“I don’t know. I asked him to go.”
“Wait, so you didn’t let him explain?” Presley asked.
“I don’t care what his explanation is. I spent two years hearing explanations from Judd about how Autumn was no threat. I’m not about to stay in a relationship with another guy who’s got some kind of deep ties to another woman he claims is only a friend. I’m not going through that again.”
“You should talk to him,” Finn said.
Mary Alice stared at her. “This coming from you? I figured you’d be at the head of the lynch mob.”
“If he needs it, I will be. But I’m just saying, give him a chance to explain.”
“Why?”
“Because down the road, the not knowing will drive you nuts. Trust me on this. Even if it’s bullshit, it’s better to hear the explanation than to wonder.”
“I agree,” Margot said. “Though I’m not so sure whatever his explanation is will be bullshit.”
“Are you kidding me?” Mary Alice demanded.
“Hear me out. One of your biggest issues with Judd is the fact that he didn’t put you first. Chad’s different. He seems more than willing to juggle his job and whatever else he has to in order to spend time with you. He’s thoughtful and has put you first wherever he can. And there’s none of that sense of guilt and obligation that became so much a part of your relationship with Judd. At the very least, you owe him a chance to make that explanation. Because he’s not Judd, and I don’t think it’s fair of you to treat him like he is.”
She opened her mouth to argue.
“We’re not saying you have to take him back,” Presley told her. “And we’re not saying you don’t have a right to be upset. But I think your whole reaction to the situation was entirely colored by being upset over Judd and Autumn. Which is entirely understandable. You’re gun-shy after all that. But everything you’ve told us about Chad up to now indicates he’s a good guy, who’s really into you. And you’re really into him. Do you really want to risk letting that go when you might have made a mistake?”
They made some valid points. But what if she heard him out and his explanation swayed her into giving him another chance and doing exactly what she’d done with Judd? She absolutely couldn’t go through that again.
Needing something to do with her hands, Mary Alice turned away and grabbed the nearest box of donations. She checked the tag, her hands stilling as she saw Isaiah’s name. Her heart squeezed, remembering the day she and Chad had spent together shopping for him and the others. Aware of her friends’ eyes on her, she said nothing, lifting the contents out of the box. She paused at the toy medical kit she found inside. This hadn’t been part of what they’d bought in Lawley. Beneath the bag, she found a child-sized lab coat and a real stethoscope, with a note attached. You’ll need it one day for med school.
How could she reconcile the man who would do this for a child, the man who would go to all the trouble to design a personalized scavenger hunt around her favorite Christmas movie, the man who’d made love to her so thoroughly, with the guy she was accusing him of being? How could she let one thing outweigh the balance of all the kindness she’d seen from him?
Head bent as fresh tears slid down her cheeks, Mary Alice gripped the edge of the box. “God help me.”
Chad got home from work late and opened the door to the scent of food and the sound of music pumping out of his kitchen. Heart thumping, he hurried into the kitchen.
Sonya turned from the counter, a broad smile on her beautiful face. “Hey handsome. I got Chinese. Thanks for telling me where the spare key was hidden.”
Chad called himself an idiot. He’d seen Sonya’s car outside, knew it wasn’t Mary Alice waiting for him. But still, a part of him had hoped she’d had a change of heart. His keen disappointment was definitive proof that it wasn’t just any woman with dinner he wanted to come home to, it was that particular woman.
“Oh, I know that face. Bad day? Did you lose someone at work?” Sonya asked gently.
Chad moved past her to the fridge. “Not the way you mean.” He popped the top on a Yuengling and tipped it back.
“Is your lady too tied up to come meet me? Is that what’s got you in a shitty mood?”
Heading into the living room, he dropped onto the sofa and leaned his head back. “She’s not my lady. Not anymore.” Admitting that left a bitter taste in his mouth that the beer did nothing to assuage.
Sonya folded herself gracefully onto the other end of the couch. “What happened?”
His lips curved, though he certainly saw no humor in the situation. “She saw me with you.”
“What? But that was nothing.”
“She doesn’t think so. She wouldn’t let me explain.”
“That’s not very sporting of her. I’m not sure she’s worth all the praise you heaped on her if she can’t be bothered to listen.”
Chad growled. “She has her reasons.” He didn’t have to like them, but he recognized they were very real for her.