“No, but there’s no reason why you and Brooke can’t be together if you both want it.”
“What I want is irrelevant at this point. It’s up to Brooke.”
“You’re a good man, Mo. I’ll be in touch.” She walked out the door to her car. I watched as she got in, and then I shut the door. Then I made a beeline to my liquor cabinet for the whiskey.
32
Brooke
I sat at the little table in Tucker’s hotel room, trying to eat pizza, but it was hard because it felt like my throat was closed.
“You know, Nebraska might have the market cornered on beef, but Chicago still has a better
pizza,” he said, tossing his crust into the box. “Even so, it’s not too bad.” He took a sip of his beer. He quirked a brow at me when I didn’t answer. “I think you’re right, Tucker.”
I looked down. “I’m sorry. I’m no fun.”
“Why are you even here? You should be talking to your husband.”
It was so strange to have him refer to Mo like that. Yes, we were married, but it never felt like a real marriage. Even when we were having sex, it hadn’t felt like we were married. Maybe that was a sign to give up.
“I need to think of what to do. I don’t want my father to hurt him—”
“Then why did you walk out and tell your dad to go to hell?”
“I didn’t do that. Not exactly. I just...I don’t know that Mo will want me. I’m far more hassle than he wants.”
“First, that’s for him to decide, right? Second, I think you’re here because you’re afraid he’ll side with your father. That he’ll send you packing because he thinks you’re too young and all that bullshit he gave you before.”
I nodded, conceding that I didn’t want to hear Mo’s excuses again. But it was more than that. “What if he wants me to stay so he doesn’t have to give back the money, but he doesn’t care for me anymore? It was going to be hard enough to live with him and love him without showing it for a year as it was. What if it’s now a situation in which he resents me or my father?”
Tucker shrugged. “You can hardly blame the guy. Your dad took his money, and now he not only has to pay it back, but also, he’s going to be accused of being a cradle robber and breaking a code of conduct in the mayor’s office. To be honest, Brooke, I’d be resentful, too.”
“I know,” I wailed as new tears came. “Why did my dad have to ruin everything? He always treats me like a baby. I hate it.”
Tucker arched a brow. “Then stop letting him.”
I gaped at him. “What are you talking about? I’m not letting him.”
He shrugged. “Sure you are.”
“No. I’m not. I keep telling him I’m grown up. I told him I loved Mo, and he acted like I was a kid.”
“Right. Then you ran away from home like an angry teenager.”
I stared at Tucker, feeling hurt. “I thought you were on my side.”
“I am.” He reached out and took my hand. I pulled it away in annoyance. “I am on your side. But let’s face it, if you want to be a grown-up, you have to act like one.”
“And do what?” I asked, wondering what he thought I should be doing that I hadn’t already done.
“Take control of your life. You’re living at home in the same room he raised you in. He still sees you as his little girl, and you haven’t done a whole lot to change that. Tell me, when you’re at home, is your life much different than when you were a teenager?”
I thought back to how I’d gone to school, came home and cooked dinner, hung out with my dad, and went to bed to do it all again the next day when growing up. Now, it was the same, except instead of school, I went to work.
“I married Mo,” I said.
He rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t see that as a real marriage. He sees Mo as your uncle or something. As someone who was taking care of you. You’re a strong, smart, independent woman. You don’t need anyone to take care of you.”