Page 24 of Tainted Tempos

“There is, Mckenna. There always has been.” My heart fucking shatters all over again. Christ, I will not survive Mckenna Byrne for a multitude of reasons.

I’m all wrong for her. She deserves a better husband. A better life.

But fuck, if my wife didn’t just become my goddamn everything.

If I can help her through this, be the man, the person she needs, then I’m sure as hell going to rise to the challenge.

I’ll ruin Branson Burton in the process.

I’ll be whoever Mckenna needs me to be.

“Tell me,” I say.

She takes a deep breath, and then, she cracks my fucking soul wide open.

SIX

MCKENNA

“It was my 1L year,”I whisper. I swipe my tongue over my chapped lips. My trembling eases.

In fact, now that I’ve admitted the worst of it aloud, I feel better. Stronger.

Mav’s belief in me makes this next part possible. More bearable.

Mav nods, his eyes bleeding with heartbreak.

I shift in the bed, bring my knees into my chest, and wrap my arms around them. Curl into myself as I resolve to share the truth.

Mav doesn’t move from where he’s perched on the side of the bed. Instead, he stares at me with a carefully neutral expression. A mask.

Except for his bleeding eyes...

“I met Branson my first day of law school. We hit it off and fell into a routine. We sat next to each other in class and swapped notes, shared our thoughts about the readings. I went to a party one night and he walked me home, made sure I got back okay. I thought we were…friendly, if not friends. But I didn’t have any girl friends, and I wanted to fit in. After living with Allegra, Ivy, and Nova for so long, it was difficult to trythat hard again. To put myself out there.” I frown. Was I that desperate for friends? That lonely? Or was it my parents’ public, humiliating divorce that caused me to act out in a way I never had before?

I was the careful friend. Reliable, dependable, and steady. I didn’t get sloppy drunk or go out during exam weeks. I didn’t have one-night stands or regrets.

I was confident. I didn’t need to use the buddy system.

And that night...it was just me.

“There was a party that Branson told me about. But I didn’t have anyone to go with. The only girls I really knew on campus were Robyn and Emily and they were visiting Emily’s family that weekend. Allegra was still in LA,” I add. “Or I would have asked her to tag along.”

Maverick leans closer, turning toward me fully. The movement reminds me that he’s here. I’m not alone. And I’m telling him what happened...

“When I got to the party, I spotted Bran right away. And I felt relieved that he was there like he said he’d be. I was grateful that I knew someone. I don’t think I drank too much, but I definitely drank more than I usually did,” I admit, recalling shots of vodka. And rum. Rum! “I would have been drunk but not sloppy. I didn’t drink enough to not recall entire hours of the night.” I shake my head. “Most of that night is a big, empty space. Only recently have moments been coming back to me.”

“Do you think Bran slipped something into your drink?” Mav asks. “Or someone else?” His jaw is clenched so tightly it could crack. His hands are balled into fists, and his right knee bounces.

“Yes,” I admit. “I think it was him. Not that anyone would believe me. There are photos of me that night—drinking and taking shots, posing with other law students, strangers—and then there’s him, the golden boy with the pristine image.Everyone knows who he is. I’d be labeled a liar—or worse—instantly.”

“You never know. He could have done the same thing to other women.”

I shrug, doubting it. “Bran offered to help me when I stumbled. He said, ‘Let’s get some air’ or something like that.” I pause again, waiting for the hazy recollections of that evening to reassemble in my mind. To snap together into a clear picture.

The starry sky. The scent of smoke. The blaze of a bonfire.

The staircase. Bran’s hand over my mouth. His hot breath in my ear.