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LookingatTy,Iask softly, “Doyou mind?”
Hewatches me for a long moment, studyingShannonon my lap as he indulges.Thescent of strawberry creeps over the warmth of meals past made in this house.
“We’llbe okay,”Iassure him. “There’sa fruiteria on the corner down the street that’s open late.”
Ty’sbrows furrow. “Awhat?”
Isigh impatiently, reaching for my purse. “Asnack shop.I’lltext you what we want.”
Tygets up from the loveseat and waves his hand at me. “Don’tworry about it,Igot it.”Hestarts to head for the door, but pauses with his hand on the knob. “TheyspeakEnglish, right?”
“Enough.”
ItextTywith our order—HotCheetoscon queso, piccadilly with ice cream, and some pickle juice pops—before grabbing the vape fromShannonwhen he holds it up.
“Itake it he’s an unwanted tagalong?”
Igently tug atShannon’swaves, breathing vapor out.
Heclears his throat. “Wereyou attacked, or is that a coverup for you andDreehooking up behind his back?”
Igive his head a good thump and he grunts in response. “Itold you,Adrianjumped me.Boththe twins are throwing fits about him being here.”
“Yeah,” he scoffs. “Youdon’t have to tell me about it.”
Myeyes narrow at him. “What’dthey say?”
“Theydidn’t have to say a damn thing.”Weexchange a few more hits from the vape before he asks, “Whywere we never a thing?”
Ismirk. “Becauseneither of us are into blonds.”
Hesnorts. “Yeah.”Gradually, the beam dies down. “Maybewe should’ve been a thing.Wouldasaved us all a lot of heartache.”
“Maybe,”Iconcede.Iwant to say that means we wouldn’t haveDrea, but with the way the air tenses, the silence conveys the message loud and clear. “ButKrisis your soulmate and we all know it,”Isay softly.
Hesniffles. “Thenwhy’s she doin’ this to me?I…Ididn’t mean to turn her into la lechuza.Ididn’t…Iwouldn’t have asked her to marry me ifIknew.”
Ilet him mull the thought over for a minute, fretting with tears tumbling once again.
“Whatd’you love most about her?”Iask quietly.
Shannonthinks, chewing on his bottom lip. “Ilove that she’s a fighter.Thatno matter what, she’s gonna swing until she can’t anymore.”
“Don’tyou think that’sexactlywhat she’s doing right now?Fightinglike hell for her family and her life?”Ibrush stray waves away from his face. “She’sscared, hon.She’sterrified of hurtingDreawhen she doesn’t mean to.”
Hisbawling breaks my heart, but he needs to hear this.
“She’sscared and is doing what she thinks is best to protect y’all’s daughter.We’llfigure something out.Tillthen…”Tearsrace down his cheeks and drip onto my lap. “Rememberyou got a precious little girl and a hot wife to stick around for while we figure things out.”
Heturns toward me, slipping his arms around my waist and burying his face into my stomach.
Hisarms cinch tighter, and a muffled, deep, harrowing cry breaks my heart.
“We’llget her back,”Ipromise softly.Myhold on him tightens. “She’sgonna come back.”
Ilet him cry his heart out, silently praying that, although this hurts like hell, it doesn’t mean it’s the end—we just need time to figure out how to make things work, to makeKrissee that leaving him for good isn’t the answer.
Inthe meantime,Ineed to make sure he doesn’t see that razor blade as the answer, either.
