Tug (35 page)

“And last week, she thought he had meningitis.”

“She’s having a difficult time and I thought you understood.”

“I did the first three times you went running over there. Hell, I even understood the sixth and seventh time. I understood when you screamed her name while you were fucking me, but I have to say it’s getting harder and harder to understand. We stop by her house twice a week to check on her as it is. Tori has other friends, yet she always calls you?”

“Liv’s been too busy rekindling her relationship with Harrison, Jessica is away, and her parents live out of state.”

“And you have a fiance with a kid, and a demanding job. Here’s another thing, Tori and I are friends. How come my phone never rings?”

I stand and slip my phone in my pocket without looking at her. “I’m sorry. I’ll talk with her, but I can’t argue with you right now. Drew could be hurt. We should go. I’ll drop you and Javier at the loft if you don’t want to come.”

She huffs. “We’ll stay here. He’s having fun. I’ll get us a cab back to the loft.”

I promise to make it up to her before I leave the restaurant.

T
hankfully traffic is light, and I make it across the border quickly. I rush through the emergency room doors and see Tori and Drew walking toward me, his arm in a brace.

She hugs me. “Thank you for coming. I was so scared.”

“Is it broken?”

“It’s just a sprain,” Drew answers, sounding like a tough guy.

I go back to the house with the two of them and hang out until after dinner, before going home and facing the music.

Maria is surprising calm when I walk through the door. “Did you speak with her?”

My head falls. Fuck! I meant too, but every time I opened my mouth, I couldn’t get the words out.

“Not yet. Drew’s in a brace. She was upset. But I will, soon. I promise.”

Her lips smirk. “I thought you don’t make promises.”

I pull her into my arms, brushing our lips together. “Only with you, because you’re exceptionally forgiving.”

“Don’t mistake my forgiveness for a weakness. Running over there every time she calls for you is coming between us.”

My face burns. I feel like I’ve been slapped. “I know. I’m going to stop. You and Javier are the most important people in my life. I don’t want anything to come between us.”

She smiles, batting her lashes. “Good, now take me to bed, lover. I missed you.”

I
t’s been a week since Tug’s promise to resist Tori’s every call, and so far he’s kept it. We’ve seen her on the usual nights we stop by, and she seems her usual self.

My father made a small fortune off of his arrangement with Tug, and soon his transition away from the cartels will be complete, as will my transition from hating the man I considered a donor to loving the man I’m fond of and proud to call my father. My life seems like a dream most days. I never imagined I would find love—in a man, or a family, or a father. I’m blessed, a revelation I know would make my papa extremely proud.

Liv picked up Javier this morning before Tug left for work. She’s taking him and Drew camping with her and Harrison for the weekend at the beach. The campground isn’t far from the house, but to the boys, it’s a dream vacation. It’s Friday and Tug and I will have at least two uninterrupted nights together. We rarely have any alone time. Our sex life has been reduced to our bed, behind a locked door, while I do my best to stay quiet so Javier doesn’t hear.

Tonight, I plan to mix things up, stir that spark, and a little before five, I pop into Tug’s building to surprise him. I’m wearing only his favorite red heels and a nylon red trench coat as I enter the lobby of Gibson Capital. His secretary walks toward me, appearing to be on her way out for the evening, and stops. “Oh, hey Maria, if you came to see Aidan, he’s not here.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“No, he ran out about an hour ago and hasn’t returned.”

“Thank you,” I say and hang my head.

I know exactly where he is, and I am pissed beyond reason as I stride purposefully back to my car.

A
s expected, his car is in the driveway at Tori’s. I slip out of my pumps and toss them into the back seat. As I close the door without making a noise, the absurdity of what I’m doing sets it. I’m being quiet in hopes of catching them doing something wrong, although I pray I don’t.

I turn the knob on the front door and relax when it opens. Tiptoeing through the living room, my eyes land on a copy of Rock-n-Roll Magazine on the floor with Brady’s photo. Brady and a half a dozen barely-clothed, gorgeous women. The headline reads, Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. A Day in the Life of Overnight Rock Sensation Brady Hunter. If I wasn’t so angry, I’d actually feel bad for Tori. I would lose it, too if I was married to him and saw that cover. I step quietly down the hall and hear Tug and Tori’s voices coming from the kitchen. I stop to listen.

“I don’t care what the article says. It isn’t true,” Tug tells her.

“Did you read it?” Tori asks him.

“I don’t have to,” he responds.

“I did and between what I read and Brady not calling or Skyping for close to a week, I went ballistic. I called him about a hundred times and when he didn’t pick up, I sent him a text and told him we’re finished.”

“Jesus, Tori. You can’t do that.”

“I already did,” she mumbles and then I hear her sobbing. “I’m done!”

What feels like a few minutes pass, but who knows, it may have been seconds.

I inch closer to the end of the wall to see them, and now I wish I hadn’t. Tug’s holding her face affectionately, his thumbs sweeping over her cheekbones, wiping away tears. She lifts her head and their lips are so close, and I swear if she kisses him, I’m going to beat her ass. Of course, I won’t really. As pissed as I would be, I can’t harm a pregnant woman.

“You need to call him, and tell him what you’ve been going through. He’d want to know. Tell him you love him and you miss him like crazy.”

“I can’t.”

“It’s easy. You pick up the phone, hit a button, and talk.”

His teasing makes her laugh, and prickles my skin.

“I can’t because I’m not sure I want to. I think I made a mistake choosing Brady. I thought he changed, but the guy on the cover of Rock-n-Roll Magazine is who he’s always been. You’re the one who has been there for me when I need you. I should have chosen you, and now I’m afraid it’s too late. Is it? Am I too late?”

As the space between their lips closes, I burst into the kitchen, tears rolling down my cheeks and anger shooting through me.

“Yes, Tug, is she too late? I think we’d both like to know.”

“Oh, God, Maria,” Tori cries. I shake my head in disbelief. How can she act as if she’s concerned about me? “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to get hurt. My emotions are all over the place and with Brady gone …”

“With Brady gone, what? You thought you’d have another try at his brother and fuck it if he had a fiance and a little boy that looks up to him. No biggie, as long as you feel better, right, Tor?”

“No, that’s not it, I … oh, God. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

She puts on a fantastic show. “Wow,” I say, clapping. “You could win an Oscar for this performance.”

“That’s enough, Maria.” Tug shouts, but I’m not deterred. I’m disgusted.

“Oh, dear sweet Tuggy, always coming to Tori’s rescue. I’m surprised she can tie her own shoes without you helping her.”

“I mean it. Lay off!” I turn my back on him and stare at the wall. “I love you,” he continues. “We need to talk, but here is not the place. Go to the loft and I’ll meet you there.”

I spin back around. “Before or after you make a mistake with your brother’s wife for the second time?”

His jaw locks, the vein in neck pulsating as he inhales. “Go to the loft, please. I’ll be a few minutes behind you.”

A
fter Maria storms out of the house, I hold Tori for a few minutes until she calms down. She tries to apologize. I don’t know if it’s for her confession or for hurting Maria, but she’s a mess, and I don’t ask her to clarify. “I don’t know what happened here or what it all means, but you have some serious thinking to do. You have a baby on the way.”

“I know what I want,” she says. “I want to be with you, Tug.”

Those fucking words have been spoken in my mind for as long as I can remember. Now that I hear them out loud, from her mouth, they don’t have nearly the impact I thought they would, though they do have an effect. I’m just not sure what it is.