Page 21 of The Only Goal

Hudson made everything worse, and I instantly hated him. The feeling only grew as he dragged her further into his world and far away from mine. Then he knocked her up and fucking married her.

Tammy was my girl.

Except that she wasn’t. He proved that.

And now Connor’s doing the same thing. Talking to her like she’s the only person in the room, his smile flattering, his perfect words and smooth voice enough to capture anyone.

Fuck!

I’m never gonna catch a break… not even when she shows up out of the blue because her fuckwit husband cheated on her.

“Actually…” Tammy’s voice cuts through my maelstrom. “I’m married.” She flicks her fingers in the air, and we all spot the ring.

It’s still on her finger.

My gut plummets while my brain tries to remind me that… of course it is.

Hudson may have cheated on her, but she obviously hasn’t decided what to do about that yet. I don’t know the full details, but it clearly wasn’t a case of her ripping that ring off and throwing it in his face.

She took off to regroup.

And she wants to regroup here. With me.

But that doesn’t mean she’s gonna stay.

That doesn’t mean she’s suddenly mine now.

Her expression washes with sadness that she only just manages to hide behind another bright smile.

Shit, is she gonna forgive that douchewad and go back to him?

I don’t think I can stomach that.

I lost her once… and I can’t go through that again.

Slipping from the room, I head to the shed out back. I’m sure it needs tidying or something, right?

I just need a little distance. Some space to remind myself that Tammy’s just here for a minute. I’ll take care of her, make sure she’s safe and supported, but I can’t go letting my heart get in the way.

She’s not mine.

Maybe she never was.

I’ll be her friend… just the way she wants me to be.

And then I need to prepare myself to let her go.

CHAPTER 9

TAMMY

Baxter was there one minute, and then he was gone.

While Connor was trying to flirt his ass off and impress me, I looked for an out, hoping Baxter would step up and muscle his way through all these players. Maybe he could stand by my side and make some joke about me needing space.

But when I turned to look for him, he wasn’t there, and it hit home like a mallet to my face.

Baxter always liked to retreat. I knew this only a few short months into our friendship. We got into a fight over something stupid. I can’t even remember what it was now, but rather than shouting back at me, he gave me a quiet frown… and ran away. It took me hours to find him, and eventually I spotted him down by the creek, throwing stones into the water with annoyed little grunts.

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