Page 23 of Tangled Up With You

“Well... how was it?” She leaned in, lowering her voice so only I could hear as she asked, “Is hate sex really as good as people claim it is?”

“God, it really is,” I lamented pathetically, scrubbing my hands over my face. “I really wish I could say it sucked, but it was even better than the first time.”

Just then, my phone started to vibrate again. I flipped it over so the screen was face down, but I wasn’t fast enough.

“Clearly.” Lennix let out a knowing chuckle. “Has he been blowing up your phone all morning?”

“Yep,” I answered, popping the P obnoxiously as I finished off my coffee. “But he’ll lose interest soon enough. The guy has the attention span of a fruit fly when it comes to women.”

She arched a skeptical brow. “You sure about that?”

Of course I was sure. It was how the man operated. “I’m sure. And besides, it’s not like he’s sticking around. He’ll be back traveling the circuit any day now. As soon as those buckle bunnies are in front of him again, I’ll be a distant memory.”

I might have sounded unaffected by it, but the words left a curdled taste on my tongue and a pinched feeling in my stomach.

I was about to suggest a change of subject when the door to the coffee shop swung open, setting off the bell above it. Myattention turned to the woman who’d walked in, my eyes going wide with shock.

I could have sworn the entire shop went quiet as people turned to stare.

“Holy shit,” Lennix breathed out on a whisper, having turned to scope out the newcomer at the same time I did.

“Is that?—?”

“Blythe Fanning,” she answered before I finished my question.

My surprise instantly gave way to sadness as I noticed the two little kids trailing into Muffin Top right behind her and the toddler she had propped on her hip. I’d grown up with Blythe. She was several years older, but on top of this being a small town, our parents were close friends, so we knew each other well enough. She’d left for college when she was eighteen, and instead of coming back when she graduated, she married the guy she’d been dating since her freshman year and ended up moving to where he was from.

I knew her mom, Nona, and stepfather, Trick, had missed her tremendously, but as long as she was happy, they were happy.

“Sunny said she’d spoken to her recently, but didn’t mention anything about her moving back,” Lennix said quietly. When I looked back to her I noticed she was wearing the same expression of sadness I was.

“Makes sense. With three kids?” I gave my head a shake of disbelief. I couldn’t possibly imagine how hard things had been for her lately. “I’m sure she needs help.”

“God, it’s just so sad,” Lennix said, putting to words exactly what I was feeling. “My heart’s broken for her.”

Instead of being rowdy or noisy, the kids were quiet, their heads down and shoulders scrunched up to their ears. Grief was pouring off the little family in waves.

Just then, Blythe turned from where she’d been placing an order at the counter and caught sight of us, offering a smile that barely shifted her lips. There was no missing the dark rings beneath her eyes or the pallor of her skin. Her hair was flat and dull. She looked exhausted and weary and heartbroken.

With her children still I tow, she started toward our table. “Hey, guys,” she offered congenially enough once she reached us.

“Hey, sweetie.” I quickly stood, wrapping her in an embrace, noticing her bones stood out more prominently than they should have. She returned the hug with a pat to the back and I stepped away so Lennix could do the same.

“It’s so good to see you,” she offered the woman who looked like the shine had been snuffed right out of her.

“It really is. We didn’t know you were back.”

She cleared her throat and ran a hand over her hair, the gesture almost nervous, like she was realizing for the first time that she wasn’t at her best. “Uh, yeah. It was kind of unexpected.”

I smiled, hoping it would put her at ease. “Of course. Anyway, it’s great to have you here. I’m sure your mom is happy.” Every word out of my mouth felt pathetic and trite, but I didn’t know what I could possibly say to make the situation any better. What did you say to a woman whose husband died unexpectedly, leaving her and their three little ones with a gaping hole in their lives? I couldn’t imagine the pain she must have been feeling. It was written over every single inch of her.

“She is. Thanks.”

The barista behind the counter called her name, breaking the awkward tension that was surrounding us. “Well, that’s me. I should probably get going,” she said as the little girl on her hip began to fuss. “It’s nap time anyway. But it was good to see you guys.”

“You too,” Lennix returned.

“And if you need anything, we’re just a phone call away, all right? Anything you need. Just name it.”

---