The jealousy is a sharp blade to the chest. I don’t have to ask who this David is to know I don’t like him. Because in the four years Vanessa and I have been apart, she has never oncenotfelt like mine. Irrational, I know. Yet the thought of another man near her makes me crazy with jealousy. An emotion I didn’t even realize I possessed until this moment. Apparently, I have it in spades.
Vanessa empties her cocktail glass, as if using the time to poise herself. With a subtle inhale, she lifts her gaze to her dad. If I’m not mistaken, her hand trembles slightly. “He’s not coming.”
“Business commitment? He’s certainly a busy man?—”
“We broke things off.”
I can’t help but notice Erin’s bouncing gaze between Vanessa and me. Shehasto know who I am. Meaning I made a bigger impression than I thought if Vanessa told someone about our weekend. Do I have a shot at turning this whole thing around? I have a few stretched truths to sort out. That alone promises I have my work cut out for me. But what if this chance meeting is really asecondchance for us?
“I’m sorry to hear that, sweet pea.”
“Don’t be,” Vanessa says. “It wasn’t meant to be.”
“Good.” The admiral’s tone is firm enough to lift everyone’s gaze from the table to him. “I didn’t like him.”
“What?” Vanessa’s shock appears genuine.
“He was wound too tight. Spent too much time on his phone. That and pretending he had a damn clue about the stock market.” He glances at Vanessa’s hand but doesn’t take it. A subtle gesture only someone paying very close attention would even catch. Though Vanessa was never forthcoming about her dad being an admiral—that surprise was quite the shock all those years ago—she was open about how unaffectionate he’d been since her mom passed.
“But you told me you liked him. I thought you wanted me to marry him,” Vanessa insists.
“I want you to be happy, sweet pea.”
Vanessa’s shock isn’t as well-masked as she probably thinks. I recognize the surprise dancing in her light blue eyes.
“I think I can speak for all of us when I say we’re happy David isn’t the one,” Erin says with a lighthearted chuckle that breaks the gentle tension. She lifts a glass in toast, and the admiral is the first to join.
“I’ll toast to that,” I join in.
The admiral turns me to me, and for a beat, I fear I’ve overstepped. Just because he’s been talking up my skills and honors all throughout this meal doesnotmean he’s suggesting I date his daughter. I’m not that stupid.
“Looks like you’ll have your hands full this weekend, Captain Steele.”
“I will?”
“I want you to ensure my little girlenjoysherself. She’s a workaholic, even if she’s in denial about that. I have no doubt that every detail is meticulously planned—” He looks to Erin.
“It is,” she confirms.
“—So I know she’ll have free time on her hands. Show her North Haven before she rushes back to Houston. I want her to at least consider visiting again before I relocate. Think you can handle that assignment, Jasper?” That the admiral is speaking to me so informally is a sign of his trust.
If I fuck that up, it might mean more than my next promotion. It might mean the end of my career. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Then it’s all settled.”
“Dad, this is really unnecessary?—”
“If I could, I’d show you around myself. But you know how it is. We’ll catch up before you fly out,” the admiral says, wavingthe server down for a check. “I want to hear all about your time in North Haven.”
His words feel like a stern warning to behave myself. To be the respectable chaperone who keeps his hands to himself. If I was a smart man, I’d give up any notion I might have about second chances. Because pursuing Vanessa Wheeler might cost me the career I’ve worked so hard to achieve. The career that has defined who I am to the core.
That I’m willing to run the risk should rattle me.
For once in my life, I don’t want to play it smart.
3
VANESSA
