“You’re reducing me to just a dog now, huh?” he teases back, grinning.
“Well, theyareyour favorites,” I reply with a nonchalant shrug, earning a chuckle from him.
“You little minx,” he accuses, stepping closer to me. His eyes take on a heated intensity as he smirks at me, his hand coming up to cup my cheek.
Just as he’s about to lean in, the door to the restaurant opens, and Tally comes rushing out, her hands clutched to her belly, tears streaming down her face. “Sloan!” she yells, her voice cracking. “Where the hell have you been?”
Behind her, Tim follows, his eyes wide with worry as he attempts to calm Tally. “Baby, please. Slow down.”
But Tally doesn’t listen. She reaches me in seconds, and Saylor steps back before her arms envelop me in a crushing hug. “Are you fucking kidding me? You didn’t answer any of my calls, your van was gone,youweregone!I thought you just left without a goodbye. What happened?”
She’s trembling in my arms as she clings to me, and guilt hits me like a ton of bricks as I hold her tightly, tears stinging my own eyes while I meet Tim’s stern gaze. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper, my voice choked with emotion. “I didn’t mean to worry you like this.”
I’m a horrible person.
ButI’m not used to having people who care.
“Well, you fucking did, Tarzan. Come on, let’s get inside to talk about this. I want her to sit down after that little sprint.” Tim seems agitated, and I can’t even be mad about it.
I messed up.
Tally’s grip on me loosens, and she steps back, taking my hand in a vice grip. She leans away just enough to look up into my eyes, her own filled with relief and lingering concern. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, missy,” she warns, her voice trembling. “I can’t handle this kind of stress, especially not now.”
A new wave of guilt chokes me when Saylor laughs. “Way to knock her down, Tall.” I shoot him a glare, and he puts his hands up surrender. “Hey, she’s the one guilt-tripping, but if it works, it works.”
I focus back on Tally as we enter the restaurant, the doors closing behind us. “I won’t.”
Tim steps closer to Tally’s other side, placing a hand on her shoulder, his expression softening. “We were just scared for you, Sloan,” he admits, his voice heavy with worry. “We picked you up from those jerks, you make a mind-blowing reveal, and then you just disappear like…” he mimics an explosion with his hands, “… poof.”
“She wishes she was that cool.” Saylor chuckles from beside me.
I have to stifle a chuckle at that, but Tally still looks worried, so I keep a serious face. “I know, and I’m sorry. But some shit happened, and?—”
“And next time shit happens, you call your best fucking friend, idiot.” Tally finally lets go of me, wiping away a tear with the back of her hand.
“Which would be me,” Saylor chimes in. “But I guess I need to learn to share you anyway.”
That little…
Tally takes a shaky breath and offers a weak smile. “Now that’s settled, let’s sit down so you can tell us what happened.”
Tim grabs Mac from the kitchen, who joins us at a table with a bottle of water for each of us. It’s Sunday, and I know the evening rush will start shortly, so I need to speed through everything. I hesitate, unsure how much I can say with Mac there, but Tally tells me matter-of-factly, “I told him.”
That admission knocks the breath out of me, and I can practically feel my heart skip a beat.
Tally shrugs at my shocked face, announcing, “What you can do is awesome and nothing to be ashamed of or something you need to hide. I understand you don’t want everyone to know, but our inner circle has to. We love you, all of you. There is no need to hide from the people who love you.”
Unmoving, shock still rushing through me, it takes a second to realize what she just did andsaid.
They all know.
And they’re still here.
“She’s right,” Saylor agrees from where he’s standing behind me, his hand landing on my shoulder.
I’m trying not to tear up at her words, the lump in my throat making it hard to swallow. My gaze finds Mac’s, prepared to see disbelief in his eyes, but he reaches over the table to notch my chin up slightly. “Told you everything will be fine,” he tells me in his gruff tone.
I nod, biting my lip. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm down before I tell them everything. About how Jessica and Lio found me, how we rushed to the hospital, about Lio’s condition, how the guys got there, how I let Jessica talk through me to them, and how she found the light. Tally is in tears when I tell her about what I promised Jessica to relay to them, that it’s not a goodbye but a see you later. She breaks down on Tim, who also wipestears away from his cheek. Mac is his stoic self, leaning back in his chair, tattooed arms crossed over his massive chest, but I notice a flicker of something in his eyes too.
