come back on his birthday, and he’d tell me then.” I yank the ponytail holder out of my hair and fling it on the dash as the twisted up bun falls down around my shoulders.
“You need a drink. I saw a place while I was driving around.”
“I’m pregnant, remember.”
“Oh, right. Well, I need one. Come on.”
Ten minutes later we’re sitting in a corner booth of a Mexican restaurant. The tables are polished dark wood, and a bunch of pretty tin lanterns hang from the ceiling. A lively mariachi song plays in the background.
Hayley orders a Margarita and I get lemonade. When the waitress nods and leaves, Hayley turns to me. “Okay. Spill.”
I snatch a tortilla chip from the bowl and dunk it in salsa. I munch, quietly fuming. “He’s such an asshole.”
“You already knew that,” she says. “Did you really expect him to keep his word?”
“I hoped. I thought maybe if I did what he wanted, he’d tell me, if just to make sure he kept me available for whatever else he may need me to do.”
“Sounds like he’s got Sylvia for that.”
The waitress brings our drinks and asks if we want to order, then leaves when Hayley tells her we need a few minutes.
I take a sip of my drink and stare out the window at the passing traffic. “I was such a fool. I never should have done what he asked. I should have listened to you.”
She smiles over her salt-rimmed glass. “That’s always a given.”
I give her half a smile in return.
“Cheer up, Tess. So you told when the MC is leaving for Sturgis and who was staying behind. I mean, so what? What can these people do with that information anyway?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know. Maybe a lot.”
“Well, it’s done now. Nothing you can do about it.”
I chop at the ice in my glass with my straw, mulling her words over in my head. “Maybe there is something I can do.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“I can tell Gypsy what I did.”
“Have you lost your friggin’ mind?”
I roll my eyes at her.
“No, seriously, Tess. Why the hell would you do that?”
“At least then they can be prepared.”
“Prepared for what? Huh? You don’t even know.”
“I need to tell him.”
“I get you want to ease your conscience, but you know that’s going to ruin things between the two of you. And what about the baby? Maybe you two have a shot together. Maybe that child deserves a family with both parents together.”
“Was there really ever any chance of that?” I quip.
“Babe, come on, you don’t know that.”
“Don’t I? Even if I wanted a life with him, you really think he suddenly wants a wife and baby? Get real.”
“Oh, now you know what he wants?”
I shrug. “Not hard to figure out. He lives his life the way he does by choice. There’s no chick living with him. You think he couldn’t have one like that”—I snap my fingers—“if he wanted one?”
“But those other women aren’t you, Tess. You told me you had an off-the-charts connection. You think that happens to him every day? I call bullshit. And another thing, I get he did Belle a favor, says he owed her or whatever, so he gave you a ride down to Rutledge, but that sure as hell didn’t mean he had to keep taking you back down there. Didn’t mean he had to come check on you when he thought you were out at a bar drinking and worried you might drive home, then bust some guy’s nose because he dared to lay a hand on you. Didn’t mean he had to drop everything to come running when Belle OD’d, call in favors with the club doc, and then talk her into going to rehab. You really think he did all that, and he doesn’t have feelings for you? Babe, wake the fuck up.”
My eyes sting with my unshed tears. How stupid could I be? I probably just destroyed any chance we had. How will I ever look him in the face again? Hayley’s right; he’s done so much for me, and this is how I repay him? I know what I have to do. No matter what Hayley says, there’s only one option I can live with.
My phone goes off. I pick it up off the table and look at the screen. Gypsy.
“Hi,” I squeak out. “You back?”
“Yeah, babe. Where are you?”
“Um, out shopping with Hayley, why?”
“Want to see you. You gonna be free in a couple hours?”
“Sure. I’ll text you.”
“All