Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
As soon as Tucker enters the kitchen, I already know this is horrible timing for what I’m about to say. His shirt is unbuttoned and his tie loosened around his neck. I can see his eyes are slightly glassy. And I can smell the bourbon on his breath even before he reaches me from around the kitchen island.
“Reese, you’re awake,” he says, his words slightly slurred. “I’m so glad I got to get to see you.”
He immediately closes the distance between us, sliding his arms around my waist and pulling me in for a kiss. I let him kiss me for a moment, my body melting into his. But as his hands wander down my backside, I pull away.
“So how was the bachelor party?” I say, staring at him.
Tucker takes a step back to meet my gaze. I think he might say something, but then he takes a step toward the refrigerator, opening it to pull out a bottle of water.
“Oh you know, same old same old with the guys. They tried everything they could to get me completely drunk, but I managed to dump a few rounds of shots into the potted plant at the corner of the bar.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Of course you did,” I say. He sets down his water and rests his hands on the kitchen island.
“What are you still doing up? I figured you’d be passed out asleep by now.”
I bite my bottom lip. I know this isn’t the best time. He’s obviously still drunk, and will probably get angry at what I’m about to say, but I don’t have much of a choice. If I don’t talk to him now, it’s going to eat me alive.
“There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Okay…”
He walks around the kitchen and settles down on one of the barstools at the kitchen island. I take the seat next to him and swivel my chair until our knees are touching.
“I’ve been receiving some really strange messages.”
“From who?”
“I don’t know. The messages are from Snaptalk, so they disappear after sixty seconds.”
Tucker furrows his eyebrows together. “Why are you using Snaptalk?”
“Bernie set it up for me. We like to send each other funny messages.”
“Well, did you look at their profile?”
“I tried, but I couldn’t find it.”
Tucker takes a long drink of his water and sets it down on the countertop.
“What did the message say?”
I take a deep breath, stealing myself for what I’m about to say. I have no idea how Tucker’s going to react, but I have to get this off my chest. I have to.
“The first message said you were a murderer. And the second that I should ask you about some little side business. And…” I find myself looking away, unable to make eye contact with him. “It said that you’re not the person I think you are.”
“What!? That’s insane, Reese. Who would say something like that?”
I pull my gaze back to meet his. His entire posture has changed. I can see the veins popping on his neck, and the grip around his water bottle has tightened. I let out a sigh.
“I don’t know who would say something like that.” I raise my hands in an exasperated gesture. “It’s just so weird that someone would send these messages. Why would they say those things about you?”
Tucker shakes his head. “Honestly, I have no idea. And you’re certain you saw these messages? On Snaptalk?”
“Yes, why?”
The way he’s looking at me suddenly makes me uncomfortable. Almost like…he doesn’t believe me. Tucker must sense the shift in me, because he reaches forward and gently takes my hand. “Listen, Reese, you’ve been under a lot of stress lately. More than most people can handle. All of your work at the bakery, planning for the wedding…neither of us have gotten enough sleep. I just wonder if you are…”
I rip my hands away. “Are you saying I imagined those messages?”
Tucker blanches, then straightens his shoulders. “No, I just meant…” He lets his voice trail off. We sit in silence for a few seconds. Tucker runs his hands through his hair, the guilt written all over his face. Does he think I’m seeing things? I stare at him, waiting for an apology.
“The next time you get one of these messages, I want you to take a screenshot as quickly as you can and send them my way. I also want the profile information of the person that messaged you. I’ll have one of my IT guys track them down. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
I feel what can only be described as a wave of relief all over my body. Of course he believes me. I don’t know why I was so afraid to bring it up to him in the first place. He’s not angry at me, just at whoever sent the messages. And now he’s offering to help, to get to the bottom of it. I bite my lip. I can’t help feeling a little guilty I didn’t go straight to him in the first place.
He leans forward and brushes a bit of hair from my face, caressing my cheek. “Is that all? Is there anything else that’s bothering you?”
I chew the inside of my cheek. There is.
“What did the message mean by side business? Do you have a business going on besides the import-export?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
Tucker shakes his head, his jaw clenching tight. “No, I don’t have a ‘side business,’” he says, his fingers sketching sarcastic air quotes around the words. “I run a multimillion-dollar operation where I interact with lots of different customers all over the world. And really, my work isn’t anyone else’s damn business.”
The way he spits out those last words feels like a slap in the face, his tone dripping with condescension. My cheeks flush hot.
I take a deep breath, pushing past the sting of his words, and keep pressing for answers. “But is there anything I should know about? You know you can tell me anything, right? If there’s something you’re involved in…”
Tucker cuts me off with a scoff, his eyes rolling skyward in a gesture of pure exasperation. “Come on, Reese. You know me. Everything I do is on the up and up. Listen, you stick to your little bakeshop, and I’ll stick to running Harding Global.”
His dismissive tone feels like a punch to the gut. Suddenly I can’t breathe, like all the air has been sucked out of the room.
How dare he talk to me like that?
“Little bakeshop? What is that supposed to mean?”
He lets out an exasperated sigh. “You know what I mean…”
“No, I don’t. Just because my business is smaller than yours, doesn’t mean it’s little. And I don’t appreciate you demeaning me or my bakery.”
Something about the way he spoke about my bakery makes me snap. I decide to finally ask him the question that’s been plaguing my mind since we started dating. I’m tired of being left in the dark.
“Why did you and Charlotte break up? Why won’t you talk to me about it?” I feel the anger rising inside me, matching the louder tone of my voice.
“Because it doesn’t matter, Reese!” He’s yelling now, the anger visible on his face. “It doesn’t matter what happened between me and Charlotte. You have to let it go. Move on.”
“How can I when?—”
Tucker reaches forward, his hand a vise around my left wrist. With a sudden yank, he pulls my hand up, forcing my engagement ring level with my eyes. The abruptness of his movement causes me to stumble slightly, my free hand bracing against the counter for balance.
His face contorts into an expression I’ve never seen before—a mask of anger that transforms his familiar features into something alien. It’s as if a stranger has suddenly possessed him, his eyes dark and unfamiliar.
“Do you see this, Reese?” he growls. He twists my wrist slightly, making the diamond catch the light. “It means I’m marrying you, not Charlotte. It means I’m committed to you.” His grip tightens further, and I can feel my pulse throbbing against his fingers. “So you need to drop all this bullshit about the past. It’s over. I’m over it. And you should be too.”
Tears well up in my eyes, blurring my vision. The pain in my wrist intensifies, shooting up my arm in sharp bursts. I can feel my fingers starting to tingle from restricted blood flow.
“You’re hurting me,” I manage to choke out.
As if snapping out of a trance, Tucker’s eyes widen. “I’m sorry,” he says, immediately releasing my wrist. He takes a step back, running a hand through his hair. I cradle my arm against my chest, rubbing the reddened skin where his fingers had been.
Tucker’s voice softens, though there’s still an edge to it. “Listen, it’s been a long night. Let’s just go to bed.”
I watch him go, feeling as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. My body trembles slightly, adrenaline still coursing through my veins. The relief I felt earlier when he offered to investigate the Snaptalk messages for me has evaporated.
In its place is a gnawing sensation that something is very, very wrong.