Chapter 16
Sixteen
Henry
This wasn’t my idea.
Driving into town to hijack Angie’s bridesmaid luncheon.
It was actually Mom’s suggestion.
“I feel bad that I had to beg out at the last minute,” she said. “Why don’t you two run into town and join them? I know Angie would love it.”
Angie’s been here for a week, helping with wedding plans, so she and Jason haven’t seen each other for a while. Jason, of course, was all for joining in.
And I’m his best man. He’s the groom. So telling him no wasn’t really an option.
I pull into a parking spot on a side street and stop the car.
I look out the driver-side window. “Did you go to Lisa’s restaurant when you and Angie were here after…”
God, it’s still so hard to say the words.
Jason raises a hand—it’s so steady, not a single tremor after his experimental surgery—to indicate that I don’t need to revisit the traumatic memory. “No, we didn’t get to spend a lot of time in town. Angie needed to be home with her family, and that worked for me too.”
I made myself scarce for the most part during that time. Stayed at my own place and only came over to Mom and Dad’s when they had the family over to meet Jason.
And I wasn’t particularly social during their visit. I was present physically, but in my mind, I was revisiting that horrible day at Angie’s townhome in Boulder.
“You sure you’re okay?” Jason asks me.
It’s got to be the fifth time he’s asked me since he arrived at the house.
I rub at my forehead. “I’m not sure how many more ways I can say it, Jason.”
“If it’s any consolation, I get what you’re going through.”
I cock my head at him. “I guess you never told me that you shot a guy.”
“I didn’t. I don’t even know how to shoot a gun.” He frowns. “I should probably learn.”
“It’s a good skill to have,” I say dryly.
“What I mean is that I know what it feels like to take a life.” His gaze darkens. “Every surgeon does.”
I narrow my eyes. “Last time I checked, you’re in the business of saving lives.”
“I am. But I made a mistake once.” He takes a deep breath, exhales it out on a sigh. “A mistake during surgery when I was younger. It cost my patient his life.”
I go numb for a moment.
It’s not the same thing, but how do I tell Jason that?
Maybe it’s worse. The life he took was wholly innocent, and that person was depending on him to keep him safe.
At least the life I took was a degenerate who didn’t deserve to live anyway.
But Jason didn’t intend for his patient to die. When I shot that gun, I was doing so to kill the man who had a knife against my sister’s neck.
And the patient knew the risks when he went under the knife. He would have signed a consent form acknowledging them.
I’m sure Jason feels awful and carries the weight of that man’s life with him every day, but it’s like comparing apples and oranges. I’m not going to tell him that. It’s his damned wedding, after all.
I slap on a sympathetic face and nod slowly.
“I’m sorry,” is all I can say.
He claps a hand over my shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to go through it,” he says. “I’m not saying it’s the same thing at all.”
“No, it’s probably worse for you.”
He frowns. “In a way. But in a way it’s worse for you.”
I get what he means. God knows I’ve thought circles around it for the last several months. But I’m done talking about this. “Here we are,” I say as we arrive at Lorenzo’s. Through the window, I see Angie and her bridal party. One blond head stands out among the brunettes.
Tabitha.
Her back is to me, and she’s sitting next to Angie.
I draw a breath and open the door to the restaurant, the bell above us dinging.
Nora, one of the waitresses, comes running.
“Henry!” She grabs me into a hug.
“Hi, Nora,” I say, breaking away.
Ever since Nora came to town, she’s been pretty obvious about her interest in me. It started at one of the famous Steel parties at Aunt Jade and Uncle Talon’s house.
Nora leads us to the table and gestures to two seats at the end.
Sage jumps out of her seat. “Jason, take mine. You should be sitting next to Angie.”
He grins. “Don’t mind if I do.”
He pulls Angie up out of her seat and gives her a giant open-mouth kiss right in front of everyone.
Tabitha watches them, her cheeks flushed.
God, our kisses last night.
I’ve done my share of kissing, but Tabitha…
Already my groin is tightening.
But that’s the last thing I need.
Especially in a room in front of all my female family.
Right now, I just need to get through dessert.
Nora is clearing away the lunch dishes. “Would you two gentlemen like a drink?” she asks.
“Just black coffee,” I say.
“Same,” Jason says.
“All right,” Nora says. “That’s all black coffees except a cappuccino for Gina and an iced tea for Maddie.”
I sit down awkwardly next to Tabitha.
It was either that or sit next to Maddie, who’s across from Tabitha. I’d then have to avoid looking at Tabitha.
I figured it was easier to sit next to her, though my body is already reacting to her presence.
God, it’s like I can feel the heat pulsating off her. It’s coming in gentle waves.
My nerves are skittering, and my flesh is warming.
And my dick?
Yeah, it has a mind of its fucking own.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey yourself,” Tabitha says.
“Good to see you, Henry,” Maddie says.
Weird thing for her to say. Dave and Maddie see me all the time now that I’m living at the house.
“You too,” I say.
“Dave says the peach trees are looking great this year. Should be a bumper crop.”
I nod. “We all love those Palisade peaches.”
Palisade is a town just outside of Grand Junction on the Western Slope, and they produce some of the best peaches I’ve ever had. They’re huge and juicy as all hell. Georgia be damned.
But as sweet as they are, they’re nothing compared to the sweet tits and ass I experienced last night in the barn.
“I love your mom’s spiced peach jam,” Maddie says, rubbing her tummy and dashing me out of my dirty thoughts.
Tabitha raises her eyebrows. “Oh? That sounds good.”
“You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted it,” Maddie says. “Toast up a few slices of Ava’s sweet Hawaiian bread, and then slather them with Marjorie’s spiced peach jam… You’ll swear you died and went to heaven.”
“That sounds amazing.”
“Come home with me after we’re done in town,” Maddie says. “I’ve got some of Ava’s bread and Marjorie’s jam. I’ll fix you a slice.”
Nora returns with the coffees, and Lisa herself brings out a tray of cannolis.
“This is my family recipe that’s been passed down for generations,” she says.
“And they are to die for,” Sage gushes.
I take the first bite, and the shell gives with a clean, sharp crunch. It shatters a little, the pieces catching on my lower lip as the filling hits my tongue.
Sweet, but not cloying. The ricotta’s smooth, thick, and cold in the center. There’s a hint of vanilla, maybe orange zest, something bright that cuts through the cream. It melts slow, rich and velvety, with those tiny chocolate chips adding just enough bite to keep it interesting.
Powdered sugar dusts my fingertips. I lick it off without thinking.
It’s messy. Decadent. Indulgent. Impossible to eat gracefully.
Kind of a metaphor for how I’ve been feeling lately.
Last night, I was indulgent, and Tabitha paid the price.
She seems okay, though, thank God.
I’ll have to let her know that whatever it was can’t happen again. I can’t let the chaos in my head consume my body.
And I wasn’t graceful with her. Not that I’m ever graceful with a woman. But I’m normally not so animal-like.
At least she came twice. I wasn’t completely selfish.
I look over at Tabitha.
She has a tiny bit of ricotta on her lower lip.
God, how I’d love to lick it off…
I wipe the crumbs from my mouth and take a sip of coffee.
Fuck.
This weekend can’t be over soon enough.