Page 67 of The Playmaker
“If I get the all clear, Nina and I are going to go for a skate. Come with us.”
“That sounds like fun.” She turns to Jack. “Feel like skating tomorrow?”
“Only if you want me to make a fool of myself.”
Tabby laughs. “Don’t worry. I might laugh but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love you.” Jack beams at that. “Plus, these guys will help. Nina used to be a professional skater.”
His eyes go wide. “Yeah”
“Key words, used to be. I haven’t been on the ice in…forever.”
“Since her fall,” I say and her gaze flashes to mine. “Tomorrow, we’re going to tread lightly together, right Nina.”
She nods, and I hear her swallow as she turns back to Tabby. “Any friends still in town that you’re looking to catch up with?”
“Yeah, a few. I want to introduce Jack to my best friend, Tawny. We’re still close”
“That’s nice. Will you see your dad?” she asks.
Without missing a beat, Tabby says, “Oh, for sure.”
She shoots me a quick glance and I play along, like I’ve always played along. We never let anyone know what went on behind closed doors. We always kept our dirty little secrets just that…a secret. I’m guessing she never told Jack too much about her childhood, which is why he wants to ask our father for permission to marry her.
“I was hoping to meet your dad,” Jack says.
Tabby gives an easy wave of her hand. “Oh, yeah, we’ll make that happen.”
“He’s been crazy-busy lately, though,” I say.
“Is that why he hasn’t been around?” Nina asks, her brow furrowed in concern.
“Yeah. He wants to be here, but work, and his health hasn’t been so great.”
Nina’s hand closes over m
ine. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
Tabby grabs the bottle of wine and holds it up. “We polished it off, Nina.”
“Want me to grab another?” I ask, grateful for the change in subject.
Tabby stretches. “I’m kind of tired. I think it’s bedtime.”
“Agreed,” Jack says, and finishes his beer. The two make their way up the stairs, and I turn to find Nina glancing around the room again, taking it all in.
“Nina?” I ask and bring her attention around to me. “Ready for bed?”
“I’m exhausted. How about you?”
I grin at her. “Been ready for hours, and never too exhausted.”
She rolls her eyes at me, and I give her ass a slap to set her in motion. She yelps and darts upstairs. The second she enters our room—correction, my room—I shut the door and lock it.
“Tonight was so much fun,” she says, the happiness in her tone fucking me over. I want her happy like this all the time. I want to be the guy who makes her happy, the guy who puts a smile on her face.
“You think the night is over?”
She spins to see me, and I crook my finger.