Manfax (Winter Brothers #2) - Jacob Chance Page 0,25
the five of us head inside. “I’m going out back. Anyone want to sit around the fire pit with me?”
It’s no surprise when Rex and Dani refuse, stating they’re going to bed. Violet makes the excuse that she needs to check her email.
“I’ll hang out with you. I haven’t sat around a fire in way too long,” Roxanne says, surprising me. I thought for sure when Vi passed that she would pass also.
We make a quick stop in the kitchen to grab a couple of drinks—wine for her and beer for me.
“I think I should apologize for the plastic cups. It’s like being at a college party all over again,” I tell her as I work on starting the fire.
She tips the cup back, downing a large gulp of the white wine, then licks her lips. “Were you a frat boy?”
I laugh, shaking my head. “Hellll no.”
“Sorry. I assumed you were a jock and they’re usually in frats.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I did play sports, but I didn’t live on campus.”
“That’s nice that you stayed home with your parents.”
“I didn’t. I lived with my girlfriend at the time.”
She gasps. “You had a girlfriend?”
“Yeah. Why is that so shocking?”
“You don’t seem like the girlfriend type.”
“What does that mean?”
“I guess I imagined you were the love ’em and leave ’em type. You know, the guy who avoids commitment.”
“I wasn't always that guy,” I share.
“What made you change?”
Sinking down into the chair next to hers, I take a deep pull of my cold beer.
“I’m sorry,” she apologizes. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No, you’re not. I don’t mind talking about what happened. It was a long time ago and I’ve never made the same mistake since.”
“Your girlfriend broke your heart?”
“Something like that.” I take another sip from my bottle before replying, “She decided she liked her TA better than me.”
“That sucks.” She watches me, her eyes glowing sympathetically in the light from the fire.
“It did at the time, but in hindsight, she did me a favor.”
“Absolutely. Better to find out then, instead of later or even worse, after being married,” she responds.
“I dodged a bullet, for sure.” I look over at her. “What about you? What’s your story?”
“Meee?” she elongates the word, like she’s surprised I’m interested.
“Yes, you.”
She knocks the rest of her beverage back, setting the empty cup on the ground. Her chest rises with a deep inhale, and she releases the breath on a weighty sigh. “I’ve had one serious boyfriend.”
“Really? Only one?” I didn’t expect her to say that.
“Yep. I dated a few people for a couple of months at a time in high school and college, but I was never in love with them. It wasn’t until after college that I had a long-term relationship.”
I picture a younger version of Roxanne, and I imagine she was as stunning then as she is now. “I bet that wasn’t the case for the guys you went out with. They probably fell hard for you.”
She taps her fingernails against the armrests on the chair. “They were in love with the idea of being in love.”
“Why do I doubt that? I bet you left a string of broken hearts all over your hometown,” I prod.
“Hardly.” Her stiff body language tells me she’s not as comfortable speaking about her dating history as I am.
“What do you do in your spare time when you’re not working?” I change the subject. I’m enjoying our newfound peace too much to chance upsetting the balance we’ve found.
“What spare time?” she scoffs. “This weekend is the first one I’ve taken off since Christmas.”
“I hear ya. Rex and I put in a lot of long hours to finish projects on time. But I love my work.”
“I don’t know if I love what I do, but it’s something I’m good at. And my company has done well. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.”
Shifting my weight, I turn my upper body toward her. “What do you do anyway? You never really told me.”
“My company runs background checks on people.”
“For businesses?”
“No, we do them for individuals who want to know someone’s history.”
“Is that legal?” I ask.
“It’s not against the law.” Spine straightening, she grips the arms on the chair.
I hold my hand up to stop her anger before it takes over. “I’m not trying to insinuate you’re doing something illegal. Your work threw me for a bit. The idea of someone being able to run a background check on me at any time blows my mind. I knew people hire private investigators to