Page 28 of Life

Her upset hits me like a two-ton truck. I never told Tommy, either, but I did love him. In my own way. Maybe not the same way I love these girls, or the way I thought I loved Antonio all those years ago, but I definitely cared deeply for him.

“Have you asked him why?”

“Yeah, I finally did. Right before I had the skin grafting surgery where they scalped my ass and thighs to cover some of the most severe burns.”

I shiver uncontrollably and squeeze her hand at the thought of what she’s already undergone.

“You know what he said?”

I hold my breath, not able to respond.

Kat continues on, breathless. “He said he cares for me more than any other woman he’s been in a relationship with, but not once has he said those three little words. And worse, he won’t tell me why.”

“Kat…”

She shakes her head as the tears fall. “No. I know exactly why he couldn’t say them. Because he’s not a liar, and if he doesn’t feel them, he would never go so far as to say them if he didn’t believe it himself. He’s a commendable guy like that.”

I look down at her body, the bandages seemingly everywhere. “Maybe he just couldn’t utter the words.” I swallow and pet her hand.

“If you love someone, truly, arein lovewith them, there’s something inside you that burns like white-hot fire to get out. The need to share that love is so strong, lit by a thousand matches. If you really love someone, the way I love him, you wouldn’t be able to hold back. Like how Gigi loves Chase and Bree with Phillip. They can’t contain it and neither can their men.”

Her words sear a hole straight through my heart. Tommy couldn’t contain it with me. But I never said a word.

“I won’t be his consolation prize, Ria. The scarred woman he takes care of out of some sense of loyalty or pity.”

Fuck. I close my eyes and attempt to focus while my heart is breaking for her. Hell, it’s breaking for Tommy as well.

“What are you going to do?” I finally croak through the emotion.

She closes her eyes and leans her head back on the pillow. “I don’t know. I love him, but I can’t have him here right now. I just can’t. Maybe down the road…”

Down the road. Oh no. “You’re going to break it off with him, aren’t you?”

She firms her lips but doesn’t open her eyes. A tear slips down each side of her face. “Yeah, I am.”

“Gatito, no, mi amiga. Don’t do this now. You’re not thinking clearly, and this isn’t something you can easily take back.”

Kat firms her chin, wipes her eyes, and steels her resolve. “I have to.”

“You have to what?” Bree asks as she bounces in, her long blond hair a perfectly golden sheet down her back. The woman is seven months pregnant, and she looks like she could be doing a beauty pageant.

“Get some sleep. Kat needs some shut-eye, girls.”

“Oh, okay. You’ll call if you need anything?” Gigi asks, forever the mommy of the group checking in on her chicklets. She’s going to be an amazing mother.

“I’ll be fine. Surgeon comes tomorrow for another gander at the burns. We’re hoping I can leave in the coming weeks if the grafts take well.”

I lean over and kiss Kat on the forehead and then lean back far enough to look directly into her eyes. “I love you, Kathleen.Besos.”

She smiles and raises her good hand to my face. “I love you too. Call me tomorrow?”

“You bet.”

Jack walksme up the steps to Eli’s home and opens the door like he owns the place. Once I’m inside, he shuts the door without saying a word.

“Gracias! Tirón,” I scream through the door.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Elijah’s voice booms only a few feet from where I was yelling at the door.

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