“You think he won’t want to take you back? Do you want him to?”
I glanced at Oliver, who saw me and gave me a slow, sexy grin. “Things are different now, and that’s not necessarily a good thing when it comes to Anderson. He doesn’t like change and things have definitely evolved between me and the guys. This new situation with me, Oliver, and Jackson isn’t the same as it was before. And I’m not sure where Anderson will fit in—if he ever will, or if he’ll ever want to.” I sighed. “I also think he’s waiting for an apology.”
“From who?”
“Me. He thinks I abandoned him—them. And I really don’t know if that’s true, but he thinks it is and well…stubborn pain in the ass.”
“Heaven!” Oliver called my name from across my room. He held up his phone. “I’m calling Anderson before his race. You want to talk to him? I know you guys had some kind of pre-meet ritual. Maybe it’s time to reinstate it.”
“Here’s your chance,” Lea said with a smile. She and Oliver didn’t know that pre-meet ritual was me giving Anderson an earth-shattering blow job, but still, the sentiment was nice. I squeezed Lea on the shoulder and walked across the room.
I let Oliver talk first, getting Anderson on the first ring. He used Face Time and ducked into the butler’s pantry adjacent to the kitchen for some privacy. I heard laughter and some good-natured ribbing. Oliver only wanted the best for Anderson and he knew how to help him get psyched for the race. When he handed me the phone and I stepped into the quiet pantry, I only hoped I didn’t ruin it.
“Hey,” I said, feeling a rush at seeing him. I saw the collar of his swimmer’s coat, lined to keep his muscles warm. His hair stuck up like always, wild despite his reserved nature. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good,” he said. His green eyes softened when he saw me. “I feel prepared and my conditioning has been going well. I’ve been carb-loading for fuel. I think I may burst.”
“I saw the photo of you eating that plate of spaghetti on Instagram.”
His forehead creased. “You on social media now?”
“No, Amber showed me.”
“Ah, of course.”
“It was cute and made me a little sick looking at it. I wish we could be there.” The qualifiers were in Toronto. “But you should see this set-up Oliver has. It’ll be like we’re in the aquatic center with you.”
“I wish you were here, too,” he said quietly. “I know the last few times we were together, things were tense. That was on me, Heaven. I needed to process some things, you know.”
“Hey, do not stress about that now. You and I are good.”
His lips quirked into a grin. “Yeah?”
“Definitely. We’ll get together soon. For the wedding, and we can talk about everything then.”
“I’d like that.”
A dirty thought entered my mind and I couldn’t help myself. “If I was there, I’d wish you luck like the old days.”
His eyebrows raised. “That…that would be…wow.”
“But I’m not there, so all I can say is good luck and I’ll see you soon.”
“Thanks, Heaven. That means almost as much as lucky head.”
“Kick some ass, Anderson.”
I stepped out of the room and handed the phone over to Jackson, who waited for me on the other side. He watched me carefully, knowing good and well that conversation could have imploded, but I kissed him on the cheek and walked back into the party.
Lea waited for me in the kitchen with a drink ready. “How did it go?”
“Pretty good.”
“Maybe there’s hope for that one after all.”
Maybe there was.
39