The Game Changer (The Perfect Game 2)
“She’s Cassie’s best friend, right?” Gran asked.
“Yeah. ”
“Did you talk to her yet?” I asked, putting him on the spot for once.
He shrugged one shoulder. “No. ”
“I told you to talk to her,” I reminded him.
“I told you she’s not into me,” he snapped back.
“That’s crap and you know it. She is definitely into you. ”
“Then what’s the problem?” Gramps dropped his chin into his hand, his gaze shifting back and forth between me and Dean.
“I don’t know. She says she doesn’t want a boyfriend, but I think she just doesn’t want me as a boyfriend. Can we talk about something else now?” Dean fidgeted in his chair as he filled his mouth with more food.
“Who wouldn’t want you as a boyfriend? Rubbish,” our ever-loyal Gran said with a huff.
“Can we please talk about something else? Anything else,” Dean pleaded.
Taking pity on my poor, uncomfortable brother, I changed the subject. “I found some of Cassie’s photographs online today. ”
Silence filled the air as everyone stopped chewing their food, directing their stares at me. “What?” I asked nervously.
“How did you find them?” Gramps asked, blotting the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
“I went to her magazine’s website. They had a feature online about moving to New York, and all the photographs in the article were hers. ” My chest swelled with pride as I talked about her.
“That’s fantastic news! I want you to show me after dinner. ” Gramps’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he slapped his hand against the table.
“Wait. ” Dean tilted his head as a smirk appeared. “You follow her magazine online?”
I squared my gaze, meeting his directly. “You’re goddamned right I do. I want to know what she’s doing every second she’s not with me. And if there’s a photograph she takes for that magazine, I want to see it. ”
“I think that’s sweet,” Gran said.
“I think it’s psycho,” Dean countered.
I changed the topic of conversation for him and this is how he repays me? “Really, Dean? After everything Cassie and I have be
en through, you think my following her work online is psycho?”
“It’s a little weird, don’t you think? You won’t even talk to her in real life, but you’ll follow her online?”
The chair scraped against the floor as I shoved back, jumping to my feet. My breathing hitched as my defenses rose. No one talked about me and Cassie like that. Not even my brother.
“Jack, sit down!” Gran said sternly. “And Dean, stop calling your brother names! You two are acting like little boys. ”
I inhaled a sharp breath before sliding the chair back toward the table and sitting down. “I can’t talk to her until I’m not married anymore, OK? So until then, yeah, I will follow everything she does online. And if that magazine can give me a glimpse into how she’s seeing the world, I’ll take it. Because until I’m back in her life, that’s the only Cassie I get. And if that makes me psycho, then I don’t give a fuck. Sorry, Gran,” I offered before she swatted my shoulder.
“I’m going to ground you! I don’t care how old you are,” she threatened with a slight chuckle.
“He started it,” I said, nodding my head toward my brother. “Let’s talk about Melissa some more. ”
Dean waved his arms in the air in defeat. “I’m sorry. Truce?”
Before I could respond, Gran asked, “How long are you planning to stay home?”