by Molly McLain
“Same. I’m Tony’s DD, so...” She set out the paper plates and napkins and gave Carissa and Maddie a thumbs-up when they called for her to approve their balloons and streamers.
“You two have gotten close.”
“We have.” She smiled to herself. The last four weeks had been the best, most unexpected weeks of her life.
“And you know he’s going to kill you for this party, right?”
“Don’t care if he does.” Their time together was limited and she was determined to make the most of it. After her phone call with Beatrice, she really had no reason to stick around River Bend anymore. No rush in telling Tony that, though. At least not tonight.
***
“SURPRISE!”
Tony’s jog into McCauley’s came to a screaming halt—literally—when he pushed open the door and saw all of his friends lined up before a backdrop of balloons, streamers, and even a table of presents and food.
He stood there, no doubt with a red face, as the crowd sung an off-key rendition of Happy Birthday, quickly followed by Luke and Josh shoving a couple shots in his face. Even Brody had come. Clearly to flirt with Nicole, but that was easily fixed.
“Good to see you, man.” He gripped his former war buddy by the back of the neck and squeezed. “But a lot’s changed since you were last in town. We can go outside and I can bring you up to speed, if you want.”
Nicole rolled her eyes and swatted his hand away. “Don’t be a bully.”
“Yeah, asshole.” Brody stumbled away. “I’ll take my fucking gift back.”
Tony flipped him off, wrapped his arms around Nicole, and groaned when he got a whiff of her sweet perfume. “Did you do all this?”
“Surprise,” she whispered in his ear. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Mind? He was elated. And he showed her just that by bending her over his arm and kissing the hell out of her. His friends whooped and whistled, but he didn’t care. It was his birthday, after all.
“Mmm.” She pressed her fingers to her lips when he set her back on her feet. “Very nice.”
Very nice indeed. And that little dress she had on... Good fucking God. He skimmed his fingers beneath the hem, just grazing her soft thigh. “Is this my present?”
“You like little black dresses?”
“I like this little black dress. I’d like it even more if you weren’t wearing anything underneath.”
“Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
“Or I could check right now.” He walked his fingers up her leg a couple inches, lifting the fabric.
She grasped his wrist, laughing. “Stop it!”
“And now I know. Damn, girl.”
“You’re bad.”
“It’s my birthday. I’m entitled.”
“You should go thank your friends for coming out,” she said, shoving him away. “Tell them to come and eat too. I’ll cut the cake.”
“There’s cake?”
“Well, yeah.”
He chuckled and stole another kiss. “This night keeps getting better and better.”
***
Two hours and too many laughs later, Nicole glanced up from her conversation with the girls to find Tony watching her from behind a beer bottle. If she was wearing panties, they would’ve gone up in flames, even from across the room.
“Holy shit, you two. Get a room already.” Maddie fanned herself.
“Or maybe go knock one off in the storage room,” Ally suggested. “There’s a lock on the inside.”
“You know that how?” Nicole asked, because really? Hmm. Sounded fun.
“We all know that,” Carissa added with a sly grin.
“That’s...wow.” And inspiring. “I’ll be right back.” Off the stool she slid, careful not to flash anyone. All three of the women cheered her on.
She contemplated just going over to him, hooking her finger in his belt loop and tugging him to the back of the bar. But that was probably too easy.
So she went to the cake table instead, cut a piece, and gave him a saucy grin over her shoulder. When she dipped her finger into the frosting and licked it off her finger like she wished it was him, he arched an eyebrow.
Casting a come-hither glance over her shoulder, she began a slow trek toward the back of the bar, plate in hand. Within seconds, he was behind her in the darkened hall. Close to the storage room, but not quite close enough. His big body was hot and hard against her back, his hands anxious beneath the front of her skirt. She fell back against his chest, almost dropping the cake, as he cupped her sex and squeezed.
“Where you going with that cake, gorgeous?” He rocked his pelvis against her ass, which in turn rocked her pelvis...right into his fingers.
“Oh, God.” If he moved again, it was possible she’d come right there in the hall, for anyone coming from the bathroom or entering through the back door to see. “I hear the storage room has a lock.”
A hungry rumble vibrated against her ear. “You’re just full of surprises tonight, aren’t you?”
“Get me behind that door and I’ll show you how right you are.”
But the back door of the bar pulled open and a man she didn’t recognize sauntered in. He glanced down between her legs and grinned.
Her pulse beat frantic in her ears.
Sure, Tony’s hand covered her better than a pair of panties—that she wasn’t wearing—but the position left no room for uncertainties: she’d just been busted getting fingered in the back of a bar.
Even worse than that? The guy wasn’t alone.
Derek was right behind him.
***
“You fat whore.”
It took Tony a half a second longer than it should have to recognize the burly dude glowering behind Reed Fletcher. Thankfully, Reed was more on the ball and quickly positioned himself in front of Nicole’s ex-husband.
The pompous linebacker, in all honesty, wasn’t that physically impressive in person. And he’d called Nicole a whore, so it really didn’t matter if he was five hundred pounds or a buck-ten—he needed his ass kicked.
“What’d you say to her?” Tony snapped, pushing Nicole behind him and closing in on the two men near the rear door.
Hodges gave a bark of laughter. “Clearly you’re the farmer. See, angel, I was right—you did snag yourself a little down home action out here in the sticks.”
“Oh, my God,” Nicole muttered. “Derek, shut the hell up. What are you even doing here?”
“A man can’t pop in to surprise his wife?” he sneered and Tony pounced, grabbing Hodges by the collar and bringing them nose to nose. Reed didn’t even try to intervene this time. He just moved to block Nicole from harm’s way. Wise choice. Because this wasn’t just about his verbal attack—this was about everything the lousy prick had put her through. And the fact that Tony couldn’t keep her in his life because of it.
He tightened his grip on the guy and growled, “She not your wife.”
Hodges chuckled and dipped his nose toward Tony’s hand. “Smells like my wife.”
Crack!
Hodges’ head snapped back, smacking the door and Tony’s fist throbbed, blood dripping off his knuckles that didn’t belong to him. He didn’t fucking care. She was worth it.
“Tony!” Nicole screamed behind him. “Dammit, don’t do this!”
He heard her, but he didn’t back down. Not this time.
Hodges shook off the punch and balled both of his fists. Bring it on. With the adrenaline pumping in Tony’s veins, everything became a fog. There was nothing he’d rather do more than make this bastard pay for every shitty thing he’d ever done to Nicole.
Out of nowhere, Josh was in front of him. So was Luke. And they had their hands wrapped around his arms, pulling him back toward the main part of the bar.
Nicole didn’t follow.
“Where’s Nicole?” he barked, wiping his hand on his jeans and then under his nose. “Keep her away from him, dammit!”
Luke shook his head and pushed him toward a stool
. “She’s a big girl.”
Yeah, but... “She’s...” Mine to protect.
“She’s gone, man. She just left out the back door.”
Chapter Twenty-four
“Your boyfriend throws a mean right hook.” Derek wiped the blood from beneath his nose and sniffed. “He learn that on the farm?”
“Go to hell.” Nicole pushed him back against his truck. “Go to hell and... Leave. Me. Alone.”
He lifted his hands. “No need to get violent, angel, damn.”
“Why not?” she whispered. “It used to be okay for you.”
“I never hit you.”
A slow, slightly manic smile spread across her face. “No, but you were really good at destroying other things. Remember the car? The one you bought me when you got your first contract? The one you took a fucking tire iron to because I told you I wanted to go to college?”
“There was no need for you to go to school. I had a multi-million dollar deal. We were set.”
“You were set, Derek! You had everything you ever wanted! But me?” She shook her head and backed away. “I was an empty shell. You took everything from me.”
“Jesus Christ, you and your fucking drama.” He waved her off. “I don’t even know why I bother with you anymore. It’s not like you were even that good in bed. You wouldn’t even blow me¸ for fuck’s sake.”
Ha. “You ever think about why that was?” Goading wouldn’t solve anything, but she was tired, dammit. So tired. “Things changed between us, Derek. Even before we got married. We should’ve never taken those vows.”
“I disagree,” he said calmly, looking her straight in the eye now. Like maybe...just maybe, she finally had his attention.
“I don’t.” She licked her lips. “I wanted things for myself, too. Before we even got together, you knew about all the plans Rachel and I made together.”
“Plans you made when you were a kid.”
“I fell in love with you when I was a kid.”
He blinked at her and, in the distance, one of the bar’s doors opened and closed, filling the night with just a few beats of music before silence fell again.
“I was sixteen. I loved you, and I wanted so badly for all your dreams to come true. And then they did. And I was so proud of you.” A single tear slid down her face. “But you got greedy, Derek. You didn’t want me to have anything but you. And you picked me apart until I thought I didn’t deserve more.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t need anything else—”
“I did! Can’t you see that? I needed something of my own. I needed those things silly plans Rachel and I made, because they were me, Derek. Me.”
He opened his mouth, but closed it. Frowned and gestured toward the bar instead. “Are you telling me you want him?”
Yes, she wanted Tony, but that wasn’t the point. “I’m telling you that you need to stop. You need to stop thinking you can sweet talk me or bully me into coming back so you can tear me apart all over again. Because I won’t let you do that again. Not this time.”
“But I can talk to my agent about a trade to Chicago. I can—”
“It’s not about Chicago! Chicago has never been anything more than a metaphor for taking back my life! For reclaiming everything I gave up for you.”
“For me?”
“I gave up six years of my life for you and I’ve spent the last six trying to get it back.”
His eyes widened for a moment before his face softened and he just looked sad.
“I’m done, Derek, and so are you.” She lifted her chin, her teeth chattering, and not from the cold. “I need this closure. I need you to promise me that this ends tonight. No more phone calls. No more showing up. No more...anything.”
He lifted a hand, then dropped it. “Okay.”
“Okay?” She half sobbed, half laughed, because it couldn’t possibly be that easy. “Just like that?”
“You’re not the same person you used to be.”
No kidding.
“I hope you find what it is you’re looking for.”
***
Tony slowed his truck in front of her house, the glow from her bedroom window and the empty parking space next to her car sending relief through his veins. She was safe and that was all he could ask for tonight. Tomorrow, when the numbness faded and reality became clear once again, he’d probably feel differently.
He’d seen them together outside of McCauley’s. Hadn’t dared get close enough to hear their exchanged words, because it wasn’t his business and some gullible part of himself thought maybe she’d end up telling him anyway.
But here it was, after midnight, and she hadn’t called. Of course, neither had he, because what the hell was there to say? Nicole had chosen to chase after her ex-husband instead of him. Enough said.
Probably he shouldn’t have punched the asshole. Nicole liked to fight her own battles and the resentment in her voice when she’d tried to call him off...well, it stung. She’d never let him completely in, would she?
He glanced down at his phone, remembering the call he’d taken on his way to dropping Bri at his mom's. The daycare had an unexpected opening for Brianna and, as of Monday morning, it was hers if he wanted it.
He didn’t want it. Accepting the spot felt like he was pushing Nicole toward Chicago, when what he really wanted was for her to stay in River Bend. She could find work at the local hospital or even one of the clinics. Or she could not work, either, just as long as she chose to stay in their lives and not walk away from what had grown between them the past few weeks.
Tonight promised that wasn’t going to happen.
Because silence said more than words sometimes.
And, right now, he heard Nicole loud and clear.
***
She dialed and disconnected the phone at least a hundred times in two hours.
She wanted to talk to him, but she didn’t want to say the words she needed to say.
“I have to go,” she whispered to the picture of her grandparents on the bedside table instead. “I have no reason to stay, Gran. This house is going to be turned into something beautiful again. Something bigger and better than I ever hoped to accomplish for you.”
All because Tony had seen the radiance through the rubble, and Beatrice had agreed. The ten thousand dollar earnest check sitting on her dresser was proof.
Finalizing the sale would take some time, but the promissory money was more than enough to start over in Chicago.
She wasn’t ready to leave, and until Derek showed up tonight, she hadn’t planned on rushing away. She would’ve stayed until Thanksgiving, or at least until Brianna said Tony’s name for the first time. But she hadn’t been prepared for all the emotion that arose from seeing Derek again. What was more, Tony had stood up for her and that only made her love him a little more. The more she loved him, though, the more difficult it would be to go.
She’d severed the invisible ties that connected her to her past. Sadly, it took her coming to River Bend and opening her heart up to another man to realize that she’d been her own biggest obstacle all along. Derek had contributed, but the real hurdle lay within her.
So did the strength to overcome it.
The same was true for Tony, but she wasn’t sure he’d figured that out yet.
So she had to go. She had to give him the chance to work things out for himself and for Bri. And leaving...well, doing this one last thing for herself would finally wipe the slate clean.
She closed her eyes and pulled the blanket a little tighter under her chin when she heard the car door slam outside.
The pounding on the front door came next and her heart seized in her chest.
“Nicole!” Bang, bang, bang! “Baby, open up! I need you. I goddamn need you!”
***
He was a fucking mess. Had been from the second Aunt Anne’s name popped up on his phone and a memory he’d never forget flashed vivid in his mind. Five years ago. Another night he’d been drinking too much to react with any a
mount of rationale. The lost opportunity to say goodbye to his father.
He wasn’t drunk tonight, but there was no way he could risk driving to Hastings at one o’clock in the morning with what he had in his system. That’s was his excuse, anyway, for standing on Nicole’s porch, knocking down her door.
Wasn’t because he was afraid to lose her too. Because that was inevitable.
“Tony, what are you...” She frowned when she saw him and he knew what he must look like to her.
He didn’t fucking care. She was the only one he’d let see him like this.
“My mom had a heart attack. I need you to come with me to Hastings. To drive. I...she’s got Bri, Nicole. She...” She might not make it. “I wasn’t there for my dad.”
***
Tony hadn’t said more than ten words to her on the drive to Hastings, but she’d gathered enough from the conversations he’d had with his aunt en route to know that Grace was stable and resting soundly in ICU. Her heart attack had been a small one and, in the morning, she’d undergo an angioplasty that would hopefully prevent another. Tony hadn’t told her all of that, of course, but her nursing experience made it easy to fill in the blanks.
Figuring out Tony, however, was another beast altogether.
Just after three in morning, she pulled into the hospital parking lot and shut down his truck, expecting he’d rush to his mother’s side. But he didn’t move. He just sat there, staring out into the darkness.
“Let’s go inside,” she said gently. “I’ll get you settled with your mom and then I’ll go to your aunt’s for Bri.”
He shook his head. Cleared his throat quietly. “Nah. You got me here. That’s already more than I should’ve asked you for.”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll—”
“You’ve done enough, Nicole.” He turned then and her breath lodged in her throat. She’d never seen his eyes so hard before. So resolute. So...closed off.
Swallowing down the lump in her chest, she tried again. “What are you talking about?”
“I got a phone call earlier. Two of them actually.” He paused and thumped his cell phone against his knee. “The first one was from the daycare, letting me know that they can take Bri as soon as next week.”