Page 31 of Triple Threat
My hands reached out to hold her, to make sure she was real, but as soon as I did, she took another step away from me, keeping distance between us. “Please, Kinsley. Just five minutes. You owe me that.”
Her dark eyes ignited in a hateful blaze, all her ire and rage directed right at me. With one last scowl, she turned away from me, forcing me to stand back as she swung the door open. “I don’t owe you a fucking thing.”
“She left.I’ve spent years searching for this girl, and she wants nothing to do with me?”
My words spilled out in jumbled thoughts, but in my defense, the past hour had been a lot.Come over, Jace. It’ll just be a chill night hanging out with the team and their girlfriends.Nothing to stress about.
No, instead, my entire universe shifted on its axis.
Hadley shoved a bottle of water toward me, giving me a pissed-off look. How in the hell had I pissed off every woman in this house in one afternoon? I shook my head. “If you’re going to shit on me when I’m already down, get it over with.”
“Ew,” Hadley mumbled. “I did not need that visual. But you have some explaining to do, Jace. What did you do to Kinsley to scare her off like that?”
“I didn’t do anything to her!”
She leaned back and rolled her eyes. “Having trouble believing that when she literally ran away from you.”
Victoria, Hadley’s best friend and business partner, stepped into the kitchen and placed some bowls into the sink. Most of the other guys cleared out, but a few lingered outside with Cam and the rest of the team. I’d retreated in here almost as soon as Kinsley left, needing to clear my head. After washing her hands, Victoria came to my side, dropping her hand on my shoulder. “Maybe it had nothing to do with Jace. Kinsley seemed uncomfortable before he got here.”
“Not like that,” Hadley argued. “Sure, she was a little overwhelmed, but did you see her face when he came into the room? Girl looked like she was about to pass out.”
Victoria frowned, turning back to me. “Have you met before?”
“Yeah,” I swallowed. “A while back. She worked at The Skyline during my rookie season.”
“Okay…” Hadley drawled. “So either you acted like a jerk at the bar, or there’s a lot more to that story.”
I shook my head, staring at the floor as if it had offended me. Had I said something to her? Done something? Nothing came to mind. Everything we did, she gave her consent for and was into it just as much as me. Or, at least, she seemed okay with what happened between us. Was that why she left? Because I’d crossed a line and didn’t realize it? My stomach lurched.
Shit, if that was the case, Kinsley was right—she didn’t owe me a fucking thing. If anything, I should have been on my knees, begging for her forgiveness. Not wanting to get into it with Hadley and Victoria, I just shook my head. “It’s a long story.”
“What?” Hadley snapped, and I looked up at her, sure she was talking to me. Instead, she focused on Victoria, who was chewing the corner of her nail. When she met our eyes, she dropped her hand, hiding it behind her back.
“It’s nothing.”
“Lies,” Hadley sighed. “You haven’t been able to hide anything from me in ten years. What makes you think you can start now?”
“It’snothing,” Victoria said, her eyes narrowing at her best friend. Hadley must have gotten the message from her tone, because she snapped her mouth shut and turned back to me with a frown.
“How long ago did you meet Kinsley?”
“Fuck.” I ran my hand down my face. “It was almost two years ago? Remember that night our rookie season when you came out to the bar with us? I cut my hand on glass?—”
“And the server cleaned you up,” Hadley answered for me. “Cam told me about it afterward. That was Kinsley?” I nodded, and she met Victoria’s eyes.
“Enough,” I bit out. “If you know something, tell me.”
“It’s not for us to tell,” Victoria said. “But you should talk to her.”
“How? You saw what happened tonight. Kinsley made herself clear—she couldn’t give a shit what I have to say. I need to respect that.”
Hadley shook her head. “You can’t just ignore this, Jace. We all saw your face when you spotted her. It was the most genuine smile I’ve seen from you in years. No matter what happened in the past, can you walk away, never knowing why she reacted that way?”
I groaned and dropped my head back. “Fuck.”
She beamed back at me. “I love it when I’m right.”
“I never said that.”
