Hammer's Fall (The Breakers' Bad Boys)(52)

“I’ll call you. I love you, Kali.”

“I love you, too.”

She hugged herself as he turned and walked away, but her spirits lifted when he turned back and grabbed her, picking her up to kiss her hard. His tongue pushed past her lips to delve deep, stroking against her own masterfully until her body went limp against him. He set her down slowly, then turned without a word and headed over to the limo that waited in front of Fight Hard.

The couple he had been with had already gotten into the car, but the driver stood by the back door waiting for Jared. When he got to the limo, he paused before getting in and looked back at her. Kalista waved and held back a shiver at the intense look he gave her as he nodded, then he got into the limo, disappearing from view. Turning away, she went back inside, disappointment weighing heavily on her heart and mind, but her lips still held the tingle of his last kiss.

“Okay, so I guess he is going out of town then, but that was definitely a kiss from a man that’s going to miss you. A lot,” Becca said when Kalista sat back down at the table. Kalista filled her friends in about what just happened, then she sat back and waited for them to weigh in.

“Guys don’t think about Valentine’s Day like women do. Hell, I didn’t even realize that Valentine’s Day was this week,” Nikita said.

“That’s because you aren’t a normal woman,” Zoe muttered.

Nikita wasn’t offended. In fact, she smiled as if Zoe had just complimented her.

“I know he’s going to Vegas for a few days, but that doesn’t mean he’s taking the job offer. I mean, why ask you to move in with him if he’s going to be traveling all the time?” Zoe asked.

Kalista stared at her friend with wide eyes. “What job offer?”

Zoe groaned. “Oh shit, please tell me he talked to you about this!”

It was difficult for Kalista to swallow since her throat felt like it had just swollen shut. Pain tore through her, stealing her breath. It couldn’t be true. Why would Jared talk about adopting a puppy with her or ask her to move in with him if he was planning on leaving?

Zoe hesitantly filled her in about the job Jared had been offered by the CFL that she had heard about from Dante. “I’m so sorry, Kali. I didn’t know he hadn’t said anything. Obviously, he would have told you if he was accepting. This Vegas trip is just a onetime thing.”

“I don’t know. Why would he tell Dante about it and not me?” Kalista knew her friends could hear the pain in her voice, but she couldn’t mask it.

“Because men are inherently stupid,” Nikita supplied casually after she finished her last bite of food. “See what he says when he gets back, and if you don’t like his answer you can kick him in the nuts. That would make me feel better.”

Kalista wanted to laugh, but her chest hurt too much at the thought of what this new job could mean to their relationship. Logic said that he would have told her if he had been planning to take a job that would have him traveling most of the time, but a little part of her feared it was true. Was that what he meant by suggesting they adopt Ranger together? If he left he couldn’t have a dog fulltime without having someone here in Breakers to care for it while he was gone.

Was that the real reason he asked her to move in with him?

“Stop it,” Zoe snapped, shocking Kalista out of her inner musings.

“Stop what?”

“I know you. You’re immediately thinking the worst of the situation.”

“What am I supposed to think? How can he leave if he loves me?”

“He said he was only going to be gone for two days, right?” Zoe asked. “You said he never lies to you, Kali. Remember that.”

Kalista nodded. “I know that, but I just can’t help thinking about what will happen if he is traveling all over the world. Even at my cousin’s wedding women were practically falling all over him. How the hell can we have a relationship if he’s halfway around the world?”

“Hammer would never cheat on you. He’s not that guy,” Nikita insisted emphatically.

“No, he’s not like some other guys we know that will fuck anything with big breasts and a pretty face,” Zoe muttered, her thoughts drifting to another man she couldn’t say the same about.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Becca said forcefully. “He probably didn’t tell you about the job because he has no intention of taking it. Don’t worry about this until you talk to him.”

Kalista agreed with her friends. “Okay, we need to talk about something else now, or this is just going to drive me crazy.”

“I have something we can talk about,” Nikita said as she sent a knowing look to her sister. “Since you’re all about the love talk today, why don’t you tell us about your new man?”