Becker found himself grinning as Holly bounced back into the room, her green eyes flashing with curiosity. She flopped down on the armchair across from the couch, leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at Becker. “Okay, tell me everything. I’m much better at this kind of thing. Who is she?”
Discomfort tugged at his gut. He shot Carson a save-me look, but the younger man just shrugged as if to say, There’s no stopping it now. Finally he turned back to Holly and said, “Jane.”
Leaning back in the chair, Holly crossed her arms over her chest. “Jane. All right. What’s the problem with Jane?”
“There’s no problem. She’s…great.” He swallowed. “More than great, actually.”
“Is she reluctant to get involved? Because that’s what happened to Will.” Holly offered a wide smile. “Luckily, I stepped in and saved the day, and now Will and Mac are happily married.”
Carson set down his beer and pointed a finger at Holly. “Oh no. No, no, no, you are not doing it again.” He shook his head at Becker. “She pretended to be Will’s girlfriend to make Mackenzie jealous. Oh, and she let him kiss her.”
“For show,” Holly emphasized. “And it worked, didn’t it?”
Carson growled. “What’s next? You going to hire yourself out for weddings and bar mitzvahs?”
Despite the bickering and totally weird subject matter, Becker found himself extremely amused by Carson and his girlfriend. He could tell they were madly in love, even when they were grumbling at each other. And Holly reminded him a lot of Jane. Her sass, the stubborn tilt of her chin. At the thought of Jane, Becker’s chest tightened. Damn it, why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?
“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?”