Free The Safe Bet (The Game Changers #3) by Shealy James

I shoved another donut hole in my mouth and refused to acknowledge him. I didn’t want him to see the hurt that lingered underneath the surface. He must have anyway—and here I thought sugar made everything better. Silly me.
    “You know she meant nothing, right?”
    “Yeah…sure,” I replied brightly and hid the lie with more food. At this rate I was going to eat all of them by myself. “Nothing but a warm body, right?” I joked with a wink, trying too hard to joke. I felt like an ass.
    Brock wasn’t in a playful mood this fine morning. “You can always say no if you don’t like a girl I meet.” Did he seriously want to talk about this?
    “Pssh. It’s not like I had a chance to get to know her. You didn’t know her.”
    “Yeah. I didn’t really need to know her.”
    I waited for him to elaborate. Of course he didn’t. I guess I didn’t really want him to tell me more anyway. Seconds passed where I could practically hear him say the words that rested on the tip of his tongue, so I finally had to ask, “What do you mean?”
    He swallowed some juice and stared into space. “We can’t always get what we want,” he muttered cryptically.
    “Seems that way,” I agreed, feeling confused as to what we were really talking about and a little broken because he was oh-so-right.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
     
     
    Now
     
    “Reagan. So not cool,” Damien called out as he and his girlfriend, Kira, plopped onto stools at the front desk of my store. It was almost closing time, almost time for Brock to meet me for dinner, and I was a nervous wreck. Damien and Kira were the perfect distraction.
    Last year, when I first met Damien Rush, he hadn’t read a book since elementary school. Even then I was sure that the only books he had read were actually read aloud to him. Now he read anything and everything I could give him and his writing was inspiring in its own regard. This kid, who I met picking up trash outside my store as part of his community service, had not only come a long way, but he was insightful and creative. I enjoyed having him as my friend and reading buddy.
    “For real, Reagan,” Kira agreed. “That is, like, the saddest book. Why in the world would you have us read that?”
    “Did you take anything away from it?”
    “You know we did.” Damien grinned and patted his well-loved copy of Tuesdays with Morrie.
    “Then let’s discuss.”
    By the time Brock arrived to pick me up, the three of us had tears in our eyes, even Damien. I loved these moments. A lot of high school kids hung out in my store. So many of them had never appreciated the love of a good book until someone showed them the one that hooked them. I enjoyed being the crazy bookstore lady that introduced them to a passion for reading. I was supposed to be closing up but allowed myself to enjoy the distraction only Damien and Kira provided. He took in the three of us, perplexed by the way we were wiping our eyes and laughing.
    “Damien, Kira, this is an old friend, Brock.” They greeted him when he offered his hand to shake.
    “You guys okay?” he asked us, and Kira explained about the book. When Brock saw the cover, he understood. I had once made him read it as well.
    “Great book,” he commented, then remained quiet while Kira and Damien finished telling me their favorite quotes.
    Once they had left us alone, Brock watched me close out the register and prepare the deposit before he said, “I never pictured you running your own business, but a bookstore suits you.”
    I thought about all the trouble I had finding a career. Brock had always teased me about majoring in “reading,” but there was nothing else I wanted to do forever. It turned out there really were very few jobs for an English major. “It was Jordan’s idea. I guess you were right. There was really nothing out there for me. I couldn’t commit to anything.”
    “Or anyone?” I would have thought it was an insult had it not been phrased like a