“And there probably won’t be one ever again,” Blaine said with a chuckle.
It was seriously messed up that Tripp felt a stab of annoyance at his friend.But Blaine was a good-looking guy.Unlike Tripp, he wasn’t covered in scars, and his charm was legendary.
“True,” Willow agreed, grinning at him.
Surrendering to the primal need to claim her, Tripp set a hand on her shoulder, feeling ridiculously gratified as Blaine’s gaze tracked the movement, taking in the nonverbal message.
Yeah, that’s right.She’s mine.
For now, at least.
Willow glanced up at him for a second in surprise then cleared her throat.“Well, I should get going.”She grabbed the empty pastry box, her half-finished drink, and stood.
“Where you off to?”Blaine asked.
“I volunteer at the library.Tripp, I’ll text you as soon as I’m done.Nice to meet you, Blaine.”
“Verynice to meet you, Willow.”
They both watched her walk away.Tripp shot Blaine a glare.
“So that’s Peyton’s sister,” Blaine said, still staring after her.
“Yeah.”It almost came out like a growl.
“How long’ve you two been together?”
“Not long.”And not officially, but he didn’t need to know that.Handsome bastard.
Blaine was still watching her walk up the sidewalk.“Does she know about...”
A rock settled in the pit of his stomach.“No.But I’m gonna tell her.”
Blaine looked at him sharply, his gaze censuring.“Yeah,” he said after a long, loaded moment.“No way around that one.”
No.Unfortunately not.Time to change the subject.“You got time now to go over the alarm system design?Or should I come check the mantel installation first?”
“Why not both?I’ve got everything we need at my place.I’ll show you what I’ve got, give you my recommendation, and then we can install what you pick out later today after I finish up my meetings.”
“Sounds good.I’ll head straight over.”
“See you there.”
“Not if I see you first.”
Blaine shot him a cocky grin over his shoulder.“Never gonna happen.”
Tripp headed in the opposite direction for his truck, regretting that Blaine had interrupted them before he’d been able to tell Willow about Syria, but acutely aware that his reprieve with her was running out fast.
The interruption had merely bought him a little more time.His day of reckoning was imminent.
All that remained was to wait and see how bad the damage would be when he told Willow the truth about that final, disastrous mission in Syria.
