Page 6 of Burning for Him

She waited patiently as he seemed to collect himself. After inhaling deeply, he let out a shaky breath. “I...um. I got a Dear John email—well, actually a Dear Tony one.”

“What? How awful. What kind of woman breaks up with someone through an email?”

He gave her a sad smile. “I wouldn’t know. It was a guy. My boyfriend.”

“Oh.”

Since she’d moved closer, her arm was in an awkward position, and it cramped. She pulled her hand back, and Tony must have misinterpreted the move because he frowned at her. “Do you have a problem with me being gay?”

“What?” she nearly shouted before lowering her voice. “No, not at all.”

Despite everything they talked about over the past few weeks, for some reason, they never discussed each other’s significant others or lack thereof before, so she didn’t know he had a boyfriend until a moment ago.

“My Uncle Jake is gay, and he’s married to Uncle Ian’s younger brother Nick. I don’t call Nick an uncle because he’s only a few years older than me. He was a surprise baby. And their cousin Mitch is in a full-on menage marriage. You know, a threesome where everyone loves everyone?” She had no idea why that came out as a question and not a statement. “Oh, and my social work mentor, Kayla, is married to a woman. So, no, I don’t have issues with anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. I know a lot of people in it.”

She knew she was babbling but couldn’t help it. The last thing she wanted was for her new friend to think she was bigoted or homophobic, and that he couldn’t discuss his broken relationship with her. At least she hadn’t blurted out about the BDSM club that was only three buildings down from her apartment. “What I have a problem with is people who don’t have the guts to break up with someone face-to-face, or even over the phone, and instead do it through emails or texts. I’m so sorry, Tony. That really, really sucks.”

He shrugged. “It is what it is.”

Picking up her fork, she stabbed a piece of green pepper. “How long were you together?”

“Almost two years.”

She fumbled the fork, catching it before it clattered against the plate. “Seriously? Two years? What the hell changed in the three weeks since you left that made him decide to break up with you over a freaking email? What, he suddenly decided it was over between the two of you? I don’t buy that at all. I bet he knew before you left and was too chicken to tell you. And if that’s the case, then he never deserved you. You can do so much better than someone like that.”

A small smile appeared on Tony’s handsome face, a little lighter than the earlier depressed one. “You’re very passionate about this, aren’t you?”

“You’re darn right I am!” She touched his arm. “Trust me on this. My parents were so in love that it was almost nauseating. The same goes for my uncles. They might have taken a few wrong turns before they found the love of their lives, but they did and couldn’t be happier. And I couldn’t be happier for them. I just hope I don’t have to wait as long as some of them did to get my happily-ever-after.”

Tony sat up straighter, wiped his eyes with a napkin, and then took a sip of water. “You haven’t found him or her yet?”

She let out a sigh. “Him. And I thought I did, but…”

“But?”

She didn’t want to talk about Doug, but if it gave Tony something to focus on instead of how his now ex-boyfriend dumped him, she would. “He thinks I’m too young for him—I’m twenty-three, and he just turned thirty-one. I don’t think it's that much of a difference, do you?”

He shook his head. “Justin was almost eight years older than me too.”

“See? Most people wouldn’t have a problem with it. Uncle Devon is ten years older than his wife, Kristen, and Uncle Jake is nine years older than Nick.” Her shoulders sagged. “But Doug thinks it’s a big deal. He also thinks I have a case of hero worship when it comes to him.”

Great. Now she was the one pushing the food around on her plate, feeling bummed.

“Ouch. How did that happen? The hero thing.”

As she spent the next five minutes or so explaining what occurred back then, leaving out a few critical but confidential details, Tony’s eyes grew wider and wider. Then, when she told him about last year’s kiss and Doug’s rejection, he frowned. “What a jerk! I mean, he took a bullet trying to save you, but still...What a jerk!”

He leaned over and nudged her elbow. “Aren’t we a pair? Falling for the wrong guy and getting our hearts broken.”

“Yup.”

“Well, you were right about one thing—I deserve better. We both do.” He held out his hand with the fifth finger extended. “Okay, pinkie-swear time. We’re going to forget about what’s-his-name and my jerk-faced ex, and when we get home, we’re going to find our true loves. And we’re going to stay in touch to make sure we both get our happily-ever-afters. Deal?”

A broad grin spread across Jenn’s face, and she linked her pinkie with his. “Deal.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Four days later

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