“We haven’t been together for a long time.” He dropped the steeple, skin pale about his mouth. “You know that.”
“I do now.” Some of the fight drained out of her. “He has always owned what he did, that it was wrong. All I’m saying is that circumstances aren’t always cut and dry, and people add up to more than their actions. Our messiness is proof of that.”
Mouth firm, Scott stared across the table. “As close as you and Tick are, how is that going to work?”
She narrowed her eyes, closing her lips on any reply as Tiffanie arrived with their food. She fiddled with a home fry while he added sauce to his pulled pork sandwich. Once they were alone, she lifted her fork, although any appetite had fled.
“Tick is an adult with his own life. I’m not unsympathetic to the way that event affected him.” And continued to affect him. She’d seen his face often enough when he ran across Colt or someone mentioned Allison. “But if Colt and I suit, am I supposed to ignore that, put my own life on hold because of something that happened almost ten years ago?”
He had no answer for that, his entire expression tightening. She wasn’t surprised — his issue with her and Colt being a couple wasn’t about Tick at all.
She drew an unsteady breath. “I want us to be friends, Scott. For that to work, I need you to set aside the commentary on my decisions.”
Silence hung, his gaze trained on her face.
“You have to have your life.” She swallowed, the moment yawning like the edge of the lime mine. “And I have to have mine.”
For a long moment, he simply looked at her, then he gave a jerky nod. “You’re right.”
Her ability to breathe died, dizziness buzzing through her head. Moving forward was the right thing, the only thing, yet this closure frightened her.
He was awful for her, though. She was awful for him.
And her future with Colt stretched before her, glimmering with promise.
Even if her boyfriend, who was good for her, who was good to her, thought he was a comedian.
Chapter Ten
Colt parked next to Holly’s SUV in his parents’ drive, grimacing at his sweaty palm on the gearshift. Her having lunch with the guy didn’t necessarily mean anything, but he’d carried the stress and nerves with him all day after their text exchange. She’d come to mean one hell of a lot in the last few weeks, and the idea of her leaving him scared him to death.
Ralph notwithstanding, he wasn’t used to good things in his adult life, and he’d lived for three weeks now waiting for her to change her mind. So, yeah. He was strung out tonight.
And they were having dinner — pizza of all things — with his parents.
And he was late.
Sue would have a fit, and he was not in the mood. At least Holly was already here. Mama adored her, and she had this way of soothing hard moments when she was around. He was grateful as hell for her. A wry grin tugged at his mouth.
If he had to sleep with her to keep her around, he might just make the sacrifice. He’d come close the night before, had had to fight the urge to simply slide up her body and take her after he’d taken her apart with his mouth and his hand. He kept telling himself if they were real, they’d last, and if so, they had plenty of time to go to bed together. He’d started to believe they would last, too.
Until today, when she’d texted him she was having lunch with Scott-freaking-Barlow.
With Ralph at his heels – he hadn’t seen the mutt all day so Mama would have to deal – he strode for the side door. When he opened it, Ralph rushed ahead, barking his fool head off, his ruckus followed by Holly’s sparkling laugh and his mama’s wry “Hello, Ralph.”
Well, that was something.
He stepped into the kitchen, and Holly smiled at him, sitting at the island with his mama. Sprawled on the floor in front of the range, Ralph nudging her with wild glee, Polo thumped her tail at him. Pizza boxes waited with paper plates on the counter next to the range, and both of the women in his life drank out of blue plastic cups.
His mama, drinking out of a Solo cup. With two dogs in her house and nary a complaint.
What the holy hell?
“Hey.” He leaned across the island to buss Sue’s cheek, then dropped a quick kiss on Holly’s lips. She pinched his shoulder before he straightened. “Where’s Daddy?”
“He ran over to your grandaddy’s to look at your grandma’s car.” Mama waved a dismissive hand, like Daddy not being home for a meal wasn’t a big deal. A palm planted on the island, Colt ran his tongue over his teeth. Huh. He didn’t know how to live in this particular paradigm, where all the rules were out the window.
A stack of blue cups sat near the refrigerator, and he dared to cross and pick one up, filling it with ice and water. He gestured at the glossy photo sheets spread over the marble. “What’s all that?”
