Love After Dark (29 page)

“I won’t tell anyone, Erin. You have my word.”

She couldn’t say how she knew, but instinctively she understood that he was the kind of guy who stood by his word. After all, he’d come back to check on her, hadn’t he? “Jenny and Alex got married today.”

“Wait, I thought their wedding was next weekend. I’m flying her folks over for it.”

“It’s still on. You know how I told you she was supposed to marry my brother, Toby? Well, apparently she’s been really stressed as the wedding gets closer. Even though she knows the likelihood is infinitesimal, she’s been afraid of something happening to Alex the way it did to Toby. Alex couldn’t stand to see her so wound up and worried, so he put together a wedding for today so they could get it done and she could relax and enjoy their actual wedding.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool.”

“I thought so, too.”

“Is that why you’ve been crying?”

Erin closed her eyes against the rush of grief and pain and emotion that she hadn’t wanted anyone else to see.

Before she could formulate a reply, he said, “She was supposed to marry your brother, and today was hard for you.”

“Yeah,” she said softly. “As happy as I am for her…”

“I get it. I’m sure she would, too.”

“She’ll never know I was anything other than thrilled for her and Alex. They’re great together, and she’s certainly earned the right to be happy.”

“You’re a good friend to feel that way. She’s lucky to have you.”

“We’re lucky to have each other. We’ve been through the fire of hell together and come out on the other side, stunned and altered, but we survived.” She wiped her face and laughed. “How do you get me to tell you these things? I don’t even know you.”

“Pilots and bartenders,” he said, making her laugh again. “What do you want to know about me?”

“Did your mother name you Slim?”

“No, my grandfather did, actually.”

“I don’t mean to be insulting, but you aren’t exactly super skinny or anything.” He had the muscular build of a man who took good care of himself.
 

“Is that a fat joke?”

“Hardly! And you know it.”

“Yeah,” he said, chuckling, “I know. I was a skinny kid who had the same name as my dad, so my gramps started calling me Slim, and it just sort of stuck long after I wasn’t a skinny kid anymore.”

“What’s your real name?”

“Was your brother’s real name Toby?”

Surprised by the question, she said, “No, it was Tobias, after our grandfather, but he hated that name and always went by Toby. Why?”

“My real name is Tobias Fitzgerald Jackson Junior.”

“It is not.”

“It is, too.”

A sob hiccupped from her chest as disbelief warred with hope. Was it possible that her beloved Toby had sent a new Toby to her? Did things like that even happen? Who was to say they didn’t?

“I almost said something the other night when you told me his name had been Toby, but I wasn’t sure if I should.” In a cajoling tone, he said, “I can show you my license if you don’t believe me.”

“I believe you,” she said softly.

He reached up and took hold of her hand. “It’s kind of cool, right?”

“It’s way cool. I’m glad you told me.”

“In light of this incredible coincidence, you’re going to have to have dinner with me soon.”

Laughing despite the tears that continued to cascade down her cheeks, she said, “You don’t give up, do you?”

“Not on something worth fighting for.”

And here she’d thought Alex’s surprise wedding had been the romantic grand gesture of the day. Slim was giving him a run for his money.

“Does anyone call you Toby?”

“Nope. I’ve never gone by that. I was Tobias to my mother a few times during my reckless youth. Otherwise, I’ve always been Slim. But you could call me Toby if you wanted to.”

“Would you answer to it?”

“Probably not the first few times. I’d come around eventually if it meant getting your attention. So about this dinner you promised me. Still a yes?”

“I believe it is.”

“Really?”

His reaction made her giggle like the girl she used to be. “Really.”
 

“When?”

“I’ll let you know.”

He groaned. “You’re going to make me work for it, aren’t you?”

“A wise man once told me that anything worth having is worth fighting for.”

“That man needs to be stoned.”

Erin dissolved into a fit of laughter that morphed into a gasp when he ran his lips over the back of her hand. A jolt of awareness traveled up her arm that sucked the breath from her lungs. She’d never reacted to any man that way—ever.

“I’ll do the work if you promise it’ll be worth it in the end.”

“Define ‘worth it.’”

“Dinner, of course. What’s your dirty mind thinking?”

“Dessert. Does this dinner of yours include dessert?”

“It comes with whatever you want.”

“In that case, do your worst.”

“Game on.”

Chapter 19

Big Mac McCarthy entered the bar at the Beachcomber and took a look around, locating his younger brother at the far end of the long bar.
 

Chelsea, the bartender, caught his eye. “Thanks for coming, Mr. McCarthy.”

“I’m glad you called, sweetheart. How long has he been here?”

“Couple hours now.”

“Is he talking?”

“Not much. Just drinking. I told him no more after the last one.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Big Mac moved to the far end of the bar and slid onto the stool next to Kevin’s, nudging his brother. “What’s up?”

“What’re you doing here?”

“Same thing as you.” He accepted an icy bottle of light beer from Chelsea with a smile and a wink for her.
 

“Did she call you?”

“Nope.” He’d never toss Chelsea under the bus for doing the right thing.
 

“So you just happened to turn up out of the fog? Total coincidence?”

“No fog tonight. Beautiful clear night out there. You want to get out of here and take a look?”

“Nah, I’m happy here.” He noticed his glass was getting low and scowled. “Or I was until she shut me off.”

Despite having consumed a lot of alcohol, Kevin sounded remarkably sober. “You must’ve been here awhile for that to happen.”

Kevin’s shoulder lifted into a shrug. “Nothing else to do.”

“You coulda come to my house. I wouldn’t have shut you off. Lots of empty bedrooms upstairs if you ever need one.”

“You and Linda don’t need your miserable little brother underfoot.”

“Hate to see you this way, Kev.”

“Hate to feel this way. All these years I’ve spent counseling other people on how to save their marriages, and mine went up in flames right before my eyes. And the best part? I didn’t even see it coming. How’s that possible?”

“You didn’t think you had anything to worry about.”

“So I slacked off. I didn’t pay attention. Look at where that got me.”

“Have you talked to her at all?”

“Here and there. Mostly logistics about the house and the bank accounts and filing papers.”

“No talk of reconciliation?”

“Nope. She’s done, and with hindsight, I guess I don’t blame her. She got a better offer with a younger guy, of all things.”

“Is that what bugs you most? That he’s younger?”

“The whole thing bugs me.”

“Do you know the guy?”

Kevin shook his head. “Someone she met through work, I guess. She swears nothing happened between them until she left me, but she’s talking physically. She’s been having an emotional affair with him for a while now.”

Big Mac signaled to Chelsea to bring Kevin one more drink, pointing to himself to let her know that he’d take responsibility for him.
 

A short glass of bourbon landed on the bar in front of Kevin.

He looked up, seeming surprised. “How’d that happen?”

“It’s all in who you know around here, my friend.”

“Another one of your groupies?” Kevin asked with the first hint of amusement Mac had seen in him.

“I like to call them
friends
.”

Snorting, Kevin said, “You always were popular with the ladies.”

“We’re not talking about me here. We’re talking about you and how we’re going to get you out of this funk you’re in. Your sons are worried about you.”

That got his attention. “They are? How do you know?”

“They’ve told me so. You haven’t been yourself since things went south with Deb. They’ve noticed it. We all have. I told them you’re grieving the end of something that meant a lot to you, and in time you’ll be back to your old self. I suggested they give you a little space to work things out.”

“Is that what you’re doing? Giving me some space?”

“I’m making sure you don’t do something stupid like get behind the wheel of a car after you’ve been here for hours.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Good to know.”

“Always the big brother.”

“I take my responsibilities seriously,” Mac said with a grin. “What can I do, Kev? How can I help you through this?”

“Damned if I know.”

“It’s going to take some time, but you’ll get past it. We’ll make sure of it.”

“What would you do if Linda suddenly up and left you for a younger guy?”

The very thought of it was like an arrow filled with fear landing in the vicinity of Big Mac’s heart. “I, um…”

“Sorry,” Kevin said. “That was unfair. She’s not going anywhere. She’s as crazy about you today as she was the day you married her a long-ass time ago.”

“Gonna be forty years this Christmas.”

“I remember. I was twelve. Had my first beer at your wedding. Did you know that?”

“How’d you get that by Dad?”

“I waited until he’d had at least six and wasn’t paying attention anymore.”

Big Mac laughed at the memory of their late father. “He did love a good party.”

“And that was a great party. I remember it vividly. My first time in a monkey suit, too.” He ventured a sideways glance at Mac. “Mom and Dad thought you were too young to get married. Did you know that?”

“No, I never knew. Really?”

“Yep. They had fights about it. Dad thought twenty was way too young to tie yourself down for the rest of your life, but Mom said you always knew what you wanted and how to go after it. She told him it was your life and he should butt out.”

Big Mac grunted out a laugh. “I can picture it.”

“You’re just like him with your kids, you know.”

“And you’re not with yours?”

“True.”

“Let me give you a ride home, Kev.”

“Okay.” He pulled a twenty from his wallet and left it on the bar for Chelsea.
 

Big Mac did the same, in part to thank her for looking out for a member of his tribe.
 

“Despite her ratting me out to you, she’s really cool,” Kevin said of Chelsea.

“Yes, she is. She’s the best. I keep trying to hire her away from the Beachcomber for the Tiki Bar, but she’s been here forever and doesn’t want to leave.”

“Loyalty is a nice trait to have.”

The double meaning wasn’t lost on Big Mac, who steered Kevin in the direction of where he’d parked his truck. “Deb was loyal to you for a long time, Kevin, and she handled this the best way she could from all reports. People change. Shit happens. The most important thing for you to remember is she’s the mother of your sons. That’ll never change. No matter how bitter you may feel, keeping it cordial with her is in their best interest.”

“I know. And I’m not really bitter. I’m just sort of wrecked that it happened in the first place. How could I
not know
she was that unhappy?”