Of course Lucas knew Marcus had been texting me. My best friend was far too perceptive for his own good. “Yeah.”
“And?”
“And nothing,” I said, though even I could hear how unconvincing I sounded. “He apologized. Great. Doesn’t change what happened.”
Lucas was quiet for a moment, and I could feel him studying me. “You know, when Beau and I first got together, I was terrified. Not because I was worried about liking him, but because I was lying to him.”
I turned to look at him, confused by the sudden shift in conversation. “Lying to him?”
“I came to Sagebrush to steal his recipes for my company. And I almost did.” He shook his head. “When I finally admitted what I’d done, I thought Beau would never forgive me. And I figured I deserved his anger and mistrust for what I’d done.”
I took another sip of my milkshake, not sure where he was going with this. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that people make mistakes. Even good people. Especially when they’re scared.” Lucas turned on his stool to face me fully. “Marcus was scared, Xavier. Scared of what it meant that he was falling for you. Scared of losing his job, his reputation, everything he’s built his life around. So, when someone handed him evidence that you might be the thief, some part of him probably wanted to believe it. Because if you were a criminal, then he had an excuse to push you away before things got too serious.”
I wanted to argue, wanted to tell him he was wrong. But hadn’t I thought the same thing when Marcus had showed up at my cabin? That he was looking for a reason to sabotage what we had?
“That doesn’t make it okay,” I said quietly.
“No, it doesn’t,” Lucas agreed. “But Beau forgave me when I didn’t deserve it. He gave me a second chance, and it changed my entire life. I’m not saying you have to forgive Marcus right now, or even at all. But maybe consider that he’s human. And humans fuck up, especially when their hearts are involved.”
I stared down at my milkshake, watching the whipped cream slowly melt into the pink liquid. My chest felt tight, emotions warring inside me. Anger at Marcus for not trusting me. Hurt that he’d believed the worst. But underneath all of that was the memory of how safe I’d felt in his arms, how he’d looked at me like I mattered. How much Imissedhim back.
“Food’s up!” Dolly called from the kitchen window, breaking the moment.
Lucas squeezed my shoulder once before heading back to the booth with Beau. I stayed at the bar, staring at the plate of food in front of me. My appetite had vanished somewhere between reading Marcus’s texts and Lucas’s story about betraying Beau.
“Dolly,” I said, pushing the plate away. “This looks great, but I need to go. There’s… There’s something I need to do.”
She gave me a warm, understanding smile. “You go on then, sugar,” she said. “Go get him.”
Chapter 21
Xavier
My feet had carried me across town in a flash. I was already standing on Marcus’s front porch, pounding on his door in the dark. He was home. He had to be. I would accept nothing else. And he was going to get a piece of my fucking mind.
The door swung open so fast I nearly stumbled forward. Marcus stood there in nothing but a pair of low-slung sweatpants, his hair disheveled like he’d been running his hands through it. His eyes were bloodshot, dark circles underneath them that matched my own. He looked like hell, and some vindictive part of me was glad.
“Xavier,” he breathed, his voice hoarse. “I?—”
“Don’t,” I snapped, jabbing my finger into his bare chest. “Don’t you dare say another fucking word until I’m done.”
He closed his mouth, his jaw working as he stepped back to let me inside. I stormed past him into the living room, the same living room where we’d made love just days ago. The memory made my chest ache, but I shoved it down, letting my anger take center stage.
“Do you have any idea how humiliating that was?” I demanded, whirling to face him. “Having you search through mythings like I was some common criminal? In front of Lucas and Beau?”
“Xavier, I’m so sorry?—”
“I said don’t talk!” My voice cracked, and I hated how it betrayed the hurt beneath my fury. “You didn’t just suspect me of stealing. You made me feel like everything between us was a lie. Like maybe you’d only been with me to keep tabs on the investigation. Like I was just some… somesuspectyou were playing.”
“No,” Marcus said firmly, taking a step toward me. “That’s not?—”
“I came to this godforsaken town as a favor to my best friend,” I continued, my hands shaking now. “I’ve done nothing but try to make their wedding perfect. I’ve been nice to people who clearly hate me. I’ve eaten terrible diner food and pretended to enjoy it. And I—” I stopped, my throat closing up. “I let myself care about you. I let you in, Marcus.”
His face crumpled, pain flashing across his features. “I know. God, Xavier, I know I fucked up.”
“You think?” I laughed bitterly. “Dolly found her keys behind the counter. They’d been there the whole time. But you didn’t even consider that, did you? You just assumed the worst about me without even asking.”
