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Right after that insane revelation at the Harvest Festival that his client was Syd Wharton in disguise, I’d started to ask him to stay.
But what did he do? He’d silenced me with a brief, painfully soft kiss, and he’d uttered the words that’d nearly broken me:Please don’t ask me to stay.
Tucker looked away again, his jaw clenching. “Yeah, well... knowing it was coming doesn’t make it any easier, does it?”
The silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. My heart felt like it was being slowly squeezed in a vice, the ache spreading through my whole body. I wanted to say something—anything—to break through the distance that was growing between us. But what could I say?
Tucker cleared his throat, stepping closer until he was right in front of me, towering over me with that same quiet intensity that had drawn me in from the start. His hand came up to cup the side of my face, his thumb brushing lightly against my cheek in a gesture so gentle it made my breath catch.
“I care about you,” he said, his voice so rough it nearly broke. “More than I thought I would. More than I should. But this... it would never work. You know that, right?”
I forced myself to meet his gaze, even though the tears were already starting to sting the backs of my eyes. “Yeah. I know.”
It came out quieter than I meant it to, my voice betraying the hurt that I was trying so hard to hide. I didn’t want him to see how much this goodbye was tearing me apart.
He leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine, his breath warm against my skin. “I hate that it has to be like this, Wildcard.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, regretting that I’d wished for him to say it. Then again, it really did hit the same when he said it like this. My hands curled into the front of his jacket, clinging to him even though I knew I needed to let go. “Me too.”
For a moment, neither of us moved. We just stood there, our foreheads pressed together, the silence between us heavy with everything we weren’t saying. I could feel the tension radiating off him, the way his body was coiled tight like he was fighting against something he couldn’t control.
Then, without another word, he tilted my chin up and kissed me—desperately, like he was trying to pour everything he couldn’t say into that one kiss. I kissed him back just as fiercely, my heart breaking with every second that passed, knowing this was the last time.
When he finally pulled away, his eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them. He pressed a final kiss to my forehead, lingering there for just a second on a long inhale before he stepped back, his hand dropping from my face.
He nodded once as he backed away.
My throat too tight to speak, I simply nodded back, watching as he turned and walked away.
That evening, I pulled into Hope’s driveway, the faint glow of lights spilling through the windows. Laughter drifted out from inside the house, mingling with the cool evening breeze as I grabbed the box of cookies I’d brought and made my way up to the front porch.
Girls' night.
It was supposed to cheer me up, to take my mind off everything. But after the morning I’d had, with Tucker leaving and that goodbye still fresh in my mind, I wasn’t sure anything could distract me from the dull ache in my chest.
I knocked once before stepping inside, the familiar warmth of Hope’s house wrapping around me. This had become a second home to me for the last few weeks, and since I’d spent all of that time consumed with thoughts of the case and of Tucker, it felt strange coming back inside without a reason to think about either of those things anymore.
The smell of cinnamon and sugar greeted me—likely from the pie someone had brought—and the girls were already gathered in the living room, chatting away like they didn’t have a care in the world.
Laney was stretched out on the couch, her blonde hair spilling over the armrest, while Aubree sat cross-legged on thefloor, a glass of wine in her hand. Bailey and Paisley were huddled together on the loveseat, giggling about something on Bailey’s phone, and Rory was curled up in an armchair by the fireplace, absently flipping through a magazine.
“Kota!” Hope called out from the kitchen, poking her head around the corner with a bright smile. “We’ve been waitin’ for you! You brought your momma’s cookies, right?”
I forced a smile, holding up the dish. “Of course. Wouldn’t show up without your faves.”
“You’re the best,” she said, giving me a wink. “Come on in. Wine’s on the counter. Or there’s sweet tea if you’re in the mood.”
“Wine,” I muttered under my breath, making my way to the kitchen. “Definitely wine.”
As I poured myself a glass, I could hear the conversation drifting from the living room.
“So, what’s the guys' night about?” Aubree asked, her tone curious. “Rory, didn’t you say it was at Travis’s gym?”
Rory nodded, still scrolling through her phone. “Yeah, but I thought it was strange that they brought Phoebe. They got the Mommas to watch the babies, but she’s with them.”
“Why?” Paisley asked, lifting a brow as I took a seat on the floor by Aubree.
“No idea,” Rory said with a shrug. “Travis just said they wanted her to come along.”
