“Tucker?” Brooke’s sweet voice trembles as she takes in the scene she’s just walked into. "What’s going on?”
“Baby, sorry I took so long.” I ignore the question, hoping she’ll let it drop until we’re out of here. I can’t protect her from knowing I have a past, but I pray I can get us out of here before Karlyn can tell her just how recent that past was.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” The viper at my back asks, her amusement obvious in the smirk she’s wearing all over her face. Brooke glances up at me nervously before she turns to offer her hand in greeting.
“Hi, I’m Brooke.” Karlyn’s eyes flick down to Brooke’s hand before she looks back to me.
“Really, Tucker? What makes this one special enough to go slumming it in the grocery store?”
“Excuse me?”
“Back off,” I growl as Brooke bristles at the ridiculous comment.
“Trust me, sweetheart, I’m doing you a favor. He might be playing house with you now, but it was only a few weeks ago he was trying to fuck me through my mattress.”
The air turns frigid. Brooke stays stock still, but I don’t miss the flinch at Karlyn’s vile outburst or the way her mouth tightens. I don’t know if she’s holding back her anger at me or Karlyn.
I don’t give a shit if anyone sees or overhears what I'm about to say. She needs to hear me and know that I’m not fucking around here. “If I see you anywhere near me or Brooke, I’ll ruin you,” I seethe, fury searing its way through me. She has enough sense to look panicked, at least for a second, but it’s not long before her usual sneer is back in place.
“Fuck you, Tucker,” she snarls. “Oh, I forgot, you already did.”
Gripping the handle, I swing the cart around. Hooking a still silent Brooke around her waist, I guide us through the checkout and to my truck.
I expect her to explode at any minute. To tell me to take her home, that she didn’t sign up for this nasty bullshit. Instead, she stays silent. The tension comes from her in waves, and I’m too much of a coward to say anything to break through it.
The silence follows us the whole way back to my place. It’s weighing heavily on us as I park the truck, grab the half-finished grocery shopping, and guide us to the elevator. She won’t even look at me as we stand side-by-side on the ride up to the penthouse.
She’s still here, though; that has to be a good sign, right? I don’t take my eyes off her as she slips her shoes off and wanders over to the over-sized sofa. She curls up in the corner, grabbing one of the fluffy cushions and hugging it to her body tightly.
She doesn’t look my way as I put the groceries away, or when I’ve finished and am walking toward her. Her eyes are trained out the windows.
“Brooke—”
“You should rearrange this room so the sitting area is next to the window.”
“Brooke—” Who needs a dining table with a view? She waves a hand toward the never used dining table that sits in front of the floor-length glass window. “I mean, the view from here is good, but over there is even—”
“Baby…” Putting my fingers under her chin, I gently turn her to look at me. The stark pain in her eyes guts me. She’s not mad at me; she’s hurt. My fucking heart twists knowing that I’m causing her pain like this. “I’m sorry. That never should have happened.”
“It’s not your fault.” Her voice is flat, and the sound grates on me.
“Brooke...” I sigh, trying to work out how to navigate my way through this minefield of a conversation.
“Weeks, Tuck? You were with her a few weeks ago? Was it after you saw me?” The strangled words score a direct hit. Her pain is a bullet to my fucking chest.
“Baby, it was a mistake. I was drunk ... a mess after seeing you. I don’t even remember it.” She shrinks back into the seat, my fumbled explanation obviously making this whole situation worse. I want to touch her, to scoop her up into my arms and love on her until she forgets the last hour ever happened. “I’m so sorry, baby.” It’s a feeble apology, but it’s all I have right now.
“You don’t owe me an apology, Tucker. You’re a single guy—”
“Don’t do that shit. Don’t brush this off.”
“I know you lived a life without me. But knowing is not the same as seeing it with my own eyes, so yes, I was hurt by what she said.”
“You think I lived? Baby, I’ve traveled the world. I’ve had some incredible experiences. I met people. But I didn’t live. I never loved. Not once. Not since you.”
Haunted blue eyes stare up at me. Even hurt she’s stunning. Swiping the tears from her cheeks, I take a chance and plant a soft kiss on her trembling lips. “Not since you,” I repeat, praying to any god that will listen that she actually hears what I’m saying.
“I was caught off guard.” She stares down at her fingers as they pick at the threads on the cushion she’s gripping on to. “Seeing an old girlfriend of yours blindsided me.”
“Not a girlfriend, Brooke.” I cut her off. “She’s a pit bunny.”
“What?”
“A pit bunny. A track tramp. A road header, whatever you want to call them. She’s someone who hangs around hoping that one of the drivers will want to get in their pants.” The way her lip curls up at the description of how I met Karlyn has shame sitting heavy on my chest.
“I was a wreck when you left, and I might have made some wrong decisions over the
