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It didn’t linger. Turning to his mother, Tarquin glared. “Leia means everything to me, and I won’t stand for you insulting her. Our relationship is none of your damn business, so you can keep your ignorant opinions and poisonous gossip to yourself. I’m not interested.”

He’s standing up for me—for us. Leia’s heart felt fit to burst. Noticing Rupert nodding and Fiona’s silently mouthed ‘YES!’, she broke into a determined grin. “That makes two of us.”

Kiki bristled. “You’re actually choosing this girl over your own family?”

“No, just you.” He kissed Leia’s hand. “See ya, Mum.”

As Tarquin led her through the sea of tables and respectful nods of Orcadian solidarity, Leia glanced down at her fingers entwined with his. I can’t hide any longer. I need to share my whole past even if it ultimately pushes him away.

Once through the door, Tarquin stopped dead by the bar’s coat rack and exhaled a deep, deliberate breath, then offered Leia a frustrated smile. “So. I thought that went pretty well…?”

Leia winced but felt overwhelming love for him, trying to lift her spirits. “Tarquin, are you sure you can deal with my baggage? ’Cause I have a ton.”

He pulled her into a warm hug, nodding back toward the restaurant. “Who doesn’t, Ginger? Who doesn’t?”

He jokes now, but how will he feel once he knows the truth?

Thirty

TARQUIN

Hidden away from family and the cold afternoon rain lashing the guest house windows, Tarquin stepped back from the blazing fire and climbed on top of the king-size bed beside Leia, the conversation from their fifteen-minute drive from Kirkwall still whirling in his head. In the car, Leia had begun to unload, sharing stories about dating Tyler through high school in Oshawa, Ontario, and their idyllic first years in Pittsburgh where he played professional hockey while she attended college. Life for the loved-up pair sounded hectic but exciting and a bright future lay ahead, but seven years into their relationship and four months after their 2015 castle wedding, the fairy tale began to sour—badly.

“So, Tyler decides to fuck his teammate’s wife,” said Leia, lying on her side. She tugged the hem of her sweatshirt over her pajama bottoms. “And not just any teammate. The captain.”

I knew it! She didn’t cheat! Tarquin felt a sense of relief, and then anger. “What a prick! Did he do it more than once?”

“Oh yeah. For three months, they snuck around, screwing in hotels, at home—”

“In your bed?”

“Apparently.”

“Jesus!” Tarquin plowed his hand through his hair and grabbed the folded blanket near their bare feet. “When did you find out?”

“January 30, 2016. I remember it like yesterday. Tyler was in Nashville for the NHL All-Star Game weekend. He was FaceTiming me before he left for the rink when his phone dinged with a text. The color drained from his face and he blurted out: ‘Ley, I had an affair.’” She exhaled heavily, her expression more resigned than sad. “I had trusted him with everything. My life…my heart! It knocked me off my feet.”

“Understandably!” Tarquin draped Leia with the blanket, covering his own bare legs and boxers as he sank down to lie beside her. “Was the text from her?” He propped himself up on an elbow.

“Yeah. Apparently, Tyler had broken it off with her the week before, but that didn’t stop her from dumping her husband. When Ty didn’t come running back, she sent that text threatening to tell me. She said she owed me the truth.”

“Revenge dressed up as concern—how considerate! And you knew this woman?”

“We chaired the wives’ Christmas toy drive together.” Leia’s lips flattened as she plucked a piece of lint off Tarquin’s white Henley. “I could barely breathe, let alone speak, but somehow I spit out, ‘How could you do this?!’ before bursting into tears. Tyler looked mortified and begged for my forgiveness, claiming ‘it was just sex, nothing more’, but that left me wondering why he’d risk our marriage over something he said meant so little.”

Tarquin fumed. “Selfish asshole!”

“He apologized over and over, but I was sobbing so hard I got a nosebleed. He tried to comfort me, but I hung up. Just the sight of him made me feel sick.” She sneered, pulling the edge of the blanket higher.

“Did he ring back?”

“Twice, but I ignored him. Eventually, he gave up because he was late for the skills competition.”

“Fuck hockey! He should’ve hopped on a plane and flown home, groveling.”

“I was glad he didn’t.” She glanced down, her fingers busy, twisting her mother’s ring. “I called Saz and cried my heart out, begged her not to tell Dad. She was furious with Ty but agreed to bite her tongue. She stayed on the phone with me until I fell asleep. Tyler wouldn’t be back in Pittsburgh until Sunday lunchtime, so I had plenty of time to mull over my options.”

“Did you leave him?”