his pacing. “How could I have forgotten she was coming over? What am I going to do? I’ve got to call her.”
He yanked his phone out of his pocket. His dad took two strides and grabbed it from his hand.
“What are you doing?” Will demanded. “I’ve got to call her and start groveling.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Frank countered. “For a fuck-up this big, son, you’ve got to go and grovel in person.”
Will looked over at Ryan.
“Bring flowers,” he said.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“It’s Will,” Tobias announced from his position at the front door. “Want me to drag him in here and kick his ass?”
If anyone could do it, Jasmine mused, it would be him. Tobias spent much of his free time kickboxing and had the physique to prove it.
He and Danny had been doing their best to comfort her since she got home a couple hours ago. They knew something was wrong the moment she walked through the door. It hadn’t taken long before they put the groceries away for her, settled her on the sofa, and poured her a glass of wine. They’d all been sitting in the family room talking about Will, Katie, and the entire situation since then.
“How horrible do I look?” Jasmine asked Danny, suddenly highly aware of the dried tears on her cheeks.
“Nothing a quick splash of water from the sink won’t fix, honey,” he said, standing and taking her hand to help her to her feet. “It’s best to make an entrance anyway. Run on up and do what you need to do. We’ll run interference.”
She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thanks.”
Five seconds later, she closed herself in the upstairs bathroom as the front door opened. She leaned over the sink and tried to decide if her racing heart was from the jog up the stairs or the prospect of seeing Will again.
What was he about to tell her?
Had she ruined things between them by refusing to contact him for so long?
Could her heart handle seeing him right now after he’d been with Katie’s mother?
The questions ran fast and furious through her mind as she washed her face and tugged the end of her braid to remove the hair tie. Most of the braid had come loose anyway, so she just ran a brush through it and left it down. She had learned enough about Will’s preferences over the past few months to know he liked it that way.
She took the time to apply a little makeup too. No sense making this easy on him if he intended to end the sex-only thing between them.
Her heart gave a hard lurch over that.
Deciding she couldn’t stall any longer, she took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom. She didn’t see anyone at the bottom of the stairs. The sound of voices reached her, including Will’s. It told her that her roommates had let him past the threshold.
It took one more deep breath to give her the nudge to walk downstairs. As she drew it in, a powerful, delicious scent filled her nostrils.
French fries.
She emerged from the stairway and turned toward the family room. Will stood beside the sofa holding a glass vase full of flowers. Beside him on the coffee table was a grease-stained brown bag, the source of the heavenly smell. A cardboard container beside the bag contained two chocolate milkshakes in clear plastic cups.
She met his gaze over the flowers. He looked…worn, she decided. There was a weariness about him she’d never seen before, one that seemed to extend beyond just physical exhaustion.
It touched her heart, eliminating any residual anger she may have harbored toward him.
“We’ll leave you two alone,” Danny said, looking between her and Will as he waved Tobias toward the stairs. “You just call on up if you need us, Jazzy.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Tobias didn’t immediately follow. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was giving Will a steely stare-down.
“Tobias?” she prompted.
“You gonna eat this stuff he brought?” he asked.
Her stomach chose that moment to growl loud enough that it had the two men looking over at her. Despite the tension in the room, it made her laugh.
“Guess that answers that,” Tobias said, finally uncrossing his arms. “You haven’t eaten since breakfast. Make sure you at least eat this.”
He pointed to the fries and shakes. She nodded. Giving Will one last warning glare, he headed upstairs.
When they were alone, she and Will exchanged another long, quiet look. Beyond the exhaustion, she read the apology in his