Chapter 26
“Ican’t believe you did that,” Margo hissed as they carted the last two boxes from Ty’s car to the garage behind their home.
Four days had passed since the devastating night when Ty broke things off with Memphis. He hadn’t contacted her since, but Andie had on his behalf. She said the Duran brothers still planned to help move her and Lucas’s things into the suite. Memphis had offered to bow out if that’s what she wanted. Sadly, Ty had been forced to decline the offer altogether and give her two weeks.
Now, rather than enjoy Thanksgiving at The Homestead like they’d planned, she and Lucas would fly out to Boston and join her parents for a catered meal at the country club. She’d fly back here to finish out her two weeks, and then…a deep sigh passed through her, making the box she carried feel even heavier. Then, she and Lucas would stay here with Holly and Margo while Ty helped run the store and do massages on the side.
She hoisted the box and plopped it onto the others with a grunt. “I can’t believe it either,” she said in reply to Margo’s comment. “It still feels like a crazy nightmare right now. One minute, I’ve got Memphis at my side…Lucas and I are about to move into a beautiful rent-free suite for my new job at the most charming bed and breakfast I’ve seen, and the next minute, I’m putting in my two weeks and kissing the man of my dreams goodbye.”
“I get that you were worried about Eric the d-bag,” Margo said as she plunked her box onto the stack as well. She dusted her hands off before resting an elbow on the top box. “But to actually let him break you and Memphis up, which was his whole objective, isridiculous.”
That sinking hole in Ty’s heart flared hot once more. Like lava was spewing through it in a fiery rage. “I wasn’t meaning it to be a permanent thing, really. At least, I was telling myself that in the back of my mind. But I was terrified. The Eric I know can be vengeful and cruel if he wants to be, and as soon as he brought up his attorney friend whospecializes in cases like this, I knew we were in for it. And I’m sorry, but I’ve got to protect Lucas first and foremost.”
“I doubt Eric and his lawyers could really do anything to take Lucas away over one little parking lot scuffle. Has Eric said anything more about the whole background check on Memphis?”
“No,” Ty said. “And he definitelywouldhave if they’d have found something.”
Margo straightened up, put both hands on Ty’s shoulders, and squared a look at her. “Listen, I know it freaked you out that Memphis went off on Eric. But you have to see things from his perspective. You said yourself that Memphis was under the impression that you’d been talking to Eric before he even arrived. And you better believe that Eric said some pretty ugly stuff to instigate the whole thing.”
Ty nodded. “I know. You’re right, but what attracts me most to Memphis is that he’s not usually like that. At one point, back in high school, I’ll admit that I was attracted to that bad boy side of Eric. But I outgrew that long ago. Now that I’m a mom, it’s a complete turn off. I just don’t expect that type of behavior from Memphis.”
Margo dropped her arms and huffed out an exaggerated sigh. “But he’s still aman,Ty. Don’t you get that? Amanhas enough control to not go off at every offense. But don’t you think he should have a breaking point, too? Don’t you think he should step up and defend your honor if he needs to?”
“Is that what you think he was doing?” Ty asked, entertaining the idea for the first time.
“Probably. I’m sure Eric would say anything to get a response from him, don’t you?”
She considered that. “Yes. I knew from the moment I told him about Memphis that it might get ugly. Eric still hasn’t grown up. Still, I hadn’t expected him to start making threats.”
Margo folded her arms across her chest. “And now he’s just getting his way, isn’t he? Only this time you’re going to him.”
Lucas didn’t yet know it, but when he and Ty were in Boston, he’d be meeting his biological father for the very first time.
“I’ve got to introduce them at some point,” Ty said. “It may as well be on my terms.”
“So you’re still planning on that?”
“Yes, as long as Eric doesn’t change his mind about the whole thing and back out.”
“What makes you think he’ll do that?”
She considered her latest, growing suspicion. “It’s just a hunch I have. I feel like, if Eric really believes there’s absolutelynochance for the two of us to get back together, he’ll lose interest and stop pursuing his parental rights.”
“You already told him that,” Margo said. “It’s why he started making threats in the first place, right?”
“Maybe he started making threats to get me to break things off. A part of me thinks he’s just…hoping to slide into Memphis’s place.”
Margo’s face scrunched. She shook her head. “Well, then…you better make it crystal clear that that’s never going to happen. And you never know, you could still get back together with Memphis.”
“I wish that were true,” Ty said. “I can’t help but think that I gave Memphis the out he was looking for. You should have seen his face when he met Eric. I mean, Lucas didn’t know who he was, but Memphis did. He looked horrified.”
“The idea that he could lose you to Lucas’s poor excuse for a fatherishorrifying,” Margo said.
“Well, tomeit looked more like…like he regretted ever getting involved.”
“That’s what people do when they realize they might get their heart crushed, Ty. But that doesn’t mean he was going to suddenly back out. He just needed to…take it all in. It’s been a while since you’ve been in the dating world, obviously.”
“But as far as Eric goes,” Margo continued. “You need to make sure, before you go back to Boston, that he knowsyou willnothook up with him again. The guy probably already has some candlelight dinner for two planned while you’re in Boston.”
