by L. A. Fiore
The girl didn’t even need to look at her computer. Her expression changed, becoming a bit dreamy. “Mr. Sutherland.” She practically purred. “Oh yes. He checked out early this morning.”
Tilly didn’t move, just stared at the girl as she processed that information. He left. He checked out and left and didn’t text her, didn’t call. He was upset, she understood. In his shoes, she’d be too, but he left her. Her eyes burned as she walked from the counter. She didn’t want to go back to her room because she felt the tears and knew she wasn’t going to hold them back. So she walked to the pool, sat in the chair she’d sat yesterday and let it out. It wasn’t just pain that had the tears rolling down her face. She was angry too. Angry that he left without a word. Whatever he was thinking, they were in this together. Luke showing up, that fucked up her world, too. She refreshed her messenger, but no response. She almost called him, but held back. Was feeling too much, feared what she would say, making it worse than it already was.
She spent an hour pulling herself together. Then she grabbed breakfast for her family and spent the day with them. Luke was the most attentive he’d been in a long time, affectionate even. She laughed and she smiled, but part of it was for show, because inside, her heart was breaking as the hours passed with no word from Gage.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“No,” Gage yelled to Kyle. “Over there.” He pointed to the other side of the front porch. Gage took another step back, taking in the layout on the front gardens he had come up with the night before.
Dom came up next to him, handing him a bottle of water. “That looks better.”
Gage tilted his head, left then right. “Something is off.” He told him and shouted. “Kyle, move the crepe myrtle out of the bed for a second.”
“Dom nodded. “That was it.” He patted Gage on the shoulder and said, “Looks good, good job. Now, since it’s just us and Kyle, guess we need to haul ass.” He chuckled, took a swig from the water bottle, and walked to help Kyle start planting everything.
Gage turned and was making his way toward his truck while draining his own bottle of water when he heard tires screeching around the corner. When his head swung in that direction, his feet stopped, his body froze.
Dom grumbled from his distance, “What the fuck?”
Gage’s arm moved slowly when he pulled the bottle from his mouth as he watched the scene in front of him.
Tilly slammed on the brakes, threw the car in park and didn’t even bother turning it off before she flew out of the driver seat. Her focus burning holes into Gage as she stormed across the street to him.
“What the fuck!” she screamed, her blood racing through her veins. “Two fucking days, two days and nothing. What the fuck is going on? You think you can just get rid of me. Is that it? Got too complicated? Two fucking days.” She was panting when she reached him. Stopping right in front of him, she tilted her head back to look into his bewildered expression. “You want to explain yourself?”
Gage’s head whipped left then right, making sure there were no onlookers. But if Tilly kept up her shouting rage, there would be in no time. “Calm down, Till,” Gage grated evenly through his teeth.
“Don’t you fucking tell me to calm down,” she hissed, getting up on her tiptoes and roaring. “It takes two. You want out, I deserve to fucking hear it from you. I have just as much at stake as you do.”
Gage heard the grass crunching behind him before Dom came up next to him. “Jesus, man.” He looked from Tilly to Gage. “Take this fucking shit in the car,” he bit out at the both of them, before walking back to where a confused Kyle stood watching the scene.
“For fucks sake, Tillian. Calm the fuck down.” He snapped, but thought about it, and fuck that. “Yeah, sweetheart, it does take two, the problem is, you keep bringing people in!” He rumbled and brought his face an inch from hers and roared. “One, Kenny. Two, your fucking husband. I didn’t go flaunting that shit in front of your face, did I?”
Tilly’s head reared back like he’d hit her. “Are you suggesting I invited him? That I wanted my husband to show up, that I wanted to put myself, you, our kids in that position?” And as his words settled, the angier she got.
“Well, gotta say, baby, kinda fucking funny for a guy to show up that all I keep hearing about is how he’s never around for you all.” Gage barked then growled. “Seems pretty coincidental for him to give a fuck on our weekend.”
She felt those words, her anger causing tears to burn her eyes. “Yeah, the same kind of coincidental for your wife, who spent your birthday with her friends, to decide after our weekend that she wants to be a wife again. And you sure as shit didn’t waste any time playing husband.”
“I said in the fucking car!” Dom roared from the front of the house.
Gage ignored Dom, taking a step back from Tilly like she had punched him in the gut. His voice was a menacing deep whisper, “That’s fucking low, Till.” He moved around her and started for his truck.
“Yeah, and walking away from me, ignoring me for two days and then accusing me of inviting my husband to flaunt in front of you. That isn’t low? And when I try to reach out to you, you ignore me. My calls, my texts, leaving me worrying for days over what’s going on with you.”
Gage took long strides to reach her; he snatched her arm, dragging her to the side of the house and away from view of the street and any possible spectators. He stopped them, pressed her up against the house, moving into her space and bit out lowly, “You wanna be in the fucking loop?” When he saw her eyes were wide, anger still heating them, he told her the truth. “I fucking love you. Seeing you with him tore the fuck outta me, Till.” He stepped back, staring at her a beat, before he looked to the ground, running a hand through his hair.
Her anger shifted, tears falling now for an entirely different reason. She didn’t move, needing the house to keep her standing. “I’m in love with you too. Watching you walk away, knowing how you had to have felt seeing Luke, knowing what I felt hearing about you and Heather, that did bring me to my knees.”
Gage slowly raised his head, meeting her tearful hazel ones. His heart splitting in two as he watched the tears fall down her cheeks. He stood where he was and whispered, “Fuck, what did we do?” It wasn’t a question directed at her, but one they both knew the answer to. They walked into each other’s lives when they needed someone. Someone to listen… someone to love. They found that in each other as their worlds around them crumbled. And neither did a thing but climb over the rubble to reach the other.
With her anger fading, Tilly realized the scene she’d caused, realized that she had shown up at his work. Guilt and shame hit hard. He’d been sharing the stages of the project with her, told her the general location, so she drove around until she found his crew. She’d been so angry she hadn’t let herself think about what she was doing.
His work, his employees, the likelihood his wife and daughter would hear about it. Her face went pale. “Oh Jesus…” she looked around, bile rushing up her throat. “What have I done?”
“The same thing I do when you’re around.” His voice was low, raspy when he said, “Forget about the consequences.” He closed the distance between them; reaching around her waist, he pulled her from the house. His arms enclosed around her, holding her firm against him, he tucked his head into her neck and whispered, “I love you, Tilly.”
She fisted his shirt, her face pressed against his chest. He loved her. She wanted him to say it again. A part of her thought she was coming here to say goodbye, but not without a fight. Knowing he felt it, too, her words were like a vow. “I love you.” She breathed deeply before adding, “I was going out of my head these last few days. I saw the pain in your face, hated knowing you were hurting. I came here to fight for you, but in front of your clients, your employees. I’m so sorry.”
He thought back on the scene that played out only minutes before. What it must have looke
d like. How many people could have seen. What people could have thought. How all of it could get back to Heather. Gage chuckled because, in a weird way, he didn’t give a fuck.
“My client is away on vacation; the house is empty.” He told her and lifted his head to look down at her.
That was something at least. And it was only Dom and Kyle. As far as damage, it could have been a lot worse. She looked into those brown eyes. “You love me.” She smiled, but sobered. “I can’t explain Luke showing up. Or Kenny.”
He placed a finger over her lips, stopping her words. “Shh.” He told her and smiled. “Are you gonna kiss me?”
She answered by touching her lips to his, softly at first, tentative, but just that taste brought the hunger.
Gage leaned down into Tilly, his moves causing her to lose her footing. He kept her steady by rocking them for a second, deepening the kiss as he held her tightly against him, molding their bodies together, the world around them forgotten.
Lost in each other, they never heard Dom calling to them. “Hey!” He shouted again from the corner of the house. Gage ended the kiss, lifted his head and moved his eyes to Dom standing there. His arms folded, his facial expression clearly showing anger, he snapped. “You gonna help us finish?”
Gage didn’t say anything, just nodded. That seemed good enough for Dom as he turned and walked away. Bringing his attention back to Tilly, he told her, “There’s a coffee shop in the next town over called Mugs, go, I’ll meet you there in about twenty minutes.”
“Okay.” The idea of spending time with Gage had her almost giddy, but realizing the mess she’d created, her gaze drifted to where Dom had been. “He looks pissed.” Turning her eyes back on Gage, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Gage shrugged, “He’ll get over it.” He laid a kiss on her forehead and repeated. “Go, and I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
She smiled, lingering for a second, because despite how she’d done it, they were back to them. She started for her car. She hadn’t turned it off, the door was still open. Guilt and embarrassment washed through her letting her temper get the better of her. She avoided eye contact with everyone when she climbed in, turned the car around and drove off.
Gage walked to where Dom and Kyle were, planting the last of what needed to be in the front bed. Kyle was crouched down, pushing dirt around a croton when he glanced up at Gage. He no longer looked confused, he looked disgusted. Gage brushed that off and said, “Gonna head out, I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“No, you won’t,” Dom voiced, never bothering to look at Gage, continuing on with what he was doing.
Gage drew his brows and cocked his head, his tone hard. “Come again?”
The tone in his voice had Dom standing, brushing his hands off and rotating. “Did I fucking stutter, I said,” he leaned in to Gage and bit out, “no, you won’t.”
Gage gave a visible jerk of his head. “What the fuck?” He snapped.
Dom pulled the gloves from his hands, throwing them to the ground then moving around Gage, muttering, “Just go fuck your little friend.” Gage stepped back, the blow of his friend’s words cutting deep. “Some of us have work to do.”
It was the last words that Dom spoke that had Gage jogging up to him, placing a hand on Dom’s shoulder and turning him. Dom shrugged him off. “Don’t fucking touch me,” he rumbled.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Gage roared.
“Me?” Dom jerked back. “I’m not the one with the fucking problem here, buddy, but your problem...” Dom threw a hand in the direction of where Tilly’s car had been parked. “Is becoming all of ours.”
Gage quickly closed the distance between him and Dom, getting in his face he grated out, “She isn’t a fucking problem.”
Dom stepped into Gage. “She is if she’s showing up at our client’s house like a fucking raging bitch.”
Gage swiftly raised his arms, his hands landing on Dom’s chest, shoving him back. Dom stumbled, catching himself, and went to take a step into Gage when Kyle blocked him. “Come on guys, let’s shake this off,” Kyle expressed evenly.
Gage looked Dom up and down with loathing eyes. “Some fucking friend,” he hissed through clenched teeth.
Kyle stood between two men who had been friends for years. Their ride or die, been through thick and thin together as their friendship shifted due to Gage’s selfishness.
Dom threw a hand to the street. “Just fucking go.” Then he started toward the house. Gage watched him walk away, bringing his eyes to Kyle, they connected, before Kyle looked to the ground, rotated and followed Dom. The young kid who had once looked at Gage like he invented air, hung on his every word, doing his best to follow in Gage’s footsteps, no longer viewed him the same. Gage stood motionless for a few beats, watching his friend and employee bring his landscape design to life. He would miss out on the construction of it all… but that was his own doing.
Gage turned and went to his truck. Climbing behind the wheel, he reached for his cell. Instead of calling Tilly, he texted her that he was on his way. So he didn’t get inside his head and ruin an afternoon with Tilly, he turned the music up, the bass pumping through the cab as he drove to the woman he craved.
_______________
Tilly sat at a table at Mugs, lost in her thoughts, her coffee untouched. For the past two days, she’d felt like a zombie, going through the motions of her life, but feeling very little. When she thought she’d lost Gage, she found it not just hard to breathe, but walking the edge of a panic attack. She felt a fresh wave of remorse thinking about the scene earlier, the look on Dom’s face when he confronted them. She shouldn’t have shown up like she did, shouldn’t have caused a scene like she had, but she couldn’t say if she had to do again, she wouldn’t do the same thing.
He loved her. The thought brought a smile. It was madness. What they had, what they shared, it was crazy, but it was real...addicting. He was in her thoughts all the time. When she wasn’t with him, her thoughts were on when they’d be together again, to the point that she could show up unannounced and confront him. As if she had a right to do that. In her heart, she believed she did. Because he loved her and she loved him. She glanced up, people milling around the cafe. She never thought she’d be here, the other woman. Some would say she should back off, leave it alone, but that was easier said than done. She didn’t want to back off, knew she couldn’t even if she tried. Not now, not when she knew what she felt, he felt it, too. The best they could do was hold on and hope to hell they didn’t destroy their lives for the moments of happiness they brought each other.
Gage parked next to Tilly’s car, his eyes lingering on the vehicle, unblinking. The music was still blaring through the speakers, but in the fifteen-minute drive to Mugs, his thoughts were too loud for the tunes to drain them out anymore. There was a time when he’d drop everything and run to spend an afternoon with his wife. Now, he was doing that for a woman who he had no claim on, or her of him. A woman he met only months ago that shifted his life into a different hemisphere. To a place that only her and him existed, that place bringing him happiness he hadn’t felt in a long time. He loved her. He knew he had the day he messaged her to meet him in Philly. He was just too scared to say the words out loud, bringing them to life. Bringing to life what they had, that it wasn’t just a fling but… real. In the days that passed after him leaving Hershey, he thought about cutting all ties with her. The pain he felt seeing her with her husband cut him to the bone. But as the days grew farther from that day, that slice began to heal, and as it did, it brought his feelings for her to the surface. Even if it left another scar on him, it would have only been another day before he contacted her.
Gage shook all thoughts from his head, switched the ignition off and exited his truck. He looked around. It may be the next town over, but his clientele crossed the borders. They weren’t playing on even ground this time; they were
on his turf. Opening the door to Mugs, he automatically sought her out then he viewed the area, looking for any familiar faces. When he felt secure enough, he moved to the table she occupied and sat down.
“Hey,” he greeted softly because he saw the look in her eyes, knew what it meant, only because he’d seen it in his too.
“How bad was it?” She asked gently, pushing the black coffee she ordered for him across the table.
Gage grabbed the to go cup. “Thanks, baby.” He took a gulp and shrugged. “Could have gone better.”
She studied him, saw the pain behind his eyes. She’d only known him for a few months, but she knew him. Every little detail. Had she ever looked at her husband that way? Had she ever looked deeper than the surface? She couldn’t answer that. “My head tells me we need to stop this. We almost got caught this past weekend. I showed up and made a scene in front of your employees.” She inhaled, the pain in her chest growing stronger.
“Fuck, Till,” he whispered. “How many times have we said that, that this has to stop?” He asked her but didn’t need her to answer. He reached for her hand across the table. “The thing is, we can’t. What we need to talk about is what the fuck are we going to do?”
She met his stare. “What aren’t we willing to do? For you, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.” She looked away a second, because that was the truth, and it scared her. Looking back at him, she confessed, “That scares me.”
