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“Not like what?” Abe scooped up another bite of eggs, casual as you please. Tag knew he was anything but. There was so much of this man in Ally.
“I think I know what you’re saying. But, uh, I’m the one who is in over my head here.”
Abe leaned back a little in his chair, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. With a sad shake of his head, he said, “You know, I’m surprised.” Before Tag could respond, he went on, “When Ally told me about you, she said you were smart. I was glad for that. Can’t abide the notion of her settling for someone who isn’t as intelligent as she is.” Squinting slightly, like he was thinking it over, he added, “Eh, I suppose the fact that you’re a paramedic and a pilot and a successful businessman confirms your intelligence on one level. The lowest, most basic one.”
A mix of amusement and irritation stirred inside Tag, but he held steady. Keeping his feelings to himself, and at bay, was exhausting. He wondered how these two did it all the time.
“Thanks for that, then, I guess.”
“You know how old she is, right? And you’re, like, what, late thirties?”
Why did everyone keep going for this weak spot? “Yes. But believe me, our age difference was a cause of great concern to me before we ever started dating. Not to Ally, but for me. And I am careful not to forget—”
Brushing a hand through the air to cut him off, Abe said, “It’s not that. It’s not the difference in your ages that I’m talking about here. I don’t care about that. I care about Ally being happy. Right now, she’s not happy. I think you’re to blame.”
“Maybe. But not like I think you’re thinking. We had a difference of opinion over her…medical beliefs, and then… I don’t know if Ally told you, but I’m running for state senate and…” How did he explain how complicated his life was?
Abe was shaking his head again. “I don’t care what you two were disagreeing over. It’s no secret that Ally shares my views on medicine. She’s used to people questioning that. Differences in opinion can almost always be worked out if you love each other enough. The problem, as I see it, has to do with priorities and honesty, on both sides. Too many of the former are misplaced, however well-meaning, and there’s not enough of the latter.”
“I’ve been honest with her from the start,” Tag said, and then immediately realized that wasn’t true on at least one level. Maybe more, if he counted Kendall. What purpose would it serve to tell her how he felt? Other than breaking his own heart, which already felt battered about with more raw edges than he would have thought possible? As for the priorities, that part was true. But what choice did he have? Running for political office was all about priorities, about putting others’ needs ahead of his own. Except where this thing with Kendall was concerned—that he was going to do something about, regardless of what happened with Ally.
“And Ally has been honest with me, too. I know she’s not looking for a serious relationship.”
More head shaking from Abe left Tag feeling like a wayward teen who’d disappointed his father. “Son, you are sorely lacking when it comes to your knowledge of romantic relationships, aren’t you? I’m beginning to think you and Ally are on about the same level when it comes to that kind of experience.”
“Well, I can’t argue that.”
“Can’t argue what?” Ally asked in a husky morning voice as she strolled into the kitchen in her baggy flannel pajama bottoms, soft pink T-shirt and leather slippers. She’d secured her sleep-mussed hair away from her face, and a sharp pang of longing shot straight through his bloodstream. A lifetime of Sunday morning images flitted through his brain: him and Ally, kids, cats, coffee and the newspaper, cuddling in front of the fireplace in his house. He needed to…do something. He had to get out of here and away from her before he said something, did something he couldn’t take back.
“Argue about bacon,” Abe supplied.
Ally spun around from where she was filling a cup with coffee. Lips curving at the corners, she said drily, “Sounds like I’ve been missing out on some profound and insightful breakfast conversation.” Pulling out a chair, she joined them at the table and snagged a piece of bacon from the platter.
