Page 123 of Just One of the Groomsmen
The problem was they hadn’t a clue about what was best for her. She thrived on challenge and deserved a job she loved, one she’d dreamed about since forever.
She needed to go meet someone who could provide her with the life she deserved.
By the time he got his act together, she’d probably be running the whole damn organization up in Tuscaloosa and be engaged to a burly football coach who also raked in the dough.
The idea of it ate at him, and he was getting sick of being the bigger person.
He froze in place when he spotted Addie’s grandma coming down the sidewalk. Lucia flashed him a sad smile as she approached. She threw her arms around his neck, and he bent lower so she could kiss one cheek and then the other.
While it’d taken him a few seconds that first night back in town to get re-accustomed to her greeting, he’d been afraid she wouldn’t bother now that things between him and Addie were so screwed up.
“How you doing?” she asked.
“I’ve been better.” He wasn’t sure why it was easier to admit to her, but it came right out, and then he found himself needing to explain further. “I just want the best for her. I’m sorry it means she might live in another city, but she hates her job here.”
“I know. You’ve always looked out for her. You’re a good boy.”
He wasn’t so sure, but it was nice that all of one person in town thought so. “How is she?” he asked, holding his breath as he awaited the answer.
Lucia sighed, her shoulders getting in on it. “She’s sad. She tries to hide it, but she can’t from me. Whenever she stops fighting to be okay, the sorrow hits her.” She flattened a hand to her chest. “It breaks my heart to see her so sad.”
His heart didn’t feel so great, either, and that news cracked it right open. “If she’d just let me talk to her…”
Lucia shook her head. “She’s too stubborn. And she got a good arm. I worry about the things she’d throw at your pretty head.”
He laughed. “Yeah, me too.”
“I’ve watched you two circle each other for years. I always wondered what’d happen if you fell into the same orbit at the same time. You have something between you that not many have, so I knew it’d be explosive bad or explosive good. Either way, lots of banging.”
He clamped his lips, working not to react to the way she’d phrased it—he was relatively sure she didn’t mean it like that… But with her, he couldn’t be 100 percent sure.
“You see, friendship is easy. You add fire, it gets tricky. But if you find a way to have both…?” A smile curved her lips, and she tapped a finger to them. “My Seamus was like that. My best friend. My love. Some days he make me so angry, but on days I so angry, he pull me into his arms and love replaces it all.”
Tucker glanced across the square like he could peer through the row of houses and see whether or not Addie’s truck was parked in front of it.
“She no home right now. She has more interviews. Lots and lots of interviews—my granddaughter’s in high demand, you know.” The woman took his hand and squeezed it. “I’m not sure if she coming back today or tomorrow, but she’ll for sure be back for the wedding stuff.”
“Oh good, so she can throw decorations at my head and everyone can cheer when she hits me. Then they can also get mad that I messed up the wedding. Can’t wait for that.”
She chuckled. “Sounds about right. But if you try real hard, maybe you can fix it. Maybe you only get one black eye,” she teased.
He ran his fingers along his eyebrow, his mind whirring.
He wanted to fix it more than anything. He needed Addie in his life, even if all they’d ever be was friends.
Even if he’d always have to suppress the desire for more.
“I don’t know how,” he admitted.
Lucia pinned him with a serious look. “Well, you have three days to figure it out. I suggest you stop feeling sorry for yourself and get started.”
He admired her enthusiasm and how she managed to be on his team as well as Addie’s. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t prevent their lives from heading in two separate directions, and he refused to be dead weight.
Even though he was sure that Lottie had been right when she’d said he’d never find anyone better.
…
Relief flowed through Addie the second her interview with the Auburn athletic department was over. Not only because she’d made it through without botching it, but it also meant no longer having to fake being okay.
