Chapter 7
Jalen
I knew I was in trouble the second Cal answered the phone.
“What's up, man?” he said, a grin evident in his tone.
“I can't call my future brother-in-law?”
I huffed a quiet laugh.
“You never call me in the middle of the week unless you need something.”
“That isn't true.”
“It absolutely is.”
I leaned back in my office chair, resting my feet on the edge of the dark wood desk.
“Let me ask you something.”
“There it is.”
I ignored the bait.
“If you were trying to take your sister somewhere she’d actually like, where would you go?”
The silence on the other end lasted long enough to make me check the screen to see if the call had dropped.
“Jalen,” Cal said slowly.
“Are you asking me for dating advice about my own sister?”
“I'm asking what her taste is.”
“That's the same thing.”
“No, it isn't.”
“It is when it's Mars.”
Cal let out a sharp laugh and shook his head.
“Are you going to help me out, or are you just going to give me a hard time?”
“I haven't decided yet.”
I waited him out, listening to the static on the line until he finally groaned.
“Alright.
Look, I figured you'd just pick somewhere wildly expensive to show off.”
I turned my chair toward the window, looking out at the downtown skyline.
“I don't think she'd care about a price tag.”
“No,” Cal admitted softly.
“She wouldn't.”
The conversation settled into a rare moment of quiet, and a sudden realization caught me off guard.
I’d been paying attention to her.
More attention than I had any right to.
Mars preferred quiet spaces.
She liked routine.
She looked the most comfortable when she wasn't performing for anyone, and the last thing she needed right now was another stage.
She smiled when she forgot people were watching her, and every single time it happened, I caught myself smiling back without realizing it.
I remembered the way she'd lit up talking about food.
The way she'd laughed after teasing me.
The way she'd tucked a loose curl behind her ear while pretending she wasn't nervous—those weren't things you noticed about someone you were only pretending to date. At least, they weren't supposed to be.
I pushed the thought away before it could settle too deeply.
“So?” I asked.
“I can hear you thinking.”
“I am thinking,” Cal replied.
“Nia's always dragging her around the city, but Mars usually sticks to her regular spots. She's been wanting to try Maison Noir Chocolaterie forever. There's a little restaurant called Jenna's on Martin Street she likes. Oh, and she loves Oliver's.”
I sat up straighter, resting my pen against the desk.
“Oliver's? The bakery that's all over social media?”
“Yeah, bro. She and Nia have literally waited over an hour in line just for their pastries.”
That earned a laugh from me.
I had already gathered from our night at Gutters that Mars took her food seriously, and the image of her stubbornly waiting in a massive line for a pastry made me smile.
It wasn't complicated.
She simply enjoyed the little things.
“What else?”
Cal started rattling off a list.
“A bookstore on West Gray. Memorial Park when the weather's nice. A little coffee shop called Black Lantern. She likes museums, too, but only if they aren't packed.”
I grabbed a legal pad and started writing.
“You are actually taking notes,” Cal muttered, sounding amused.
“I don't trust my memory.”
“That's a lie. You've memorized entire playbooks.”
“This feels different.”
“It sure does.”
I ignored the commentary.
“Why does she like Oliver's so much?”
“Have you ever had one of their double chocolate croissants?”
“No.”
“Try one and then call me back,” Cal said.
“Just don’t take her during the lunch rush. The line wraps around the block almost every day.”
That was all I needed to hear.
The second we hung up, I called my assistant.
By the time I finished replying to two emails, she had the entire itinerary arranged.
There were definitely perks that came with being Houston's starting quarterback, and today, I was using all of them.
When I set my phone down, I looked back at the legal pad sitting on my desk.
Oliver's.
Maison Noir.
Jenna's.
Memorial Park.
The bookstore.
Most people would have looked at that list and seen a collection of local businesses.
I saw the hidden corners of the city where Mars could finally drop her guard when the corporate world got too loud.
And I was going to make sure she got to keep them.