I quickly put some space between Thomas and me, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.
“Tammy, you remember Thomas,” I started.
“Uh huh,” she said with a reproachful tone.
“Woman, where did you put the Aspinall catering slip?” Pete stopped short, not believing what he was seeing. “Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?” he growled, stepping up to us.
I put my hand on Pete’s chest to stop him and Thomas from squaring off. Pete had size but Thomas had years of practice; besides, Thomas was emotional. I knew Thomas would much rather pound the shit out of something than cry about it.
“Easy, Pete. Stop.”
“What is he doing here, Taryn? You finally have a good thing with Ryan and you need to fuck it up? For this piece of shit?”
“Fuck you, Herman,” Thomas bristled and growled, wiping the remains of his tears away. “Don’t start shit you can’t back up.”
“No. Fuck you, Sager. You’ve got some fucking brass balls coming here. Don’t you think you’ve caused enough damage?”
“Stop it! Both of you.” I turned to Pete.
“He came here to tell us that Mell. . .” Her name caught with a hitch in my throat.
“Melanie passed away this morning, all right?”
Pete’s angered death glare at Thomas instantly fell as he took in my words. “Mel?” I nodded, trying to hold it together. It’d been a long time since I’d seen her but the tragic news of her passing cut fresh and deep. Marie slipped in and put an arm around me, noticeably pulling me away from Thomas. I’d thank her later for that.
Thomas covered his eyes with both hands and let out a sigh.
“Oh God.” Pete hunched over as if he’d been punched in the gut. His unrequited feelings for Mell had messed him up for years. Tammy tried to touch him but he flinched. “What happened?”
“Cancer ate her, asshole.”
I let that one slide. We were all sporting fresh pain.
Pete glared right at him. “Dude, for what it’s worth. Sorry for your loss.” Thomas nodded. “Taryn, can I talk to you?”
Marie tugged me by the shoulders, walking me toward the kitchen doors. “I think we could all use a drink.”
Thomas followed me out into the pub and grabbed his stuff off the bar, finding an empty booth.
I tapped two small glasses of beer and joined him. Last thing his mother needed was to lose her only other child to a drunken motorcycle accident.
“Thanks for the short,” Thomas said as he spied the small glass with disdain, taking a sip anyway.
I wanted him to get this over with. Seeing him again was tearing me up inside. “You’re planning on riding that death trap you call a bike. Just looking out for your well-being.” The edge of his lip turned up slightly. “I recall you used to beg me to be on the back of my bike.”
“Yeah, well. I didn’t know any better.”
“Ouch.”
“Look, your mom doesn’t need another tragedy today.”
I saw him wince. “Mom’s not taking this well. They actually had to give her something to calm her down.”
I felt bad for his mom. Mrs. Sager always treated me well, siding with me most of the time.
“If she can’t pull it together, would you consider going with me to the funeral home?
I’m going to lose it if I have to pick out her fucking casket by myself.”
Why me? My caretaker gene immediately wanted to say yes but I stamped it out—quickly. “That’s something her family should do, Thomas. I know your aunt Betty would help out.”
He gave me that innocent, tilted-head look that used to melt my resolve. “So is that a no?”
“As much as I want to help, I can’t. Sorry.
That’s a no.”
He nodded at the tabletop. “I really fucked up with you, didn’t I?”
I crossed my arms. “Yes, you did.” He sort of shrugged and the gesture instantly angered me. “I hear you’ve been in the news. Dating some famous actor now?” He motioned toward my ring. “Rich, too, can afford that kind of ice. Good for you. You deserve to be happy.”
I nodded at him.
“Not gonna lie,” he said. “Right now, I’m wishing you were with me.”
I felt that like a physical blow. It was at that moment when I realized I was glad it wasn’t. Everything shifted one degree, signi-ficantly enough to make me realize that the broken man sitting before me was not worthy of my heart. Still, it angered me.