Page 150 of Push

“No one’s going to this kind of trouble over an unrequited crush on a childhood friend.”

“Gwen—”

“Look, this isn’t my self-doubt talking. I know he orchestrated a lot of crap the night of the party, but we’re not seriously going to pretend that my mum bod is so smokin’ hot that it drove Ian to come up with a breakup plan years in the making, are we?”

“I mean…” Toby smirked. “You do have a smokin’ hot mum bod.”

I rolled my eyes. “That isn’t his motivation.”

“It could be one of them. Do you think Ian lied about his feelings for you? I mean, I dunno. He sounded believable, and I found that picture—”

“What picture?”

“Uh…” Guilty eyes quickly turned back to the road.

“Tobes?”

He sighed. “Just a picture I found of you in one of his books. A sexy bikini picture.” His grin turned to me. “Which is nowmysexy picture. It’s in my wallet for, er, safekeeping.”

“How very chivalrous of you, Sir Toby.”

“Why, thank you, my lady. So? What else could it be, then?”

Streets—thoughts—zipped by in a blur as I gazed out the car window. “Jealousy…?” I suggested.

Did people carry the scars of high school into their thirties? Toby had arguably always won where Ian had failed—popularity, girls, sports—but Ian had never seemed bothered. He’d been focused on his studies, his mum, and too many one-night stands.

“Distraction?” That was my next suggestion. “He did everything he could to drive a wedge between us after the party. By his own admission, he gave you a sleeping pill to make sure you stayed put. Maybe he hoped we’d stop talking or that you’d be busy focusing on fixing our marriage…” I frowned. Or maybe Ian had banked on Toby being distracted enjoying his new plaything…

“What’s going on up in your head, doll?” Toby asked. “That’s one heck of a frown.”

“Nothing,” I muttered.

Some things needed to be said out loud, and others would only be twisting the knife in a heart already too soft. Instead of mentioning my theories about Ian, I rested my hand on the special spot on Toby’s thigh. His palm covered mine, and he squeezed my fingers, warm and safe.

“I’m just thinking over all the possibilities,” I added.

Not that there were many. If Ian was the mastermind, he’d gone about it horribly. His actions had only set him on a collision course for a busted nose and for Toby to be shipped off on a never-ending vacation.

My eyes widened. The answer punched me like a fist in my stomach.

Ian hadn’t wanted Toby out of the picture. He’d wanted him out of theclinic. Years of prosecuting mundane embezzlement cases finally started flashing neon lights around the “why” I’d been searching for.

“Toby, the cash flow problems at the clinic… Did they start before or after Kayleigh came along?”

“A month or two before.”

“Was Ian ever worried about any of that?”

“Why would he be?” Toby scoffed. “He got his cut of the partnership profits whether he worked two hours or two hundred.” His lip curled. “Two hours being closer to how much he actually worked some weeks.”

“Did you ever figure out what was going on?”

“I always knew what was going on. Bills and more freaking bills. Suppliers jacking up the prices and never-ending invoices to pay. New equipment. Staff working too much overtime. Patients not paying. Christ, even chasing people not paying costs money. Some months, it felt like I worked my butt off just to keep the lights on.”

A knot tightened in my stomach. “I didn’t realize it had gotten that bad.”

His head hung low. “I never wanted you to worry. I wanted to prove to you I could be a proper husband, you know? I thought I could handle it if I just worked harder.”

---