Free Cheap Shot by Cheryl Douglas Page A

out on a few dates about a year ago. After that, we kind of lost touch.”
    So Sela had gone out with the goalie as
soon as they’d ended things? That was knowledge Jaxon could have lived without.
    “Well, it looks like he’d like to
reconnect.” Jean pointed at the slip of paper. “He said for you to call him
anytime.”
    “I’ll have to let him know I have a
boyfriend.” Sela cleared her throat as she stared at the paper.
    “Can you go check on our food, Jean?” Jaxon
asked, trying to control his jealousy and anger. He’d seen Riley in the bar
quite a few times since he and Sela broke up, but he’d made it a point to keep
his distance. Next time, he’d make sure their paths crossed.
    “Sure thing, boss,” she said, scurrying
away.
    “So you went out with that piece of—”
    “Easy, Jaxon. Riley happens to be a good
guy.” She pushed her shoulders back.
    “Good guys don’t take advantage of women.”
    “He didn’t take advantage of me.”
    “So he didn’t try to sleep with you?” Jaxon
clenched his fists. When she didn’t respond, he said, “He did! I’m going to
kill him.”
    “No, you’re not,” she whispered, leaning
forward. “You’re going to leave him alone. What may or may not have happened
between us is none of your business. We were through, remember?”
    Jaxon knew he should let it go, but he
couldn’t. “Do you know what it does to me to think of you making love to
someone else?”
    “Then don’t think about it,” she said,
crossing her arms.
    “I can’t help it.” He was at a loss. There
was so much he wanted to say, but he was afraid of driving her away. So much
for his plan to pretend he was moving on with Sabrina. Sela had to know he was
desperate to get her back. “I heard what you said to him tonight.”
    She looked up, piercing him with her light
blue eyes. “Who?”
    “Your boyfriend. I heard you tell him you
love him. Is it true? Do you?”
    “You have no right to ask me that.”
    “That doesn’t answer my question.” She
probably had one foot out the door, but he’d never been very good at censoring
his thoughts, especially when there was so much at stake. “If you do, it
shouldn’t be too difficult to tell me the truth.”
    “There are different kinds of love,” she
said, her face and voice devoid of emotion. “There’s passionate love that makes
you feel like you’d die without that person, and there’s easy, comfortable love
that makes you feel as though that person contributes something of value to
your life, but you wouldn’t die without them.”
    “You deserve a love you can’t live
without.”
    “I don’t want that.” Her veneer cracked as
her eyes filled with tears. “I had that once with you, and I don’t want to go
there again. What I have with Sheldon is safer. It’s easier. It doesn’t scare
me.”
    Jaxon hated knowing he’d instilled fear in
her, made her believe life would be better if she stayed on the safe side of
the street. The woman he’d met, the one who fell in love with him, had been
fun-loving and impetuous and embraced life with both hands. This woman was
different, more introverted and uncertain.
    He leaned in. “I hate myself for making you
feel that way. I hate that I made you question everything.”
    “Maybe I should be thanking you,” she said,
shrugging. “Before you, I was naïve. I believed in fairy tales and happily ever
after. I’m much more practical now. I know that relationships take a lot of
work and compromise.”
    “Loving someone should be easy.” Jaxon
wished he could say or do something to erase the shadows lurking in her eyes.
“I know that now. I didn’t know that then.”
    “Maybe you’re the one who needs a reality
check.” Her voice cracked. “It sounds like you’ve got some pretty far-fetched
notions about relationships.”
    “When did you become so cynical?” He
already knew the answer. Maybe he felt he needed to punish himself.
    “When I realized I would never have