Page 33 of Tempting the Heart

“Go ahead,” my dad said, looking at each of his children. “Just know that each of you will be getting a smaller check based on splitting the future profits from the antique store, but we did want to make sure you all got a little something.”

“Dad, you really didn’t have to do that,” Brad said, smiling and shaking his head. “But thank you.”

“We never expected our kids to want to pick up where we left off,” my mom said. “It means a lot that you’re all here on Marigold, for the most part.”

Brad nodded, opened the envelope, and pulled out the letter, reading it quickly and sniffling before pretending to cough.

“Are you sure Emily didn’t write this?” Brad teased, knowing our sister had a way with words.

“Who do you think she got her writing talent from?” My mom winked at him and looked around the table.

My sisters opened their envelopes, quietly reading the letters, and my mind drifted to Tyler.

Did he ever feel loved by his parents? Was there ever a moment when he felt that warmth coat over him like the comfort it should?

The server brought our dishes that smelled heavenly, and I let out a silent sigh, wishing all families could be as tight as ours and knowing that could never be.

Chapter Ten

Tyler

I glanced at my phone to see the time. Mae would be here soon, and I couldn’t wait to see her smile. It lit up any room she stepped into and made my heart skip a beat.

She’d changed so much from the awkward teenager she'd pretended to be, but I knew better. Mae was so far ahead of the others her age. She'd carried herself with such confidence and compassion. Of course, she was gorgeous, but that wasn’t what made me fall for her so many years ago.

Mae knew how to make me feel welcome. The entire Evans family did. They never made me feel like a nuisance.

The bartender came over, and I ordered rum and Coke. I hadn’t eaten much today, but a lot got accomplished when I returned to my parents’ house. It was like just seeing Mae gave me the energy and perseverance I needed to make it through. I could at least feel better about leaving Marigold with a house that wasn’t in disarray before I stopped enabling them.

I looked around the hotel’s lounge and smiled at the beach décor. It was so different from the style they had on the opposite side of the country with the pastels and starfish. The Pacific Northwest embraced the ruggedness of the beaches, and I appreciated the tattered canoes turned into tabletops and oldfishing nets hung on the walls with brass lanterns and paintings of the rugged cliffs.

The dim lighting set the mood and relaxed me for a change. I stared blankly at the flickering candle on top of the table and took a deep breath as my mind drifted to Mae. She’d occupied most of my thoughts since I ran into her at the coffee shop. It was a mix of nostalgia and desire, but I knew the idea of having her wasn’t fair.

There wasn’t any possible way I’d stay on an island where my parents lived. It didn’t matter how fond of the place I was or how my best friend lived here. I’d built a life far away from here, and it was full in every way possible as long as I didn’t think about relationships.

Seeing the codependency my parents had also rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t want to wind up with someone where we brought the other person down or spiraled into one another’s vices. I just never saw a healthy relationship and wasn’t cut out for one.

A shudder ran through me as I thought about my father already losing the money I’d given him today. The worst part was that he wasn’t even very good at placing bets. There was an art to horseracing and wagering. He never had the patience to learn, so his ignorance took his addiction to the next level.

The bartender brought over my drink as my pulse rose merely thinking of my parents. I had to put them out of my mind.

Tonight was about catching up with an old friend.

Or I suppose thesisterof an old friend.

As I sat waiting for Mae, I heard an infectious laugh float through air, and I glanced up to see her chatting with the hostess.

My pulse spiked, but this time, for an entirely different reason as our eyes connected.

The green in her eyes darkened as she came into the lounge. She looked even more beautiful than when I saw her a few hours ago.

She walked over to the table, and I stood, hugging her as I helped her with her chair.

“Long time no see, stranger,” she teased.

Her eyes connected with mine, and my breath caught in the back of my throat like an eighteen-year-old about to pick her up for a dance.

Only I never got to do any of that.

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