“No.” He shook his head. “But she seems like the vengeful type. You know, a woman scorned and all of that.”
I gave him a dismissive look. I wasn’t worried about what Tricia could do, but I did need to correct her about something. I hadn’t seen her since the picnic that weekend.
“Anyway, Sabrina said she liked Savannah.”
I snorted.
I could picture Sabrina and Savannah getting along. Maple’s wife was kind and down-to-Earth.
“She did say she wasn’t too talkative, though. Like she felt out of place.”
“Yeah, we’ll work on that. Listen, we need to go over those notes from the debrief,” I said, redirecting his attention to work instead of personal matters.
The truth was, I was too fucked up in the head about Savannah to even reveal to myself what was going on between us. I hadn’t slept in my damn bed since that night we were together. I knew if I did, the chances of me keeping my hands to myself was like asking a fox to guard the henhouse.
I’d told Savannah sex with her was part of my process to forget her, and I still meant it. I just needed to get my head on straight before I touched her again.
Maple and I talked for another minute as we walked to our vehicles. Right when I started to hop on my bike, Tricia came up to me out of nowhere.
“I need to speak with you,” she said, sounding breathless as if she’d run to catch up with me.
I gave Maple a nod. “See you tomorrow.”
He raised an eyebrow but got in his car, saying nothing.
“That makes two of us,” I said, turning to Tricia as I slid my eyeglasses off of my face. I wanted her to see the look in my eyes as I said what I needed to.
She must’ve taken the move as a good sign because she smiled. “Good. I mean—”
“I’ll go first,” I said, interrupting. “I don’t know what the fuck you thought you were doing on Saturday, but you have one more time to say another word to my wife, and I promise you, you’re going to regret it.”
Tricia’s facial expression dropped immediately. “What the hell, Ace? Your wife? Do you even hear what you’re saying?”
“Did you hear me stutter?”
“What are you even talking about? How long have you been married? When did you run off and get married?”
“I never ran off anywhere. She’s been my wife for years.”
Tricia gasped. “How?” Her tone rose to almost shrill.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, reining in my anger. I supposed Tricia did deserve some sort of explanation.
“Savannah and I are…complicated.”
“Complicated? That’s the best excuse you can give me after breaking my heart?” There were tears in her eyes. They had little impact on me.
“We dated for a few months. I never made any promises to you, and I’ve been clear for the past few weeks that you and I are through.” I gritted my teeth as I said the following phrase. “I’m sorry if you felt led on, but it's time to let it go.”
“Let it go?” She insisted, pulling me by the arm when I went to get on my bike. She let out a shrill laugh. “Ace, we both know the only reason you’re parading her around right now is so you will look good for that instructor position down in San Antonio.”
“You really should stop while you’re behind.”
I snatched my arm away from her.
Tricia’s eyes widened and she took a step back. After watching me for a beat, a superior look crossed her face.
“I bet it wouldn’t look good for Mr. Family Man, all of a sudden, to have news get out that he was whoring around on his wife and stepson or whatever that fucking kid is to you.”
