“So, what’s the problem?” Holly asked, ignoring Carson and fixing those shrewd green eyes on Becker.
He opened his mouth, intending to lie and say there was no problem, but instead, he ended up telling them everything. His encounter with Jane in the elevator, the incredible week they’d spent together, his reluctance to get involved with her. He even spilled some details about his marriage, a topic he hadn’t spoken about with anyone but Jane.
When he finished, Holly looked bewildered. “But it sounds like you really care about her. Why can’t you be with her?”
A heavy breath rolled out of his chest. “She reminds me too much of my ex.”
Next to him, Carson took another swig of beer then set the bottle down with a laugh. “Actually, she sounds nothing like your ex.”
He frowned. “Why do you say that?”
Carson shrugged. “Well, you described your ex-wife as, not to sound like an ass, a selfish bitch.”
“Carson,” Holly chided.
Becker smiled wryly. “No, he’s right. Alice isn’t the nicest person.”
“But Jane is,” Carson pointed out. “I played nine holes of mini-golf with her, and not once did I get the selfish bitch vibe from her.”
“And you said she didn’t even bug you about the interview,” Holly chimed in.
“Yeah,” he admitted.
“So she can’t be as bad as your ex.” Holly’s features softened. “You said your ex-wife would do anything to get ahead in her career. Well, if Jane was like that, she wouldn’t have given up until she got that scoop she originally came for. Instead, she accepted your answer and left it alone.”
Holly had a point. Jane had completely dropped the issue of his interview, which was something Alice never would have done. “But…” He drained the rest of his beer, wishing the two of them hadn’t put him on the spot like this. He could tell from their expressions that they thought he was an idiot for ending things with Jane, and the longer they stared at him, the more he started to wonder if maybe they were right. “She doesn’t want the same things as me,” he finally said.
“Marriage, family?” Holly prompted.
“Yeah.”
“Can you honestly tell me those are things you plan to have right this second?” Holly said, rolling her eyes. “You can’t just snap your fingers and find yourself a wife, unless you plan on ordering one from some Russian classified ad. No matter what, you’ll have to date someone, take the time to fall in love with her, see if there’s a connection. At least with Jane, you know the connection is there.”
Fuck, another good point. He was starting to regret ever coming here.
Carson threw in his two cents. “I think you should give her a chance. You’re obviously falling for her, so why not see where things go? And if in a few months you find she’s really not the right woman for you, then I promise, I’ll buy you that Russian bride myself.”
Becker couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks. That means a lot to me.”
Carson grinned. “Good, so go talk to her.”
He leaned back against the sofa cushions, only to notice both Holly and Carson looking at him as if he were an alien. “What?” he said, feeling defensive.
“Go talk to her,” Holly burst out, looking frazzled.
Becker blinked. “Now?”
“No, next month,” Carson said. “Don’t get me wrong, we can crack open a few more beers and watch the rest of this boring-ass game, but wouldn’t you rather be having make-up sex with your sexy little redhead right now?”
Holly leaned forward again, looking intrigued. “Oooh, is she really that attractive?” she asked her boyfriend. When Carson nodded, she swung her head at Becker. “What are you waiting for? Get her back already.”
Becker’s confidence was sky-high as he headed back to the hotel. Damn, Carson and his girlfriend ought to go into motivational speaking. The two of them had pumped him up, made him feel as though getting Jane back was the only course of action to take. And why shouldn’t he? They were right. He was falling for her. He had fun with Jane, more fun than he’d ever experienced with a woman before. She made him laugh, which was pretty much a miracle considering that with Alice, he’d barely cracked a smile in over a decade.
He couldn’t help wondering, as he made a left turn onto the road leading to the hotel, if he was being reckless. Maybe even foolish. Jane would be leaving in two days, heading back to LA, which was a good three-hour drive from Coronado. How would they ever even see each other? Which one of them would make the commute? Would Jane even consider doing it?
He forced himself not to dwell on the minor details. There was no point thinking about any of that, not until he knew if Jane was even willing to continue their relationship once she left. Fuck, he hoped she would. Carson and Holly had made him realize how unfair he’d been to Jane. Her resemblance to Alice, now that he thought about it, was pretty f**king flimsy. Big deal, so they shared some common personality traits. When it came to the traits that mattered, Jane was not Alice, and never would be.
He parked the SUV in the guest parking lot and got out. His palms grew damp as he locked the car and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. It was only a quarter to ten. Jane probably wasn’t asleep yet. His pulse sped up as he dialed the front desk and asked to be connected to her room, but the anticipation fizzled after the tenth ring, when Jane still hadn’t picked up. She’d either fallen asleep, or simply wasn’t taking any calls.