by Abby Niles
Delaney laughed. “There ya go! I like that train of thought.” She pursed her lips. “What happens when we get home?”
Life would go on. Like usual.
“I went over a year without seeing Brody, and before then it was only because Ryan or I had invited him over. We don’t cross paths. He’ll be safe in Atlanta.”
“I don’t think so, honey. Whatever that man is feeling was powerful enough to freak him the hell out. I’d say you’ve not seen the last of him.”
“It doesn’t matter. Between Ryan, the dude from the other night, and now Brody, I just want to concentrate on me. I have a lot I need to work on.”
“I do, too, girl. Speaking of, are you staying with me once we get back?”
Scarlett blinked. She hadn’t even thought about where she was going to live when she got back to Atlanta. After she found out Ryan had been cheating on her, she’d gone straight to her best friend’s, crying—more over the baby, which she hadn’t shared with Delaney, than the actual end of her marriage—and crashed in the guest bedroom. Four days later, they were using the tickets meant for a surprise romantic getaway with her husband for a seriously needed girl’s weekend.
“Are you okay with that?” Scarlett asked.
“Hell yeah, I’m okay with that.”
“It’ll only be temporary while I find a place of my own.”
She waved her hand. “No rush. It’ll be fun.”
It would be.
What she needed right now was time with her girl, not to complicate her life with men.
With Brody out of the picture, she could now fully concentrate on herself. After she’d found out she was infertile, she’d slipped into a dark funk she couldn’t claw her way out of no matter how hard she’d fought against it. That darkness had only grown blacker as Ryan had distanced himself from her. She’d done her best, trying to be what he needed, while ignoring her own needs.
It hadn’t worked. He’d still found someone else.
And now she had to find herself.
Chapter Six
Stepping out of the master bathroom, freshly clean and in a pair of fight shorts and logo T-shirt, Brody inwardly groaned at the mouth-watering aroma of brownies teasing his nostrils with their evil, sugary scent.
Tessa was up. Baking. Again.
Man, he was ready for her to go home.
She’d been here for three days. Not only did she test his willpower daily with his ultimate weakness—sweets—she kept reorganizing his shit. His mail had been moved off the end of the marbled granite kitchen counter and into a drawer. She’d rearranged his cabinets, changed where he kept Princess’s food bowls and litter box, and shoved the fitness magazines he kept on the coffee table into a wicker basket he didn’t even know he’d had and sat them by his couch.
He liked his stuff where he put it.
So far he’d been able to bite his tongue, knowing she was wound tight and needed to keep herself occupied, but if she moved one more damn thing…
Sighing, he rubbed his face. He didn’t regret making good on his promise to her on the island. He’d do anything for his family, and vice versa. Hell, their parents and siblings hadn’t even batted an eyelash at learning the wedding had been called off. They simply waved them on and took up the reins to deal with the chaos Tessa was leaving behind.
That’s what they did. They had each other’s back. No questions asked.
He just hadn’t thought everything through—like the fact she’d come home with him.
She doesn’t want to be alone right now, he reminded himself as he stepped out into the hall. That reminder had been the only thing that had kept him from snapping. He wasn’t used to sharing his space. Three days of it was about as much as he could handle.
The glorious scent only intensified as he headed for the kitchen.
He really needed her to stop baking. He had an upcoming fight, and he didn’t need to be worrying about cutting weight because of his sister’s broken heart. All the same, he grabbed one of the chocolate chip cookies sitting on a plate on the counter and shoved it into his mouth as he leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. Princess, his white Persian cat, trotted in from the living room and pressed her side into his leg. He lifted her up and scratched her underneath the chin. Purrs vibrated through her small body.
Other than a quick glance and a tight smile, Tessa didn’t acknowledge him.
She hadn’t looked good since he’d opened his door to find her crying. Eyes constantly swollen and bloodshot. Shoulders drooped in sadness. This morning was no different. She had her blond hair pulled up in a haphazard ponytail. There were chocolate stains on her pale yellow T-shirt. This was so not his usually pristine sister.
His chest hurt for her. He couldn’t imagine having to make a decision like she had, loving someone with all your heart, but both wanting different futures. It seemed like an impossible situation to try to get through.
“Nick call?” he asked around a mouthful of sweet chocolate goodness as he lowered Princess to the floor. She ran over to her bowl, which now sat beside the metal domed trash can.
Moved again.
“Four times already this morning,” she said, without looking up. She opened the oven door and withdrew the brownies. Immediately, his mouth begged for a taste.
Sweet Jesus, he was going to gain twenty pounds before she left. He walked over to the trash can and picked up Princess’s bowls. After giving her fresh water in one, he filled the other with her favorite wet cat food then put them back down where he’d originally had them—outside the kitchen, underneath the bar.
As he straightened, Tessa tossed her cooking mitts on the counter and turned to face him. Exhaustion creased her face. She loved Nick, deeply. Unfortunately, deal breakers were deal breakers.
Not having kids would’ve been his, too.
“I took the chicken-shit way out, Brody.”
Maybe outsiders would see it that way. But he didn’t. He saw it as trying to survive a bad situation. “Let me ask you one question. If, instead of just up and leaving, you’d told him you were thinking about calling off the wedding because of the kid thing, how would this have ended?”
A defeated sigh blew out of her. “He would’ve talked me into staying, and I would’ve married him.”
“Then you did what you had to do. That’s all I care about.”
She rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers. “It hurts so damn bad.”
“You love him, sis. No one’s questioning that.”
She sent him a sad smile. “I know.” She paused for a moment. “Everyone will be home today. I’m going to let you go back to your bachelor ways and stay with Savannah until I can find a place to live.”
“Well, that household will keep you busy.”
Savannah was the oldest. She was happily married, with three beautiful girls under the age of five. He had a special relationship with her oldest daughter, Ellie, who had named his cat. Tessa would be much happier over there than she would be here. The kids alone would make her really smile.
But his family wouldn’t be the only people returning to town today.
Scarlett would be, too.
Tessa hadn’t been the only one who’d taken the chicken-shit way out. As soon as he’d had an escape, he’d snatched it, leaving Scarlett with only a quick note. But he couldn’t spend another three days on that island with her. The kiss had been a mistake. Not only did he feel like he’d taken advantage of a woman in pain, he’d now kissed his best friend’s wife and might have mucked up any possibility of them getting back together.
He’d seen with his own two eyes that she wasn’t rational right now. She was aiming to hurt Ryan the same way he’d hurt her…and Brody refused to be the way she did it. He might be furious with Ryan over the possibility he’d used Brody as a smokescreen to cheat on his wife, but at the same time, he wanted to stay out of the drama.
Which was why he was going to talk to Ryan today. Clear the air.
“You go
ing to be okay?” he asked.
A slight shrug lifted her shoulder. “Not right now, but I will be. With the pressure of the wedding off, I need to talk to Nick and end things properly. He’ll go back to New York. I’ll move back here…start over. It’s going to be hard. But I have you guys.”
So, Tessa had firmly made her decision. She and Nick were over.
Pulling her to his side, he kissed the top of her head and squeezed her. “You’ll always have us.” He released her. “I have shit-ton of things to do, so I’ll be out most the day.”
Dealing with Ryan. Confronting his coach. If things went badly there, the day was going to be a fucking long one.
“I’ll probably be gone when you get back. Savannah’s coming straight from the airport to pick me up.”
“I’m only a phone call away,” he said.
“I know, big brother.”
A little reluctantly, he left. Twenty minutes later, he parked his Mercedes in front of the taupe, stacked-stoned, two-story house—what used to be Ryan and Scarlett’s home. Hesitation crept in. How was Ryan going to react?
If it were him, estranged or not, the idea of his best friend being with his wife would enrage him. There were some lines a friend shouldn’t cross. Hooking up with your boy’s ex was one of them.
He just needed to get it done, face the consequences, whatever they may be.
After walking up the small cement path that led to the two-step porch, he rang the doorbell. Nervous energy knotted his insides. He wasn’t usually affected by anxiety, but he was having a serious case of it right now.
A second later, Ryan answered, surprise evident on his face.
“Brody.” He opened the door wider, allowing Brody inside. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“Yeah. Sorry to drop in on you like this, but we have some things we need to talk about.”
Ryan ran a palm over his face. He looked just as haggard as Tessa had. “Yeah. I guess we do. Have a seat.” He gestured to the chocolate-colored leather couch.
After Brody sat, an awkward silence fell around them. Something new. They were never awkward around each other.
“So…how was the wedding?” Ryan asked.
Chitchat probably wasn’t appropriate at the moment, but it was better than just coming out and saying, “Hey. I kissed your wife.” Hell, he wasn’t even sure how he was supposed to broach a subject like that.
“It didn’t happen. Tessa bailed.”
“Whoa. Why?”
“After a few drinks, her fiancé let her know he didn’t want to have kids.”
Pressing his lips together, Ryan slowly nodded. “I can see how that’s a problem.”
“I’m just glad it came out before they got married.”
“Yeah, that was nice.” Ryan stared over Brody’s shoulder. “They can have a clean break without things getting complicated.” He ran his palm over his face again then shook his head.
Brody studied his friend of almost twenty-two years. They’d been inseparable since they were on the same little league team. He knew Ryan almost as well as he knew himself—or at least, he thought he had. Now, he wasn’t so sure. But he did know his friend’s mannerisms. The man was being eaten up alive by something.
Was it Scarlett? Did he regret his behavior? Wanted her back? The man definitely was a fool for jeopardizing his relationship with Scarlett, but Ryan had never been a moron. Scarlett was a good woman, a loving wife—maybe the fool was remembering that.
His friend worked his neck back and forth. “I know you heard Monica in the background that night you called, and that’s why you hung up.”
Or was it simply guilt that Brody had found out about the cheating by accident?
Brody shifted on the couch. “Yeah.”
“I left Scarlett.” He gave a rough laugh. “Or maybe she left me. She found out about the affair. Flipped her fucking shit. Stormed out of here, and I haven’t talked to her since.”
Affair. A rock formed in Brody’s stomach. That didn’t sound like a momentary distraction with a new shiny toy. It sounded long term. Maybe Ryan was a moron. “How long?”
“What? Me and Monica? A little over a year.”
Stunned, Brody rubbed his mouth, trying to pinpoint one topic to concentrate on now that his mind was bombarding him with a thousand different thoughts. “Over a year? How often did you use me to go see your side piece?”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed into thin slits. “Monica is not my side piece. Don’t ever call her that again.”
The anger in his friend’s voice took Brody aback. He was defending the woman he cheated with? The relationship must be a hell of a lot deeper than superficial, then.
“To answer the question, though, I never used you. I know how you feel about cheating, and I’d never bring you into something you are vehemently against. When I told Scarlett I was with you, I was. Period. To see Monica, I used work and business trips.”
Brody believed him. A slight weight lifted, knowing that he hadn’t been used to hurt Scarlett without his knowledge.
“Anyway,” Ryan continued, “I was going to finally come clean to Scarlett, but she found out before I could tell her.”
Seemed like he’d had plenty of opportunity to “come clean” over the last year. Goddamn. He couldn’t understand how his friend could lie to his wife for that long. “Why didn’t you tell Scarlett the moment it happened?”
“I don’t know. The first time just happened. Scarlett and I had been having issues for a while. I met Monica at a bar one night. That was the best fucking I’d had in eight years.”
Brody recoiled from Ryan’s words. Eight years. That was exactly how long he’d been with Scarlett.
“I felt so much better afterward,” he continued. “Thought maybe a little side fling was what I needed to let loose of the anger I felt when I was around Scarlett. And it worked. I didn’t find myself so annoyed with her and her mood swings. I was more patient.”
That was news to him. Ryan had been angry at Scarlett? “What was Scarlett moody about?”
Ryan’s gaze latched on to his before he glanced away again. “Everyday shit, bro. She couldn’t handle stress anymore. Cried over anything. Became volatile and confrontational. Nothing I did was good enough. Our life wasn’t good enough. She wanted more than I could give.”
That didn’t sound anything like the Scarlett he knew. She was a rather easygoing woman. She didn’t need extravagance. But he didn’t live with her. “What couldn’t you give her?”
Again his gaze flicked up to his. “That’s her issue. Not mine.”
The response didn’t surprise Brody. If his friend had one flaw, it was his need to keep up the golden-boy appearance, which was obviously why he’d never confided in Brody about the affair. If he had any fault in “Scarlett’s issue” which had caused problems with their marriage, he wouldn’t own up to it. In his mind, everything was in Scarlett’s head.
“When did things become regular with Monica?”
He remained silent for a moment. “I couldn’t get her out of my mind. She’d slipped me her number, and before I even really understood what I was doing, I called her. What was nothing more than a stress-relieving booty call on both our parts slowly turned into more.”
“Why did you wait? Why did you let Scarlett find out?”
“Dude, I just told you.” He poked his temple with his finger. “She’s messed up in the head. I was worried that leaving her would completely destroy her.”
“You think letting her find out on her own was better?”
“Whose fucking side are you on, bro?” Ryan scowled at him. “Yeah, what I did wasn’t right, but you have no idea what it’s like to be married to a frigid, emotionally unstable woman.”
As a red haze curtained his vision, Brody cracked his knuckles. “That’s your wife you’re talking about, Ryan. You took fucking vows. I know Scarlett, too. I know how level-headed she usually is. A woman like that doesn’t become emotionally unstable for no damn reason. W
hat was really going on?”
Ryan’s jaw clenched. “Are you asking if I did something to her?”
“Well, you did. You cheated on her.”
“When did you become the moral police?”
“Since I held your wife while she sobbed because of you.”
Ryan’s mouth snapped shut and he blinked. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Scarlett was in the Bahamas. She is the reason I called you that night.”
“She was in the Bahamas?” He cupped the back of his head with a stunned expression. “That’s so…un-Scarlett-like.”
“She was doing a lot of un-Scarlett-like things.”
Interest piqued on Ryan’s face. “Really? Good for her.”
Brody shook his head. Good for her?
He was having a hard time grasping the man sitting in front of him. For the last year, Ryan had led him to believe everything was hunky-dory in his marriage. That they were always going on trips, enjoying each other. “You didn’t go to the mountains with Scarlett a few weeks ago, did you?”
Ryan sat a little straighter and pressed his lips together. “No.”
“All this happy-in-love shit you’ve been spouting off to me the last few months was never about Scarlett.”
“No. I’m in love with Monica. I finally found someone I’m completely compatible with. Thank God. I was sick of trying to get Scarlett to try new things.”
“I can’t see anyone not wanting to go and do new things, Ryan.”
“In bed, bro. I can’t even get her to say the word cock. No man should have to deal with that. I don’t know how many times I told her to loosen the hell up.”
Brody clenched his hands into tight fists. “You critiqued your wife’s lovemaking skills?”
“Who’s talking about lovemaking? I’m talking about fucking. We might be married, but I still want to fuck. Scarlett doesn’t know how to fuck. She’s too uptight. Too embarrassed. Timid. It was cute at first, but Jesus Christ, after eight years, learn to give some head. Watch a video… Something.”
Unable to listen to another word, Brody shot off the couch. Ryan jerked back. “Dude, what’s up your ass?”