by Abbi Glines
Bethy
I set down my tray of drinks and took several deep breaths. It had been three months since I’d successfully pushed Tripp out of my life. When we had returned from the island after the wedding, Tripp no longer followed me to work and back. Unless he was with the guys playing golf, I rarely got a glimpse of him.
“You good, chica?” Jimmy, the head server at the club’s dining room, asked as he strolled through the double doors.
I managed a nod and plastered on a smile. “Yeah, great,” I replied.
“Good, because the board members are all here. We got our hands full tonight, and good ol’ Aunt Darla’s out there to make sure we don’t mess up.”
I had already seen the reserved table and the guests sitting at it. That was the main reason I needed a moment to get myself together. Waiting on my friends was normally something I enjoyed doing, because both Della and Blaire had worked here once, too. They were easy to wait on. Most of the time, they got up and fixed their own drinks and got their own plates from the kitchen.
But this was different. They were all dressed up. This was a business dinner, which Woods held every quarter. Once I had gone to those gatherings with Jace, although being on the outside wasn’t really that hard for me.
Seeing Tripp with a date was what threw me for a loop. Not that I even had a right to care.
“Waters are on the table. Woods has already chosen a red and a white for dinner. You take the red, and I’ll take the white. I also expect Dean Finlay will order bourbon. Everyone else normally sticks with the wine.”
I nodded my head again, still trying to figure out why I was so upset over Tripp bringing a date. I had pushed him away, and it had worked. Maybe too well. He was with London Winchester tonight. They had dated in high school for two years. When we were together, he didn’t seem to like her at all. She annoyed him.
But she didn’t look like a runway model back then, either. She had to be close to six feet tall, and most of that was legs. Ugh.
“Girl, you sure you’re OK? You look pale.” Jimmy stopped in front of me and put his finger under my chin to tilt it up so he could see me. There were a lot of beautiful men in this town, but Jimmy quite possibly had them all beat. He was startlingly attractive. The cougars tipped him well and tried their hardest to get him into bed.
Jimmy, however, had a boyfriend. A very hot boyfriend named Ben. It was kept on the down-low, because if the cougars knew Jimmy had no interest in the female gender, then his tips wouldn’t be as good. He was an excellent flirt.
“Long day, and waiting on a table where my aunt Darla is sitting doesn’t sound like a good way to end it.”
Jimmy rolled his eyes. “That woman loves you. Don’t be so mean.”
Aunt Darla did love me, but she was also hard to please. She ran a tight ship around here. It was one reason she was on the board of directors for the club. Woods knew he needed her. “I know,” I replied, and took the bottle of red wine from Jimmy’s outstretched hand.
“Get out there.” He nudged me, and I put on a smile and headed to the private area of the dining room where the board of directors sat.
A table full of my friends and my aunt shouldn’t be so hard to deal with. I should be happy to end my night like this. The tip Woods would leave would pay my rent this month and then some. I should be thankful.
London turned her catlike eyes my way and looked right through me. She wouldn’t know who I was, and for that I was thankful. I hadn’t kept up with London since that summer with Tripp, so I had no idea what she was doing now. She very likely could be modeling.
“Bethy!” Blaire’s excited voice called out. I shifted my gaze from London to her. She was beaming at me as if I hadn’t just spent the day with her two days ago. After the wedding, I had done my best to live my life in a way I hadn’t in years. Tripp had been right about that. Jace didn’t sacrifice his life so that I wouldn’t live mine. I had to live for both of us. I was doing my best.
“I heard I missed a shopping trip,” Della said, smiling up at me. “I demand a do-over next week.”
“If you hadn’t been off on a secret rendezvous with your hubby, you could have come, too,” Blaire teased.
Della grinned and shot a loving look at Woods.
I glanced around, purposely avoiding Tripp, and realized Harlow wasn’t there.
“Where’s Harlow?” I asked Grant, who looked lost without his wife and kid.
“Lila Kate isn’t sleeping through the night just yet. Harlow naps whenever the baby does, which includes now.” Grant gave a yawn of his own.
Rush chuckled. “Been there.”
Jimmy nudged my side as he walked up beside me. “Wine,” he whispered.
I remembered I wasn’t out here to visit and moved to fill Woods’s glass with red wine. He never drank white.
Jimmy started at the other end, where Rush was seated.
“I just want some sparkling water,” Della said as I moved to her.
I moved on down the table and filled Grant’s glass, then my aunt Darla’s. Blaire already had white wine in her glass, so I moved on. As I poured, Tripp’s voice was the only thing I heard. He was laughing with Woods about something that happened that day on the course. He was happy. Did London make him happy?
London already had a glass of white wine, but Tripp’s glass was still empty. I was going to have to ask him if he wanted red. Crap. Why was this so difficult? I was being ridiculous.
“Red wine?” I asked in a quiet voice so as not to draw attention or interrupt anyone.
Tripp turned his head to look directly at me. My heart picked up its pace like it always did when he was near me. Making eye contact with him seemed like a bad idea, but I didn’t have much of a choice.
It was a brief moment, but in his eyes, I saw a flash of regret before he nodded his head. “Please,” he replied, then looked away to continue his conversation with Woods.
London leaned closer to him, and he put his arm behind her chair. The intimacy between them was obvious. They were comfortable together. They fit. She was tall and gorgeous. Perfect for Tripp. My stomach twisted in knots.
I quickly hurried from the room back to the kitchen, where Jimmy was waiting with a tray of soups. “Cauliflower soup with chanterelle mushrooms and truffle oil. As soon as these are served, we’ll need to get out the cheese plates. I’ll carry them. They weigh a shit ton. You just follow me and take them off the tray and place them on the table.”
“Got it,” I replied.
Jimmy winked and headed for the door to hold it open while I carried my tray out. He was right behind me with an identical one.
Once again, I went to Woods, and Jimmy started with Rush. I moved left so Jimmy would have to go right. One fewer thing I had to serve Tripp and his date. Maybe I could work it that way all night.
“What is this?” Della whispered as I placed the soup in front of her.
“Cauliflower soup with fancy mushrooms and truffle oil,” I replied.
She scrunched her nose, and I had to bite back a smile.
“It’s good. I tried it last week. If you don’t like it, I’ll have them prepare you something else,” Woods promised, and he smiled at her as if she was the most wonderful thing he’d ever seen.
I had to agree with her. I didn’t think anything with cauliflower could be good. Not even truffle oil could fix that. Della took a small taste, and I waited to see if I needed to take it back.
“OK, yes, that’s delicious,” she said, and I moved on to finish placing soups in front of everyone on my side.
This would have been easy if I didn’t feel the heat of Tripp’s gaze on me the entire time. It was making me nervous. My heart wouldn’t slow down, and that stupid knot just got tighter.
Jimmy was waiting for me once again when I got to the door. I opened it and held it so he could walk out with the cheese plates. Once we got to the table, I tried not to make eye contact with anyone while I took the four plates and placed them down the middle of
the table. Because Jimmy had stopped on Tripp’s side, I had to lean over beside him to put down the tray that belonged to that part of the table.
His arm brushed my side, and I had to hold my breath to keep from making a noise. Flashes of our night against the palm tree came back to me, and my face heated. This was not the time to remember that. I used those memories at night to keep me company in my lonely bed. In the beginning, I’d felt guilty about getting myself off to Tripp’s dirty words, but I needed it. And now I accepted it.
Tonight he’d be using his dirty words on someone else.
Tripp
London crossed her legs beside me and rubbed her foot against my calf. Last week, I had been walking from the course to my Harley after playing a round with Woods, and London had been stepping out of her Mercedes, which had been parked right next to me. I didn’t notice her at first, but when she’d said my name, I recognized the voice. It was older now, more mature, but it was London.
We had talked, and it had been surprisingly nice. She seemed different now. The spoiled brat I had grown tired of was gone. She had matured and turned into a more confident woman.
And I needed a distraction.
Moving on and letting Bethy go wasn’t easy. I thought about her all the damn time.
London was in Rosemary Beach at her parents’ place for the next month, so I figured why the hell not—I asked her out to dinner. Since then, we’d been out three times. Tonight made our fourth. She was still wrapped up in a world I wanted nothing to do with, but she liked me. She seemed to enjoy being near me. I had spent so much time being pushed away by Bethy that it was refreshing.
I hadn’t realized Bethy was going to be serving our meal tonight. If I had, I probably would have made some excuse to miss it. Seeing her wasn’t easy. Putting space between us didn’t seem to matter. One look at her, and I was right back to being that guy, desperate to get her to forgive me. To love me again.
During the past three months, I had accepted the fact that she may have been my big love but Jace had been hers. It hurt like hell, but it was the truth. Whoever she ended up with would be second-best. I wasn’t sure I could live being second-best for Bethy. Not when she’d always be my number one.
“That server keeps staring at you,” London said in an annoyed whisper. Immediately, I snapped my gaze up from the shrimp on my plate to see Bethy taking Blaire’s empty plate. Her eyes had been fixed on me, but the second I looked up, she quickly looked away.
Well, what the fuck did that mean?
“See? She’s been doing that all night. I was trying to ignore it, but it’s getting ridiculous,” London hissed. “Do Della and Woods not notice? Is she a friend of Blaire’s? They seem real chummy.”
I watched as Bethy took the last empty plate and hurried off. Had London not pointed it out, I wouldn’t have noticed, because I was trying not to look at Bethy. I had done a damn fine job of it all night. OK, no, I hadn’t. Every time she came to the table, I hadn’t been able to look away. I was trying not to look, though.
“Do you know her?” London asked, getting frustrated. I wasn’t answering her questions.
“Yes. She was Jace’s girlfriend. She’s very close to Blaire and Della,” I replied, reaching for my glass of wine.
“Jace dated a girl who works here?” she asked, obviously horrified.
I set my glass down and tried not to get annoyed by her tone. She was an elitist. It was how she had been raised. “Blaire and Della once worked here, too. Rush and Woods married them. I don’t see how that’s an issue.”
She gasped. “Ohmygod! You’re kidding me! I’m so behind on gossip around here.”
This time, I did roll my eyes.
I caught Blaire’s gaze as she looked from me to London, then gave me a tight smile before she looked away. I wondered if she’d heard London. Surely not. If she had, Rush would have, and if Rush had heard her, we would all know it.
Woods stood up, and everyone followed suit. Conversations ended, and the women picked up their purses. Della looked at me. “You’ll be at the barbecue we’re having on Saturday, right? Woods told you about it, I hope.”
Woods had sent me a text inviting me a couple of days ago. I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”
Della shifted her gaze to London. “Will you be bringing a date?”
London’s hands wrapped around my arm as if she was claiming possession. Which was good. Right? I wanted to be wanted. She sure as hell seemed to want me. “Yeah, uh . . .” I glanced at London. “You want to go?”
She nodded, clearly pleased at the invite.
Della didn’t look thrilled, but she covered it up well. “Great. See you then.”
I said my good-byes to the others and bent my arm so London could continue to hold on to me, since that was what she seemed to want to do.
I was aware that neither Blaire nor Della cared much for London. Neither spoke to her directly, and their facial expressions said it all. They needed to get over it. Bethy had made it very clear that she would never want me. This was me moving on. Just like Bethy wanted me to.
As we walked toward the valet, I heard Bethy’s laugh, and my body came alive. It was a sound I hadn’t heard in a while. One I loved. One I couldn’t fucking get over.
Glancing back, I saw her talking to Jimmy as she walked toward the back entrance. He was making her laugh. I wanted to make her laugh. Jimmy’s eyes lifted and met mine. Bethy turned to see who he was looking at, and her smile fell away. She started to trip, and Jimmy grabbed her arm and said something in her ear.
With his arm around her, they disappeared outside.
“Are you ready for your car to be brought around, Mr. Newark?” the valet asked as I stepped outside. We had come in London’s car tonight. She wasn’t a fan of motorcycles. But I didn’t correct the valet. I simply nodded.
“Do you think I can come inside tonight?” London asked as she stared up at me through her lashes. I didn’t need her to spell it out. That look told me all I needed to know. If I wanted it, I could have it.
Problem was, I wasn’t feeling it. Not after seeing Bethy. “I’m beat,” I replied.
“Really? You’re beat? That’s what your excuse is?” She was angry. But I knew she would be. She had taken it well when I’d dodged the last few advances she’d made, and now it was time for her to start getting more blunt. I got that. But I wasn’t ready.
“OK. You want the truth? I’m not over my last relationship. I need some time. If you can’t deal with that, then we need to end this now. If you can let me deal, then we’re good. But don’t push me, London,” I said, dropping my arm and putting some space between us.
She didn’t respond right away. I knew she hadn’t been expecting me to blame this on a past relationship. If she only knew it had been eight years since it ended. “I didn’t know. You hadn’t mentioned anyone.”
I let her think about it and decide what she wanted to do. Either way, I was good with it.
The valet pulled her car up, and I turned to her.
“I can get another car home if you prefer,” I said, almost hoping that was what she preferred.
She frowned and shook her head. “No. I’ll take you home. I’m willing to give it more time.”
I wasn’t sure I had the energy for this. Using London to distract me from Bethy was wrong. I didn’t need to waste her time. I was a lost cause and completely out of reach for what she wanted.
Bethy
Aunt Darla met me at the clubhouse the next morning. The woman never looked concerned, so the worried frown between her brows didn’t bode well.
“’Morning, Aunt Darla,” I said.
She didn’t even pretend to smile. “Come into my office. We need to talk,” she said, then turned and headed that way.
I hadn’t been called to her office to talk since before I started dating Jace. She’d threatened to fire me if I kept having sex with club members on the property. The truth was, I’d only been having sex with Jace. I had gotten a repu
tation because of my drinking and partying, but I didn’t sleep with more than one guy at a time. Even if I had been accused of it.
I followed her into her office and closed the door. She was standing with her arms crossed over her chest as she studied me. What in the world did she think I had done? My life was pretty uneventful. There had been no partying, drinking, or sex in a very long time, just socializing with good friends.
“What’s going on with you and Tripp Newark?” she asked. “I would have thought you knew better than that. Do you remember what happened the last time you messed around with him? I know you’ve been hurting and missing Jace. I want you to move on as much as anyone else, but not with Tripp. What he did to you is what guys like him do. Jace was an exception. But Tripp will eventually marry well for money. He ran from you once before, Bethy. And left you pregnant.” At the word “pregnant,” she stopped her tirade and took a ragged breath.
“Nothing is going on with us. What have you heard?” I asked, still unsure who would have told my aunt Darla something. No one had any idea what happened at the wedding.
“I didn’t need someone to tell me anything. I was there last night. I watched you looking at him all night long. Then, when he finally took a moment to notice you existed, I saw something in his eyes, too. Don’t go there, Bethann. Did you see the woman he was with? That’s the type he’ll marry. Next time he knocks you up, you may not miscarry. What happens then? We both know you won’t go through with an abortion.”
Miscarry? What? “Back up. What do you mean, I may not miscarry next time? I didn’t miscarry the last time. You took me to the abortion clinic. Remember?”
Aunt Darla stiffened, and something flashed across her face that I didn’t understand. “Bethann, I never took you to an abortion clinic. I told you that I would help you do something with that baby. You cried for twenty-four hours straight. I made an appointment out of town at an OB-GYN’s private office. I didn’t want to run the risk of running into anyone who knew us. When we got there, you were cramping. The nurse took you back. The doctor examined you, and the bleeding started. You were only eight weeks along, and you were miscarrying the baby. The doctor gave you strong pain medication that knocked you out and sent you home. When I told you I would help you do something with the baby, I meant the actual baby. I was going to help you find a good home for it. I wasn’t going to let you end the pregnancy. That would have haunted you for life . . .” She stopped talking and looked at me with horror in her eyes. “Oh, Bethann. Oh, God, honey. You thought you got an abortion all this time?”
