Page 34 of Exposed

“Of course I am.”

“But do you really think you need to keep saying that over and over again to Matt?”

“I didn’t say it over and over again.”

Tanner just stared at me.

“He needs to understand.”

“Trust me, Matt knows you loved Miller or you wouldn’t have married the guy. You don’t have to keep telling Matt how much. Put yourself in his shoes. How would that make you feel? How did it feel when you found out he was dating Kennedy?”

“I tried really hard to be okay with it. But…it hurt like hell.”

“Exactly.”

“I wasn’t trying to rub my happiness in his face. I was just…”

“Trying to stay loyal to Miller.”

My shoulders slumped. “You say it like it’s a bad thing. He’s my husband.”

“Trust me, I understand. But he’s gone. And you told me yourself what was in that letter he left you. He wanted you to be happy. He wasn’t just giving you permission to do so. He made you promise you’d do it.”

I blinked away the tears in my eyes as I poured my batter into cupcake tins. I didn’t say another word as I put them in the oven. I stayed silent as I wiped down the counter.

“Brooklyn,” Tanner finally said, breaking the silence.

I ignored him and put the dirty dishes in the sink.

“Hey,” he said and grabbed the bowl out of my hands.

“I can’t ask Matt to be the person to console me while I mourn everything I lost.”

“Why? He understands better than anyone what you’re going through. He lost you.”

I bit my lip. Matt had said the same thing to me. And I felt terrible for telling him he didn’t understand. Of course he did. He thought I’d died. And I knew he was telling the truth when he said that it killed him too. I think that’s what I regretted the most about our conversation. Belittling his pain. “Well…” I looked up at Tanner “You understand too.”

“I’m happy to hang out with you whenever you need a shoulder to cry on. Or when you need a minute alone, I’m happy to come over and watch my grandson. But we both know hanging out with me isn’t what you need right now.”

“Did you just call Jacob your grandson?” I said with a smile.

“He calls me Abuelo.”

“Yeah, but he’s four.”

Tanner shrugged. “I don’t want to confuse him.”

Actually, it didn’t seem like that was the reason to me. Tanner hadn’t once talked about any family. Other than mentioning that he lost the girl he loved when he was a teenager. I think he was lonely. “I think maybe you like hanging out with me as much as I like hanging out with you.”

“Stop hitting on me, woman. You’re destined to be with my best friend.”

I laughed. “I’m not hitting on you. But I don’t know if I’m destined to be with Matt.”

“Well, luckily I know it. And I’m 99 percent sure of it.”

“You’re so weird.”

“I’ve tried living a normal life. It was extremely overrated.”

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