Seduce Me (Austin Singles 1)

“He’s talking about leaving town.”

My head jerked over to Nash and Jim.

“For how long?” Jim asked, taking a drink of his beer.

Nash shrugged. “Not sure, said he needed to get away for a while. Talked about taking a backpacking trip in Europe.”

This news left me feeling sick to my stomach.

“What about the bar?” Blake asked.

“I don’t know. He’s not thinking clearly at all. He’s really fucked up, in more ways than one.”

When Nash’s gaze looked to mine, I drew in a deep breath.

We stared at one another for a few moments before Nash pulled his eyes away.

What in the hell was that supposed to mean? Like it was my fault Tucker’s father died? It was my fault Tucker knew about me needing to get married and was planning on playing some cruel joke on me?

Well, fuck that. The sad part about all of this was I no longer needed to get married. Once I got the board all together and showed them the tapes, it didn’t take long to get both Knots and Ricker fired. I was CEO of CMI … no marriage was needed. I should have felt relieved, but all I felt was sadness mixed with anger that my father did this to me. He left me with his dream and the longer I filled his shoes, the more I hated it.

“What’s wrong?” Terri asked, placing her hand on my leg. “You all of sudden seem really angry.”

I turned to her and spoke so only she could hear. “Do you think it’s wrong for me to be upset at Tucker for admitting he knew about the whole marriage thing?”

Terri chewed on her lip. “I mean, it’s sort of hard, Charlie. You started off planning on tricking him into marrying you.”

“I wasn’t tricking him,” I stated in a soft yet firm voice.

“Okay well, you for sure weren’t honest with him. It’s sort of like the pot calling the kettle black.”

Frowning, I couldn’t help but notice how I had mentally used that analogy earlier.

“Whatever. He could have said something, but he didn’t.”

“Lily and I both told you to be upfront with him. You had to know this wasn’t going to turn out well.”

I stood, my hands balled in fists. “So, it’s my fault?”

Her eyes filled with worry, and she looked around as she stood and grabbed me by the arm. We walked further out into the giant backyard, away from everyone.

“It’s both of your faults. You went into the relationship knowing you only needed one thing from Tucker, a wedding ring. He went into it angry because you were using him. Neither one of you is right, but you’re both right for each other, and I know you both see that. We’ve all known that and have seen it for years. And while I’m being honest, let me just say, we were all glad you both got your heads out of your asses and followed your hearts. You belong together.”

I scoffed.

Terri shook her head. “You can act like you’re not in love with him, Charlie, but you are. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you can both be there for each other. Jim said something happened between Tucker and his father a few days before his death. It’s what’s tearing Tucker up inside. Then the whole thing that happened between y’all has just added to it. He’s in a really bad place right now, and I know he needs you.”

I chewed on my lip and glanced over to the house. Tucker was talking to an older woman and a younger woman, maybe Lily’s age. They both hugged him, and I couldn’t help but notice how the younger woman held Tucker a little longer than necessary.

My eyes burned a hole into her, and I was pretty sure if looks could kill, she’d be on the ground.

“That’s Noelle Douglas. She’s one of Lily’s work friends. Her mother and their parents are pretty tight from what Lily has told me. I’ve gone out with them both a couple times for girls’ night out.”

My brows lifted. “Why didn’t I go?”

Terri chuckled next to me. “Seriously? Because every time we asked you out, you were too busy working. Once Noelle and Tucker started dating, we stopped asking you on the nights we went out with her. Lily thought it might upset you to hear her talking about Tucker.”

Folding my arms over my chest, I watched the exchange. Jealousy slowly built while I attempted to push it away. I did a piss-poor job of it.