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“Me too,” Pike agreed. “They smell amazing.”
“They’re my favorite,” Clementine said. “I’m going to eat a hundred.”
“I think nine or ten will be more than enough.” Tulsi rolled her eyes with a laugh. “Why don’t you come to the bathroom with Marisol and me first. Then we’ll go get you a bib and some wings.”
Clem frowned. “Bibs are for babies and my stomach is already growling. I’m probably going to have a hole in my guts if I don’t get some wings in there soon.”
“That sounds serious,” Pike said, touching his hand lightly to Tulsi’s back. “Why don’t I take Clem to get wings and we’ll meet you at the tables by the dance floor?”
Tulsi blinked. “Oh, well—”
“That’s a great idea, Mr. Pike!” Clem dropped Tulsi’s hand and snatched up Pike’s.
By the time Tulsi pulled herself together and called after them for Clem to be on her best behavior, they were already halfway down the aisle. Tulsi watched them go, hand in hand, refusing to let the fear still lingering at the back of her mind take root. She didn’t have to be afraid of Pike and Clem spending time together. It was natural that the sight of something she’d feared for so long would cause her anxiety, but there was no need for anxiety anymore. Everything was going to be okay and it was wonderful that Pike and Clem seemed to be hitting it off.
“We’ll see you in a few,” Marisol said, kissing Bubba one last time before she and Tulsi started toward the house to find an empty bathroom. They were barely out of earshot, however, when Marisol jabbed Tulsi lightly in the ribs and asked, “So how long have you and Mr. Baseball been banging?”
Tulsi’s eyes flew wide as she glanced over her shoulder, but Bubba didn’t seem to have heard. “Is it that obvious?” Tulsi hissed as she turned back to Marisol. “We’re trying to keep it a secret until after the wedding.”
Marisol lifted one brow. “Well, I guess if someone were blind they might have missed all the loaded looks and hand-holding during the wedding…”
Tulsi fought a smile. “We’re both just too happy to hide it, I guess.”
“You shouldn’t hide it!” Marisol put her arm around Tulsi’s shoulders and gave her an excited squeeze. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve a man who can’t keep his hands off of you, but I have to admit I’m curious. Is Pike the bad boy you were talking about last time I was in town? The one you had the history with?”
Tulsi sighed, her smile fading. “Yes, but nothing is the way I thought it was. Pike’s wonderful. We just… We both made a lot of mistakes when we were younger. But we’re putting all of that behind us and moving on with a fresh slate.”
“Sounds smart,” Marisol said as they climbed the steps to Mia’s parents’ house. “That’s the only way to do it, just leave all the bullshit in the past and move on.”
“That’s what Pike says.” Tulsi held the door and followed Marisol inside the empty great room of the Sherman home. Everyone else was on their way to the tents set up next to the house, where Mia and Sawyer were holding their reception, and the house was so quiet Tulsi swore she could hear the ghosts of her and Mia’s younger selves talking about what toys they were going to play with next.
“But you don’t agree with him?” Marisol asked, glancing over her shoulder.
“No, I do,” Tulsi said. “I’m just having a harder time with it than he is I think.”
Marisol stepped into the bathroom and turned back to Tulsi with a hard look. “And why’s that? Don’t you think you deserve a fresh start? I certainly think you do.”
Tulsi lifted one shoulder and looked up at the ceiling, fighting the urge to spill her guts. The fact that Marisol was a new friend and not firmly entrenched in the old drama made her easy to talk to, but if Tulsi wasn’t going to tell Pike the truth she couldn’t tell anyone else. Pike was the person who deserved her honesty the most. Besides, she didn’t want to burden Marisol with a secret like this. She and Bubba might not be living in Lonesome Point, but they would be coming back to visit often and when they did they would be part of the family.
The tight-knit, closer-than-blood, Lonesome Point family of friends Tulsi had been lying to for years and would keep lying to until the day she died.
“Okay, spill it,” Marisol said, dropping the powder she’d just fished from her purse to the counter with athwack.
“There’s nothing to spill,” Tulsi said, forcing a weak smile. “Everything’s fine.”
“You look like you’re about to be sick.” Marisol’s voice dropped to a dramatic whisper. “Oh my God, are you pregnant?”
Tulsi’s eyes bulged. “No! I’m on the pill and we were careful and…no. Just no.” She had been on the pill and they’d been careful last time, too. But they’d still managed to get pregnant with Clem two months after their first broken condom, when they assumed they had dodged an unplanned pregnancy and were in the clear.
The thought made Tulsi’s knees go weak. She barely made it to the closed toilet seat before they buckled. She sat down hard, her clenched teeth grinding as she fought a wave of nausea.
“I’m not pregnant,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I just don’t know if I can do this.”
“Do what?” Marisol knelt on the ground beside her, laying a gentle hand on Tulsi’s knee. “You can talk to me, you know. I won’t share anything you say with Robert or anyone else if you don’t want me to.”
Tulsi pressed her lips together as she shook her head. “I can’t tell you. I can’t tell anyone. I have to forget about it and move on. Pretend it never happened.”
Marisol was quiet for a moment. “Well, I obviously don’t know what’s bothering you, Tulsi, but I do know that you’re a good, sweet person and I’m betting you don’t deserve to suffer like this.”
