“It is,” she whispered. “I’m doing better with it. I go a couple times a month to my therapist. It helps me to keep things in perspective. I’m still working through the grief.”
“Where did the plane go down?”
“In Peru, over the Andes Mountains. My parents offered free medical services through an organization called Doctors Helping Others. They joined the program when I started high school, and I always went with them. It was an amazing experience.” Looking down, she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. “I wasn’t with them on that trip because I was away at school. For a long time, I wished I had been with them on that plane. Sometimes, I still do.”
In three long strides, he was kneeling down in front of her and wrapping her in his arms. When she rested her head on his shoulder, he squeezed her tighter.
“I’m sorry for your pain. You can lean on me anytime, darlin’.” He brushed his lips against her hair, a light caress she wouldn’t feel. Her hair smelled of orange and coconut, reminiscent of a day at the beach, her skin warm and soft under his touch.
“It’s just so hard sometimes,” she murmured.
“Shh.”
She tipped her head back, and he saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes.
He swiped his thumb across her cheek. “Lena…”
Brushing his lips over hers, she moaned. The sound shot straight to Tank’s dick. Afraid to spook her, he nudged her head back against his shoulder and held her.
A few minutes later, Lena pulled away and smiled. “Man, you really know how to change the subject, but you’re not getting off that easy.” She pointed to the couch. “Go back over there, sit down, and tell me about the woman who broke your heart.”
He frowned, but a smile danced along his lips. “You’re like a damn dog with a bone,” he grumbled as he rose to his feet. “I’ll go back there on the condition that you join me.”
“Now you’re setting conditions?” she said in a playful tone.
“You can’t call all the shots, woman.”
Tank stood rooted to the spot until she pushed up from the chair—with a very audible and exaggerated sigh—and trudged over to the couch, plopping down at one end of it. Taking the spot at the other end, he turned toward her.
“The story is, my ex-wife was a conniving, cheating bitch.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “You were married?”
He laughed. “Don’t sound so shocked.”
She giggled nervously. “Sorry. I mean… I don’t know. You don’t strike me as the marrying type.”
“Yeah, well, I was young, and dumber than fuck.”
“How long were you married?”
“Too long.”
“No, really.”
“Almost six years. Trisha and I met in our last year of high school. We got hitched when we were nineteen—too horny, young, and stupid.” Tank picked up the empty beer bottle. “You got another one of these?” Lena started to get up, but he gestured for her to sit down. “I can get it. Just tell me where to find it.”
“There’s a door to the left of the pantry. The bottles are in the mini fridge.”
“Do you want anything?” he asked, heading toward the kitchen.
“A glass of white wine would be great. The glasses are—”
“I know where they are. I cooked you breakfast, remember?”
After securing two bottles of beer in one hand, and a wineglass filled with pinot grigio in the other, he walked back into the living room and put the drinks down on the table before resuming his seat.
“Was the divorce one-sided?” she asked, picking up her drink.
“I’m the one who filed, but I guess we both wanted it. Things were good the first year, but after that, Trisha got full-on possessive and jealous. She also turned into a nag, always complaining about everything. She wanted to change me.” His jaw tightened. “And I don’t go for that shit. She knew who I was before we got hitched.”
“So she thought you were fooling around?”
“Yeah. She thought I had a chick in every bedroom in town. It was crazy shit. I tried to understand it, and I know it’s hard to understand the whole cl—” Tank stopped mid-sentence. He didn’t think Lena would understand about the club girls based on her actions concerning Quinn. He also wasn’t too sure about revealing his involvement in the Jagged Outlaws. Most citizens changed their opinion of him when they found out he was a member of an outlaw MC. Though he was just a nomad at the moment, he didn’t want to muddy the waters right now. If things between them started getting serious, he’d tell her about it.
“The whole what?”
“The whole thing with women. I’m not bragging, but women have always come on to me. When I was with Trish, I never thought about cheating, or even flirted with another chick, but she never believed me.”
Lena sheepishly looked away. “And I did the same thing with Quinn.”
“Pretty much.”
“Shit.”
He chuckled. “Why did you think that?”
“Because she came into my business, acted like a spoiled bitch, and then when I was leaving, she called you. She had a whole conversation with you, and it sounded like you guys were together. It made me feel awful, hurt, angry, and a bunch of other nasty emotions. I felt like I’d been hit in the gut.”
“Quinn didn’t call and talk to me. I haven’t spoken to her since that night at Dawson’s engagement party. She was pretending to talk to me to rile you up and cause a problem between us. She probably knew I was going out with you. “
“How would she have known that?”
“Santa Teresita is big enough to make it interesting, but still small enough that people know your fuckin’ business. And her being a Fitzgerald? Yeah, she knows what the fuck’s going on.”
“And I just played into her spiteful hands.”
“Pretty much.”
“I feel like such an idiot. Fe—the friend I told you about—told me to just talk to you about it, but my pride wouldn’t let me. I’m sorry.”
He smiled. “That’s okay. But next time something bugs you about me, tell me.”
A happy glow radiated from her face. “Agreed.”
“You got any more questions?”
“So you divorced your ex because she was too possessive?”
“Nah. It was because she cheated on me.” He laughed when her mouth fell open. “Ironic as fuck, huh?”
“She was worried about you cheating, but she ended up being the one who did? That’s nuts.”
Tank nodded. “I figure the reason she kept nagging me was because she was doing it herself. I guess when she’d get on my case, she was deflecting.”
Lena giggled. “I really like you, Tank. I’ve been miserable without you.”
Her words warmed him. Damn, I missed her. He hadn’t realized how empty he was until that moment. Lena had gotten into his heart when he wasn’t looking, and he knew she’d stay forever if he made things right.
“Get over here,” he growled.
She flashed him a smile, one that made her cheeks flush and her eyes sparkle. Scooting across the couch, she fell into his waiting arms. He melded his mouth to hers and plundered it, exploring every inch while his blood pounded in his ears. She kissed him back furiously, passionately, their mouths meshing with escalating hunger.