Tyson huffs, either irritated at me for bringing it up or at himself. Hopefully himself because it’s not my fault he made a dumb choice. “You’re right. It isn’t an excuse. Stupid way of thinking, I suppose. I knew he had you.”
I hear Mary happily greet someone after the door chimes and wish I had the excuse that I needed to go out and help whoever just came into the shop.
“But he didn’t. Not in the way you’re thinking, anyway.” He raises a dark eyebrow and I roll my eyes. “Okay, fine. Yes, I had a wee bit of a crush on him then but that doesn’t mean that you can have sex with his girlfriend.”
“I always wanted you.”
“Tyson…” I start but he doesn’t let me say anything else. He bends down and brushes his lips against mine. It’s a quick touch and over before it started but it still happened.
As quickly as the kiss happened, I just as quickly step away, lifting a hand to my lips. “Tyson.”
“Addy. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. But ever since I got back to town, I’ve been dying to see you and then…”
“Then, what?” I hear Beau’s booming voice in the doorway to the office.
“Beau,” I whisper, hoping he saw my side of it. That I wasn’t asking for that kiss and I stepped away.
Tyson looks a little worried but still greets his once best friend. “Hey, man.”
“You sure didn’t waste any time, huh?” Beau asks, stance wide and arms crossed across his broad chest.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Oh, really? Then what was it like?”
“Just came to see Addy.”
Beau looks at me then back to Tyson, jaw so hard I’m afraid he’s going to crack a tooth.
The air between us is heavy with tension.
This isn’t how today was supposed to go. We had a great start to our day then we were going to the pool and tonight Beau and I had plans.
Tyson looks between us when Beau moves closer to me, wrapping an arm around my waist.
From Beau’s hand, to my face, back to Beau’s hand…
Understanding dawns and he takes a step back.
“Thought you said you weren’t together.”
“We weren’t. Now we are.”
Tyson’s eyes harden. “It was a day ago.”
“So?” Beau challenges.
Wait.
Is that why…
“Is that why?” I ask Beau, stepping away from him.
“Why, what?”
“Why you… holy shit. It wasn’t about me at all! It was about making sure you staked your claim before Tyson could.”
“What? No! Addy, no. That’s not it at all. You have to believe me.” He turns and gives Tyson his back, stepping between us so his focus is only on me. “Look at me, honey. Really look at me. You are it for me. What we shared last night? That was real. That wasn’t me trying to anything. Honestly? Tyson didn’t even cross my mind after we parted. After I saw this ass,” he says, motioning behind him and Tyson shouts, “hey!” but it doesn’t stop Beau from continuing. “I went to the bank, squared shit up with Grant. Had a talk with him. Came to you. Period. That was it. Believe me when I tell you that Tyson has nothing to do with us.”
His hazel eyes are wide and earnest. He’s begging me to believe him.
I look over his shoulder at Tyson who winces. “Kind of sounds like he’s telling you the truth. Of course, if you don’t want to believe him, that’s fine, too. Then maybe we can…”
“Shut up, Tyson!” Beau growls.
“I love you, Addy. There’s nothing underhanded. No lies. This is me telling you that I am in love with you.”
“I believe you.”
He blows out a breath just as I hear my daughter’s voice shout, “Mommy! I got a kitty and he lives at Pop’s house and I named her Cheese!”
“Cheese?” I hear Tyson mutter.
“Don’t ask,” comes Beau’s reply. “Her dog is Macaroni. And the other dog is Nugget.”
“The girl likes food. I approve.”
“Hey, baby! What’s this about a kitten? And Nugget? You saw Nugget and Pop?”
“Uh huh! And we had wemonade and cookies and there’s six more kittens!”
“Three, baby. Remember? There were four kittens total.”
Zoey rolls her eyes. “Unca Beau.” Her tone is scolding which makes Tyson snort.
“Zoey, this is my friend from high school. His name’s Tyson. He used to play baseball now he just sits around watching TV all day,” Beau says, giant grin on his face.
“Do you watch Tom and Jerry? It’s my favorite.”
“It’s my favorite, too!” Tyson says, getting low and sticking out his hand to