Page 23 of Absolution

“I can’t believe we never met back in the day!” Susie chuckled as Tucker emptied the last of the champagne into her flute.

“I agree.” Tucker offered Susie a broad smile as he turned to her. “Would you like another drink, Ella?”

“No, thank you.” She pushed her glass away and reached for her water. “I’ve had enough.”

Her attention glided to her flushed-faced mother, her head pounding. With the help of two-thirds of a bottle of bubbly, Susie had morphed from an antagonistic foe to a giggling schoolgirl. In fact, if she didn’t know better, she could have sworn her mum was actually flirting with Tucker! Her batting eyelashes and the way she insisted on touching his hand as she laughed at his latest joke were starting to grate.

Ella couldn’t decide which version of her mother she disliked the most.

This is not how I saw this going.Her brows knitted as she watched her mum guffaw at yet another one of Tucker’s polite quips.

Ella had to hand it to Tucker. He’d certainly turned on his charm since he’d sat down and was well on his way to winning her mother around. At one point, she’d been certain the two of them would have to leave Susie to it, yet there they were, only half an hour or so later, getting on like wildfire.

“How on Earth did a woman as sophisticated as you end up with Alexander Bennett?” Tucker shook his head.

It was a question Ella had asked herself many times since her so-called father had come into her life.

“Well.” Susie shrugged, her inane giggle reverberating around the table again. “What can I say? I was young and stupid.” Her gaze shifted to her daughter as if there was a parallel between them, but it darted back to Tucker as he responded.

“We’ve all been there.” He grinned, sipping his iced water. “But at least you recognized your mistake and got rid of the loser.”

“Yes.” Susie sighed. “Until I welcomed him back for what I thought was Ella’s sake.”

“That was years later, Mum.” Ella’s concentration slid between the two of them.

“Yes,” Susie agreed. “But look where that got us. If he’d never come back into your life, then he couldn’t have offered you to Tucker as collateral.” She screwed up her face as though she couldn’t believe how disgusting her ex-lover was.

Ella was inclined to concur.

“We can’t change what’s done.” The last couple of weeks had reinforced that lesson for Ella repeatedly. “I don’t blame you, Mum. You must know that.”

“I blame myself.” Susie blinked away tears. “It’s a mum thing, Ella. You won’t understand unless you have kids of your own.”

“Well, don’t.” Ella reached for Susie’s hand.

“Exactly.” Tucker placed down his glass. “If anyone here is to blame, it’s me.”

“No regrets.” Ella turned to meet his knowing blue gaze. “We’re all where we are for a reason.”

“Very wise.” His lips curled, and though he never articulated them, she swore she heard his voice offering the final two words in her head.

Very wise, little girl.

“What did you think of Alexander when you were younger, Tucker?” As if she sensed the unspoken energybetween them, Susie seemed keen to steer the conversation back to Ella’s father.

“I suppose I would have called him a friend.” His expression hardened as he glanced Susie’s way. “But looking back, I’d have been wrong. I believe we used each other for what we wanted, but we never shared a friendship.”

“The man I knew wasn’t one for friendship.” Susie’s half-smile faded at the memory.

“No.” It was Tucker’s turn to exhale. “He was symptomatic of the sort of lowlife I associated with back then. I’ll be honest, it’s not a chapter of my life I’m especially proud of.”

“It takes maturity to admit that.” Susie sipped her water, her focus traveling between them.

“I’ve had plenty of time to grow up since then,” Tucker smirked.

“What other lowlifes did you know?” Susie traced a fingertip over her condensed glass. “I probably knew them, too.”

“Too many to mention.” Tucker reached for the bottle of water and unscrewed the lid. “Bennett was at the center of a lot of unsavory groups. Sadly, that’s how we came to know each other.”

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