Chapter 3
THREE
TALLY
“Won’t be at work today,” I murmured as I typed the message out to Keysha and sent it, then collapsed against my pillow and closed my eyes, hoping she wouldn’t ask why. I felt bad for calling in sick, especially after leaving early last night, but I just couldn’t face the shop.
All of those people, so bustling and happy, expecting me to be cheerful too.
Usually, I managed just fine, but my heart and ego were both a little bruised.
Not to mention the fact my eyes were puffy and probably red.
I hadn’t looked in a mirror yet, so I could live in blissful ignorance for a while longer.
At least the day should be quiet at Coco Luxe, so Keysha wouldn’t have to deal with much beyond walk-in customers. We had no outstanding commissions. I’d already seen her message from last night about how pleased the bride and groom were with their centerpiece. It had almost made me smile.
My phone buzzed.
Keysha: Are you okay? Do you need anything?
I groaned. She was too good to me. I owed her the truth.
Tally: Thad and I broke up last night. I want to hide from the world, but I’m not sick. If any large orders come in today, let me know and I’ll drag myself down there.
Keysha: I’m so sorry. Take it easy. Everything is under control here.
Tally: Thank you so much. I don’t deserve you.
Keysha: Of course you do. I’d better not hear that nonsense from you again. Don’t forget to hydrate and shower. You’ll feel better if you do.
I probably would too. But I needed a little more time to get myself together first, and that meant coffee.
With a grunt of effort, I tossed the covers back and swung my feet off the bed. They hit the floor, and I gave myself a moment to adjust before standing. I wandered through the apartment to the kitchen, phone in hand.
I had a good quality coffee maker, which I started up, and meanwhile, scanned the room for any mess remaining from last night.
There wasn’t anything. Alec must have tidied up before he left.
God bless the man. I wondered whether he’d gone home last night or if he’d slept on the couch before driving in for practice bright and early.
Hopefully, the former. The couch wasn’t built for a man his size to use as a bed.
I scanned the fridge, trying to recall whether I might have left anything good inside, and spotted the creamy cardboard wedding invitation held to the door by a magnet. The elegant gold calligraphy stared at me accusingly.
My lower lip wobbled.
Damn, I’d forgotten about my cousin Lake’s wedding next month. Lake was Coral’s older sister, and Thad and I had already RSVP’d to attend her destination wedding in Hawaii together.
Now, I’d have to go alone.
Not only that, but I was confronted by the very real possibility that all my extended family may know—or hear sometime between now and then—what had been going on between Coral and Thad behind my back. I’d have to face their pity or judgment.
It would be humiliating.
My throat tightened and my eyes prickled, but I was all out of tears. That was something, at least.
The machine beeped and I served myself a mug of coffee and drained it in seconds. I refilled and placed the mug on the kitchen counter while I tapped out a message to Lake. If I was going to have to embarrass myself, I might as well get the first step over with while I was already wallowing.
Tally: Thad won’t be accompanying me to your wedding anymore. Sorry for any inconvenience.
There. That sounded polite. Professional. There was no silent accusation about whether she might have known that her younger sister was screwing my boyfriend.
I took my coffee to the couch and set it down while I lit the vanilla-scented candle in the center of the coffee table.
Lake: I know. Coral called last night and said he’d be coming with her. Sorry if it’s awkward for you, but chin up. There are plenty of fish in the sea.
My jaw dropped. What. The. Hell?
It had never occurred to me that Coral, the man-stealer, might blatantly bring my ex as her date to her sister’s wedding. There would be no hiding the situation either. Coral was a bridesmaid, which meant people would pay attention both to her and her partner.
I buried my face in my hands to muffle my scream.
I should pull out. Just not go.
That would be the best thing to do. Then I wouldn’t have to see Thad and Coral playing at being a happy couple and no one would be whispering about my failed relationship behind my back.
But I already had the plane tickets. I’d booked a non-refundable room at the resort where the wedding was being held. Was I really willing to give up a week in Hawaii because of those two awful human beings?
It might be worth it. The humiliation factor would be huge. But still. I’d never been to Hawaii before, and if I didn’t go now, then it would look like I was ashamed and hiding away. Perhaps the hiding part was accurate, but I had nothing to be ashamed of.
They were the ones who ought to be ashamed.
I wrapped my hands around my cup of coffee and drank deeply, hoping the caffeine would make the right course of action more clear.
Unfortunately, all it did was make me aware enough to realize I hadn’t brushed my teeth last night and no doubt had terrible morning breath.
I undoubtedly also could use an all-round freshen up.
I considered leaving the rest of the coffee but decided the extra kick might be nice, so I finished the mug and headed for the shower.
Once I’d been scrubbed from top to bottom and my mouth was minty fresh, I dressed in jeans and a top and debated how to fill the day. I could just flop on the couch and finish watching Pride and Prejudice, but I’d done enough wallowing last night. I needed to keep myself at least slightly busy.
Perhaps I should make something for Alec to show how much I appreciate him? He’d been my rock last night, coming to pick me up, getting me Thai food, coddling me and reminding me that at least one person always had my back.
Yeah, Alec deserved a treat.
I racked my brain. It would have to be something that wouldn’t interfere with his NHL-player, high protein, low-junk-food diet. There was a tasty dark chocolate nut praline that he liked. Perhaps I’d make that.
I strode to the kitchen and checked the cupboards. I had enough ingredients to whip something together. I weighed out the correct portion of dark chocolate and was about to start melting it as part of the tempering process when my phone rang.
I stiffened and my gut clenched. What if it was Thad? Or Coral? Or, god forbid, Lake following up on her message about the wedding. I couldn’t handle speaking to any of them. Checking the screen, my shoulders relaxed when I saw that it was only Mom. I answered and put it on speaker phone.
“Hey, darling. How are you?” she asked, a hint of caution in her usually cheerful tone.
I narrowed my eyes. “Okay.”
“Are you really?” she persisted. “It’s just that Alec said you might want to talk to me about something.”
I sighed. Of course he had. While he was my rock, Alec wasn’t exactly the most emotionally expressive person in the world, so whenever he was worried he might have fallen short in that regard, he brought in my mother as his reinforcement.
She was all about talking things out and letting ourselves feel what we feel.
“Thad and I broke up last night.”
“Oh, baby. I’m sorry to hear that.”
I raised my eyebrows, unconvinced. She may be relentlessly cheerful, but I always had the feeling she saw something in Thad that I didn’t, which made her wary of him. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to her instincts.
“I walked in on him with another woman.” To my relief, my voice didn’t break.
She gasped. “Who? Was it someone you knew? What were they doing?”
I hesitated. What was I supposed to say? He was balls-deep in your niece?
“Let’s just say that my timing was really, really bad, and that there were no clothes, and the person with him was, uh, Coral.”
“As in, sweet cousin Coral?”
“Yes,” I ground out. “In all her naked glory.”
“Oh.” She was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry, darling. That must have been horrible for you. I’m not sure what came over your cousin, but I hope she’s ashamed of herself. As for that Thad… Well, let’s just say that you’re better off without him.”
“I am,” I agreed, more forcefully than necessary. “Good riddance.” Unfortunately, the last two words squeaked out, betraying my upset.
Mom made a sympathetic sound. “Please tell me you didn’t leave anything at his place?”
“Nope.” Other than my car, which I’d have to sort out later. I’d never felt comfortable leaving a change of clothes in one of his drawers or my toiletries in his bathroom. Maybe my subconscious knew he couldn’t be trusted.
“At least you won’t ever have to see him again then.”
I opened my mouth to tell her about the wedding but then closed it. I still wasn’t sure if I’d even go, and if I told Mom that Thad was attending with Coral, she’d have words with her sister, and the whole thing would spiral. Best to leave it alone for now.
We talked for a while longer, and then I got busy making the dark chocolate praline for Alec.
Late in the afternoon, there was a firm knock on the door. I checked through the peephole to confirm it was Alec and let him in.
“I have something for you,” I said, waving him through the living area toward the kitchen.
He put his hand on my shoulder to stop me before I pulled away. I froze. The familiar citrusy scent of his soap tickled my nostrils, along with the natural aroma of clean man, and I did my best to stop breathing.
Fresh from his post-training shower, he always smelled so sexy. It had been years since my libido first noticed that Alec was hot as hell in addition to being gruff and kind and thoughtful, but I could usually compartmentalize my reaction to him.
Unfortunately, today my defenses were down.
“You doing okay?” he asked, his touch scalding me even through my shirt. His eyes, that familiar shade of brown, searched my own, and I forced myself not to notice the ropy muscles of his tattooed forearm or the breadth of his powerful shoulders.
Just a friend, I reminded myself. Get it together.
“I’ve been better, but I could be worse.” I backed off and led him to the kitchen, where the dark chocolate pralines were arranged on the counter. “For you. They need a little while longer to set properly. I’ll put them in a box when you leave so you can take them with you.”
Alec flashed me a rare grin and popped one into his mouth, closing his eyes and moaning his appreciation. My libido perked up.
Down, girl.
“I brought your car back,” he said, opening his eyes again.
“How’d you manage that?”
“I grabbed the key while I was here last night and my teammates helped.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I didn’t want them knowing what had happened, but I did appreciate their assistance. “Make sure to thank them for me.”
“I will. Did your mom call?”
“She did.”
“Did talking to her help?”
“Maybe a little.” Unfortunately, a conversation with my mother couldn’t turn back time and cure the underlying problem, so there was only so much that talking about it could solve.
I glanced at the wedding invitation on the door, remembering her words about not seeing Thad again.
Alec followed my gaze. “Oh, shit. You’ll have to see Coral at the wedding, won’t you?”
I drew in a deep breath and let it out all at once. “Thad too. Apparently, she’s taking him as her date.”
“What the fuck?” he growled.
His reaction made me feel a little better. Like it wasn’t unreasonable to be pissed off at them.
Okay, so perhaps Coral and Thad were dating now, but even so, it seemed a little cruel to take him somewhere she knew I’d be.
“I’m thinking about pulling out,” I admitted.
His dark brows knitted together. “That’s not right. You shouldn’t have to miss out on your beach vacation because of them. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
I shrugged and leaned against the counter. “It’s just easiest.”
Anger flashed in his eyes. “Fuck that. I know you’ve been looking forward to it. How’s this? I’ll come with you. It’s my bye week. That way, you don’t have to deal with them on your own.”
“Don’t be silly. I know you mean well, but if I take my friend as my date, it will only make me look more pathetic, as if I’m not strong enough to face them on my own.”
He gazed at me levelly and my cheeks heated as I recalled that I had, essentially, just admitted that I couldn’t bear the thought of dealing with them alone. Still, it was one thing to confess the truth to him. It was another entirely for Thad and Coral to know that.
He ran one of his massive hands over his buzz cut. “Then we’ll say we’re in love.”
I snorted.
“What?” he demanded. “Everyone knows we’re close. It’s not that big of a leap, is it?”
“It’s precisely because we’ve been friends for so long that it wouldn’t be believable,” I protested, anxiety knotting my insides at just the thought of how we might be ridiculed.
“No one would believe that we suddenly woke up one day and decided to date after being strictly platonic friends for over a decade.”
“Friends try dating all the time.” The stubborn set of his chin indicated that he didn’t intend to cede the point.
“But not us.”
Maybe his argument had some merit. It wasn’t unheard of for friends to get together, but I couldn’t handle pretending.
Not on top of everything else. I doubted we’d fool anyone, and there was a good possibility that putting on an act like that would trick my heart into believing something real could happen between us.
I was already vulnerable, and if I let myself get closer to Alec, it would only hurt more when it ended.
Alec softened. “Promise you’ll think about it.”
“Okay.”
But I wouldn’t change my mind.
Right now, my heart was bruised. If I allowed myself to believe in a fairy tale where Alec loved me, it could end up broken.