We got lost in our kiss until she suddenly pulled back.
Panting, we stared at each other. We’d always had a hard time resisting the physical pull between us, and tonight was no different.
What she said next nearly undid me.
“It doesn’t matter how much I love you,” she said. “I’d rather never see you again than have to see you with someone else or be reminded constantly of the fact that I can’t ever be with you.”
My chest constricted. Love?
She’s in love with me?
I’d known I was in love with Presley. But to hear her use that powerful word came as a shock.
I examined her eyes. “You love me?”
Presley blinked repeatedly, looking as if she hadn’t meant to utter it aloud. But it was too late. She’d said it. Instead of addressing my question, though, she shook her head. “Does it matter? If I say yes, will it change things between us?”
When I took too long to answer, she looked away.
“That’s what I thought.” She frowned. “I have to get back to Alex. Goodnight, Levi.”
That was the last thing she said before running away and disappearing into the hotel.
She left me in a daze, trying to process how I could continue to abandon someone I loved—who loved me back. I hated that she’d seemed almost ashamed to admit her feelings for me. I looked up at the dark sky and prayed for an answer. Something had to give. I couldn’t go on like this. Not only was I going to ruin my career because my lack of focus had rendered me useless to the team, but more importantly, I didn’t know how to live without her.
But could I betray my brother? That was the only question left to answer. Was I willing to do that in order to be with the woman I loved?
It took me a full ten minutes of pacing before I made my way back toward my car in the lot at the front of the hotel. I noticed a man stumbling out of a vehicle at the curb. It wasn’t until I heard his laugh that I realized it was Tanner.
What the fuck?
I looked inside the car and noticed the person driving. It was the redhead he’d brought to the dinner table earlier. I couldn’t even remember her freaking name.
He muttered something to her before slamming the door. My stomach sank. She took off, leaving him on the curb.
My blood boiled. He didn’t notice me standing there, so he hadn’t seen it coming when I grabbed onto his collar and dragged him a few feet.
“Hey! What the hell are you—”
“What the fuck are you doing?” I spat, keeping my hold on him.
“Levi? What are you doing here?”
“Tell me what the fuck is going on, Tanner.”
His eyes were glassy. “What do you mean?”
“What were you doing with that girl tonight?”
“It was no big deal,” he slurred.
Pulling on his collar tighter, I shouted, “Answer my question.”
The alcohol on his breath was pungent. “I was just out having some fun. I needed it.”
“Define fun.” I roughly let him go. He nearly toppled to the ground before his back hit the hedges in front of the hotel.
He wouldn’t make eye contact. “What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to tell me exactly what you were doing with her,” I demanded.
When he continued to remain silent, I rephrased my question. “Did you fuck that girl or not, Tanner?”
His silence told me everything I needed to know. But I still wanted to hear him say it.
“Answer me!” I yelled.
“Yes!” he finally admitted. “Okay? Yes. I…went back to her place, and one thing led to another.” He hesitated. “We had sex.”
My head fell back as I looked up at the sky, feeling ready to blow. God, give me the strength not to kill him right now.
I somehow managed to refrain from punching him, instead balling my hands into fists. “How could you do that?”
“You act like it’s not something you do every goddamn day of your life.”
“Don’t you dare turn this on me. This is about you. I thought you were trying to earn Presley’s trust back. You told her you wanted to be a family again. And this is how you show it? By getting drunk and fucking some random woman while your son and his mother are in town with you?”
“Getting a quick fix doesn’t take away from my feelings for her. Presley has wanted nothing to do with me sexually. I was feeling stressed and needed relief, for fuck’s sake. A man can only take so much. Between the new job and Presley fucking rejecting me over and over—I couldn’t deal with it anymore. I just needed to feel good for one damn night.”
Something told me this couldn’t have been the first time he’d done something like this.
“One night, huh? Look me in the eyes and tell me this is the only time you’ve fucked around since showing up in Beaufort.”
When he looked down at his shoes, I had my answer. Jesus Christ. I wanted to murder him. I’d spent all this time miserable, away from the woman I loved out of respect for a man who had no respect for her.
“None of this has anything to do with my love for Presley,” he said.
“You don’t really love her,” I said.
“What are you talking about? Don’t tell me how I feel.”
“No,” I repeated. “You don’t love her. You couldn’t possibly love her.”
“And how would you know that?”
I took a deep breath in. “Because when you love someone, you can’t even stomach the thought of being with anyone else. When you love someone, you belong to them in every way—mind, body, and soul. And even when you’re not physically with them, you respect them. Love and respect go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.”
Tanner’s eyes wavered between mine. “You’re talking about Presley, aren’t you? I saw the way you looked at her back in Beaufort. I figured you were just checking out a piece of ass, like you always do. Then when I saw you two at the hospital...” He shook his head and laughed angrily. “But I put that thought out of my mind, because my brother would never do that to me. My brother is a stand-up guy.”
I had no idea what to say or do. But apparently he could read me better than I could read him.
He shook his head. “You’re fucking my girl.”
Whether I was in the wrong or not, I couldn’t let him call her that. I gritted my teeth. “She’s not your girl. And she hasn’t been for a long time.”
“She’s mine!”
“Presley isn’t a possession for you to claim. You hadn’t been interested in her for years. Or your son, for that matter. No one thought you were ever coming back. You’d given us every indication that you wouldn’t be. What happened between Presley and me wasn’t about you—it was about us. And, yes, I felt guilty, but not enough to stop it. You’d hurt her enough already. You didn’t deserve her then, and you don’t deserve her now.”
He stared at me incredulously. “How could you fucking do that to me?”
“I didn’t plan it. It just happened. We got close, and it turned into the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m sorry…but I love her, Tanner.”
He swung at me. Luckily, he was too drunk to aim correctly, and he missed. I couldn’t afford an injury right now, so I had to rein this in. It wasn’t very hard to do, given how inebriated he was.