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“That’s what it sounded like,” Blaine said. “It felt like that, too, Tam. I don’t know who that woman was that I was dancing with in there, but it wasn’t you.” She’d been so flirtatious, which sure, Tam could be. She’d laughed so loud, and she’d clung to him in an obnoxious way that made no sense to him.
Until now.
“I know,” she moaned. “I’m sorry, Blaine. I just thought if he could see us, he’d know he hadn’t beaten me.”
“Why is it so important that he know that?” Blaine asked. “Why isn’t you just living a good life enough?” He didn’t understand why she had to prove anything to him.
“I don’t know,” Tam said quietly, and this time when Blaine looked at her, she was watching the night go by out her window.
He didn’t want to push her away, and he sighed and looked out his window too. “I accept your apology,” he said, drawing his shoulders up and back. “However, in the future, should you feel like you have to prove something to Hayes, I would appreciate it if you left me out of it.”
“I’m sorry,” Tam said again, sniffling this time.
Surprise shot through Blaine, and he pulled off the highway quickly, pressing the brake hard.
“Hey,” she said, bracing herself against the dashboard.
“Are you crying?” he asked.
“No,” she said, looking at him. He opened his door so the cabin light would come on, and he searched her face.
“I was just making sure my nose wasn’t bleeding again,” she said. A half-smile, half-grimace crossed her face. “I hit the floor pretty hard.”
Blaine softened toward her, the misery in her eyes too much for him to bear. “I’m sorry, Tam. You knew I wasn’t a great dancer.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” She giggled, the sound growing as she laughed fully. “I’m the one who tripped over my own feet, then yours, and caused a pile-up on the dance floor.”
Blaine laughed with her, reaching over to take her hand. She looked at their joined fingers, and then lifted her gaze to his. “I really am sorry I made you feel used. That was not my intention.”
He nodded, his emotion stuffed into a ball in his throat. He looked out the windshield, his night shifting again. “I already accepted the apology,” he said. “I don’t need another one. I do, however, need some fried chicken. Care to go with me to Bird Stories?”
A few seconds of silence passed, and Tam said, “If I must.”
Blaine grinned and swung the truck into a U-turn. “There’s the Tam I know.”
* * *
On Saturday,Blaine went into the kitchen at the homestead, already annoyed at his collar and he hadn’t even left the ranch yet.
“Where are you goin’?” Trey asked. He scrubbed his hands and arms to the elbow, peering at Blaine over his shoulder.
“That stupid wedding,” Blaine said, yanking on the fridge door. He’d get lobster and steak in a couple of hours, but his stomach wasn’t playing very nice right now. He took out a container of leftover stew Cayden had brought home from Mom’s and stuck it in the microwave.
“With Tam?” Trey asked, drying his hands now. “Can I have some of that too?”
“Sure, there’s plenty.” Blaine opened the drawer and got out two spoons. “Not with Tam. With her friend, Denise.”
Trey frowned, and Blaine felt that deeply in his heart. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s so simple, really,” Blaine said, plenty of sarcasm in his voice. “I’m going with Denise, because she used to date the groom, so she has to go. Why skip the wedding for your ex, right? But she can’t go alone, and she doesn’t have a boyfriend. I owe Tam about a million favors, and she’s cashing in.” Blaine glared at his brother.
Trey just grinned. “What are they serving for dinner?”
“That is not important,” Blaine said. “Tam’s going to be there too. So I’m going to a wedding for someone I don’t know and don’t care about, with a woman I’ve met once—via video chat, mind you—and my girlfriend is going to be there by herself. Tell me how any of this makes sense.”
Trey laughed and rounded the peninsula in the kitchen to sit at the bar. Blaine put a spoon in front of him and turned back to stir the stew with the other one.
“Human beings are so complex,” Trey said. “None of that makes sense, brother. Not a single thing you said.”
