by Tawna Fenske
Kayla’s brow furrowed. “Not someone on our list?”
“Nah, she’s on the East Coast now. Not ideal for a road trip.”
Not that he’d mind driving that far with Kayla in the car beside him. Hell, he’d circle the country a dozen times with her along for the ride.
Kayla prompted him to keep going. “Tell me about her wedding.”
He cleared his throat and smiled a little at the memory. “The bride’s father started giving this speech about how great it was that she finally found Greg, because her last boyfriend was such a loser.”
Kayla’s eyes widened. “He meant you?”
“Nah, another guy she dated,” he said. “Who was also at the wedding.”
“Yikes.”
Tony laughed, still remembering the look of horror on the poor chump’s face. “He was there with his new wife and baby.”
“God, you have the wildest stories.” She shook her head, tucking her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “Kind of a dick move on the dad’s part.”
“Blame the celebratory champagne.”
She laughed and bumped his arm again. “That could be the tagline for most wedding disasters,” she said. “I went to one in college where the groom passed out with his face in the bride’s cleavage right at the altar.”
“There’s one for the wedding photo album.”
“She did have a nice rack,” Kayla admitted. “You could hardly blame the guy for being hypnotized.”
Tony resisted the urge to glance over, to let his gaze skim the front of Kayla’s shirt. She’d worn a pretty blue V-neck shirt with white jeans that hugged her curves. Sandals on her feet, with pink-tipped toes he’d watched curl with pleasure just last night.
He cleared his throat, struggling to keep his brain on their conversation. “I went to another ex’s wedding in college,” he said. “Someone I’d dated in high school, so we weren’t that close.”
“Any disasters there?” she asked.
“No disasters, but she did corner me at the reception afterward.”
Kayla wrinkled her nose. “Like to seduce you or something?”
“Definitely not.” Tony’s chest tightened at the memory, and he wondered why he’d brought this up at all. “She said, ‘You’re such a great guy, Tony. I hope it happens for you soon.’”
“Oh. That’s really sweet.”
“Yeah, it was.” He cleared his throat, surprised by the lump in it. “The thing is, I remember thinking, ‘No way in hell.’ Like, that was my visceral reaction. But of course I’m not going to say that to someone who’d just pledged to love, honor, and cherish forever and ever.”
“Kind of you,” she deadpanned, tucking her hair behind her ear. “So what did you say?”
“I thanked her,” he said, pushing the words past the tightness in his throat. “And I said, ‘Maybe in a couple years when I get some stuff figured out.’ And here I am, a decade later, no closer to figuring out that stuff.”
“Stuff?” She tilted her head again. “What kind of stuff were you thinking at the time?”
He opened his mouth to answer, not sure what words might come out. That’s when the door pushed open and Jessi walked in with Cal’s arm around her.
“Tony!” She launched herself at him, laughing. “It’s been so long.”
“Great to see you, man.” Cal clapped him on the back as Jessi backed away to greet Kayla. “How the hell you been?”
“Great.” Tony glanced at Kayla to see an odd look pass over her face. “Never better.”
It startled him to realize that was true. The reason for it fell into step beside him, hair smelling like sunshine and flowers.
Then his phone buzzed again in his pocket, reminding him of the demons breathing down his neck.
Chapter Thirteen
Kayla glanced from Tony to Cal and back again, doing her best to mask her bewilderment. Was no one else seeing this? The guys could be twins. Same dark hair, same brown eyes, same muscular build. They even laughed the same.
“Anyone want to split a bottle of wine?”
That was Cal’s voice, not Tony’s, though Kayla might not have known it if she’d been blindfolded. The similarities between the two men didn’t end there.
“I’d be up for wine.” Kayla glanced from Tony to Cal and back again. Seriously, it was uncanny.
She turned her attention to Jessi, who was snuggled up to her husband like they were newlyweds. “How long have the two of you been together?” Kayla asked.
Jessi stroked Cal’s arm. “Let’s see… We started dating right after Cal finished his forestry degree,” Jessi said. “Got married two years ago.”
Kayla did her best to mask her surprise as her attention swung back to Cal. “You studied forestry also?”
Cal laughed, revealing a left-cheek dimple identical to Tony’s. “Yeah, Tony and I actually met in a soil science class. And we worked the same fire crew that summer.”
“That’s a neat coincidence.” Clearly, Jessi had a type. Kayla gave the other woman a conspiratorial smile. “Guess you’re a fan of the woodsy outdoorsman, huh?”
Jessi gave an adorable shrug and took a sip of her water. “I never really thought about it.”
Cal looked up from the menu and smiled at his wife. “Want to split the Cajun tots?”
Jessi laughed. “This is where I say ‘sure, honey,’ even though you know I’ll only have two or three and you’ll inhale the rest.”
Kayla glanced at Tony, who had to be catching this. Cajun tots were his personal catnip or kryptonite or whatever the hell guys called their obsessions.
But Tony was glancing at his phone, wearing the same grim look he’d worn each time the damn thing had buzzed all day. Which was a lot, come to think of it.
She touched his hand. “Everything okay?” she murmured.
“Huh?” He met her eyes, and the darkness in his expression had Kayla stifling a shudder.
“Are you okay?”
He cleared his throat, shoving the phone back in his pocket. “Tots sound good. Yeah, let’s split an order.”
Which was not the question, but she let it slide. “How about wine?”
“None for me, thanks. Just water.”
“I’ll do the same.” Jessi sipped her water and exchanged a look with Cal that Kayla couldn’t quite read.
A server hustled over and took their beverage order. A glass of chardonnay for Kayla, and red wine for Cal. Just water for Tony and Jessi, plus two baskets of tots to split for the table.
As soon as the menus were gathered and the waitress hustled away, Jessi picked up her water glass. “I know we’re still waiting for drinks, but let’s do a toast anyway.” She hoisted her water into the air. “To old friends and new beginnings.”
Cal grinned and tapped his wife’s glass with his own. “Damn good to see my old buddy happy.” He nodded at Kayla as she clinked her water glass with his. “Glad it finally happened for you two.”
Wait, what? Tony said Jessi might believe they were dating, but he hadn’t mentioned they thought it was serious. She glanced at him, looking for clarity, but couldn’t catch his eye. He had his phone out again, frowning down at the screen with a focus that made it clear he’d missed the whole damn exchange.
He must have felt eyes on him, because he looked up and grimaced. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be that guy. Just—sort of a family emergency, you know?”
“Ah.” Cal nodded and sipped his water. “Say no more.”
Kayla resisted the urge to kick the guy. She wanted to hear more. What family emergency?
But Jessi was already touching her water glass to Kayla’s, so the moment was lost. Tony set the phone on the edge of the table and joined the toast. As Kayla grazed his knee with hers, she felt him relax just a little.
“It’s sure great to see you guys agai
n,” he said. “It’s been too long.”
Jessi smiled and flipped her hair. “I think it’s so smart of you to reach out,” she said. “To get some closure before the two of you tie the knot.”
Tie the knot? Okay, so they were really serious. Kayla glanced at Tony, whose phone buzzed on the table. This time, he powered it off, shaking his head as he rejoined the conversation. “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”
“No problem, man.” Cal accepted a wineglass from the waitress and took a sip while the waitress handed Kayla her drink. “You need to make a call or something?”
“Nah, it’s handled.” He shoved the phone in his pocket again, looking more pained than Kayla had seen him in a long time. Catching his eye, she offered a supportive smile and reached for his hand. At least she tried for his hand. He moved it at the last second, and she ended up grazing his junk.
“Oof,” he grunted, giving her a raised-eyebrow smile as he leaned close. “I don’t know whether to be turned on or offended.”
Heat rushed her cheeks as she glanced at Jessi and Cal, who were deep in conversation about the merits of pepperoni versus sausage pizza.
“Kinda nuts, right?” she whispered. “The similarities, I mean.”
Tony quirked an eyebrow. “You mean you and Jessi?”
“What?” Kayla swung her gaze back to the other woman. Sure, Jessi had long, dark hair and blue eyes. Similar figure, though Jessi had bigger boobs.
Kayla ignored the tiny pinch of jealousy at the center of her chest as she turned back to Tony. “That’s not actually what I meant,” she said. “I’m just noticing that—”
“How did you two meet, anyway?” Jessi’s voice pushed through the space between them. Kayla drew back from Tony, still feeling his body heat from two feet away.
“Our best friends got married,” Tony supplied. “We were there the whole time they dated and figured out how to pull their heads out of their asses and fall in love.”
“Always the poet,” Jessi said, laughing. “Did you sing at their wedding, too?”
“Yep.” Tony grinned at Kayla, which made her warm from the inside. “With a couple other smokejumpers. We did the Everly Brothers’ ‘All I Have to Do is Dream’ in three-part harmony.”
“Aw, man, that’s awesome,” Cal said. “Remember how we used to do that Billy Joel a cappella number back in school?”
“‘The Longest Time,’ that’s right.” Tony laughed. “That was amazing.”
Kayla stared at Cal. “You’re a musician, too?”
“Not as good as Tony, but yeah.” Cal grabbed a couple tater tots from the basket the waitress set in front of them, popping two in his mouth at once the way Tony always did. “He’s got the better voice.”
“Yeah, but Cal plays a badass bass,” Tony said. “Way better than me.”
Seriously. What the hell? Were these two separated at birth or something?
Kayla turned back to Jessi, who was giving her order to the waitress. Tony had a point about them looking similar. And the fact that Jessi was ordering a burger with fries—well, it was probably a coincidence.
“I’ll have the Reuben,” Kayla said when the waitress got to her. “Pastrami instead of corned beef.”
“Great choice,” the waitress said before swinging her attention to Tony. “And you?”
“Fried chicken with extra cornbread,” Tony said. “Can I sub a Caesar salad for the slaw?”
“I’ll have the same.” Cal gave his menu to the waitress and picked up his wineglass as he turned to Tony. “You catch that Aaron Hernandez murder documentary on Netflix? That was pretty wild.”
Kayla added another item to her tally of things the men had in common as Tony and Cal chatted about sports and true crime. She glanced at Jessi, half expecting to see her gazing fondly at the twinning duo.
But Jessi was smiling at her. “I’m guessing this was your idea, right?”
“What’s that?”
“Getting together like this,” she said. “Such smart thinking.”
“Oh.” Kayla sipped her wine, not sure she should take credit. “Thanks.”
“Every woman should do it,” she said. “Before you walk down the aisle with a guy, you should connect with some of his exes and find out about any skeletons in the closet.”
She started to correct Jessi. That wasn’t what they were doing here.
Was it?
Kayla cleared her throat, glancing at Tony. “We both have different ideas about why things maybe haven’t worked in the past. Seemed like a good idea to get some clarity.” She was keeping it vague, not sure if she meant him or her.
“Ah, I see.” Jessi smiled. “Let me guess—you’re worried because you’re the first fully committed relationship he’s had, and you’re wondering if he’ll lapse back to the commitment-phobe zone.”
She blinked, too surprised to celebrate the point in favor of her commitment-phobe theory. “I—uh—yeah, I suppose that’s it.” Or was it? “To be honest, I’m interested in digging more deeply. Figuring out the why behind the commitment stuff, you know?”
“Can’t help you there.” Jessi shrugged. “I’m sure you already know there’s some family drama. I remember this one time not too long after college. Tony and I were just friends by then, and I’d been with Cal a few months. Anyway, all the guys got together with Tony’s friend, Leo.”
“Leo,” she repeated, trying to recall the connection. A friend from high school?
“Leo was still a smokejumper then,” Jessi continued. “Anyway, they kept talking about Tony and his brother leaving Washington. I didn’t hear all of it, since I was sort of eavesdropping.” She stole a glance at her husband. “Something about Tony and Joel wanting a fresh start. That they’d stuck around waiting as long as they could.”
Kayla sipped her drink and tried to look casual, but her hands were shaking. “Did they say what they were waiting for?”
“Nope. Even Cal doesn’t know. Believe me, I asked.” She shrugged again. “I did hear Leo say he’d keep an eye on Tony’s mother.”
“Was she sick or something?” She was trying hard to follow, but none of this made any sense.
“Dunno.” Jessi traced a fingertip through the condensation on her water glass. “Like I said, even Cal was in the dark. But Tony seemed pretty upset. Said he was done expecting her to change, so it was time for him and Joel to do it.”
Tony must have heard his name, because he turned and put a hand on Kayla’s. “You two talking about me over here?”
Kayla’s mouth felt dry as she forced herself to smile. “Just learning a little more about your background,” she said. “How long did the two of you date, anyway?”
Tony’s brow furrowed. “Not very long, right?” He looked at Jessi. “By the way, I’m sorry if I was a jerk. I’m starting to realize just how bad of a boyfriend I’ve been to a lot of people.”
Kayla held her breath, conscious of her heart pounding in her ears for some odd reason.
And conscious of Cal across the table, swirling his wine in the glass exactly the way Tony always did when he drank red wine.
Which thing was weirder? The fact that Tony had this whole history she wasn’t aware of, or that Jessi clearly had a penchant for dating nearly identical men?
“You weren’t a bad boyfriend at all.” Jessi laughed. “We weren’t together that long, anyway, so I mostly just think of you as an old friend.”
“Same.” Tony took a deep breath and regarded his friends across the table. “Okay then…you guys seem like you have a pretty great relationship. Any advice for someone without a great track record in that department?”
“Oh, gosh.” Jessi’s brow furrowed. “I guess I’d tell you both never to go to bed mad.”
“And always say stuff like ‘I see things differently,’ instead of ‘you’re wrong,’” Cal piped up. “We learned
that in couples’ therapy.”
“Right, yeah, that’s good.” Tony threaded his fingers through Kayla’s under the table. “Any specifics for me? Things I should have done differently or that pissed you off or made you think I’d be a shitty husband?”
The earnestness in his voice nearly broke Kayla’s heart. What happened in his life to make him think he wasn’t a worthy partner?
Jessi shook her head. “There’s really nothing you did wrong. To be honest, you just weren’t my type.”
Kayla choked on her own spit. Yanking her hand from Tony’s, she gulped water to mask it as Jessi continued without missing a beat.
“I mean, everyone has a type,” she was saying. “And Cal’s obviously mine.”
The two exchanged a lovey expression as Kayla set down her glass and did her best to nod sagely. Was this chick for real?
“Yeah, yeah, I get that,” Tony said, glancing once at Kayla. “No chemistry and all that.”
“I thought our chemistry was fine.” Jessi shrugged. “I don’t know how else to explain it except that I like a different sort of guy.”
Cal grinned and slung an arm around his wife. The gesture popped the top button on his shirt, revealing the top of a Seattle Seahawks logo on his T-shirt underneath. A perfect replica of Tony’s favorite game-day shirt. At least it wasn’t one from some diner, which would have convinced her beyond any shadow of a doubt that she’d been caught in the Twilight Zone.
Kayla just kept nodding, determined to hear what Jessi had to say. To focus on the conversation instead of the warmth of Tony’s arm as he slung it around her shoulder, same as Cal had done with Jessi.
“You really are a great guy,” the other woman continued, smiling at Tony. “I can’t imagine not having you in my life as a friend.”
Cal laughed and stroked his wife’s hair with the tips of his fingers. “Same. Hell, I’d date you if I swung that way.”
Tony laughed and kept his arm around Kayla. “Come on, give me something to work with here. Did I snore? Walk too fast? Take you to the wrong restaurant on a date? There’s gotta be something.”
Jessi shook her head and reached for a tater tot. “There’s nothing, honestly. Sometimes things just…click.”