one ready to call it a night. They all waited until Paul snapped his laptop shut and announced, “Till next week, adventurers.”

Dan rose from the table and stretched, his attention so focused on Jenny that he didn’t notice Paul coming up to him until his friend said his name.

“We usually head over to a local restaurant for dinner. Want to join us?”

“Sure.” He watched Jenny out of the corner of his eye as she chatted with Gretchen and Jessie. “Where?”

Paul gave him the name of the place as he pushed him toward the door. “You can catch a ride with me.”

He fought the urge to dig his heels in. If he was going to catch a ride with anyone, he wanted it to be her. “I don’t want to be a nuisance.”

“You won’t be.”