Page 100 of Holiday Love
I watch him until he disappears, and then I look down at my bare leg. No cast. No excuses. Just imperfect me and someone worth running toward, even if I stumble getting there.
Chapter forty-five
Teddy
There’s a knock on the door, which is strange. Helen has her key, and I’m not expecting anyone else. I open it to find Gina standing there, eyes red-rimmed, like she’s been crying all day.
“Hi, Teddy.”
My stomach sinks. “Gina? What are you—?”
“Can I come in?” she cuts me off. “Please. It’s important.”
Everything in me screamsno, but I step back. Old habits die hard, especially the polite ones my mother drilled into me.
Gina steps inside, takes one look at the enormous tree Helen’s mom had delivered, and lets out a sharp laugh. “Wow. Didn’t peg you as a tinsel guy.”
I don’t let her distract me. “What do you want?”
“I’vebeen thinking about you, a lot.”
My spine stiffens. “There’s nothing to think about.”
“Yes, there is,” she insists. She steps closer, and it takes everything in me not to back away.
“I know you think I’m here to win you back, to beg you, but it’s not that.” Her hands flutter like she’s not sure what to do with them.
I narrow my eyes, suspicious. Gina’s rarely direct. She usually gets her way with a lot of passive-aggressive back talk, but maybe I’m not the only one who has done some growing recently because she says, “I saw you at the boat parade with…her. I’ve known you a long time, Teddy. I’ve never seen you look so, I don’t know, content?”
My shoulders relax back into their normal position. “Thanks,” I say hesitantly. “That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”
Tears well in her eyes, but she dashes them away before they can fall. “I’ve been keeping a secret, and it’s eating me up.” She takes in a deep breath. “You know how Anthony and I’ve been together for the past couple of months?”
I nod and ease back to lean against the couch, the weight shifting off my bad leg. It’s doing better, but right now it feels like it might fold beneath me.
“A few weeks ago, he’d been drinking, and he said something that shook me.” She sniffles, wiping away another tear. “I should’ve told you right away, but, to be honest, I’ve been jealous. I hated that you found your special person before I did. I wanted Anthony to be that for me, and I couldn’t admit he’s done something wrong.”
Now, I’m becoming alarmed. “What’d he do, Gina? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” My heart kicks. If he laid a hand on her, I swear to God I’ll fight him myself. No one hurts a woman while I’m around.
“No. No,” she corrects me quickly. “It’s not me he hurt. It’s you.”
I cock my head, not understanding. “Come again?”
“He left you in the ocean, Teddy. That night you almost died.”
My body goes still, muscles locking, while my mind sprints in every direction. Gina’s voice fades, drowned out by the phantom rush of waves in my ears, the crushing press of the water on my chest.
“You were both drunk and high, but that doesn’t excuse it.” Gina shakes her head, voice low. “He said he wanted to stop surfing. You didn’t. So he left you out there alone. I asked him, didn’t he know how dangerous that was?”
My throat works, but only one word comes out.“And?”
“He said he thought you’d be fine. That you’d follow, and if you didn’t, well, that was your problem. You were a big boy. He didn’t realize how bad it was until later, and by then it was too late. I wouldneverhave done that, and I’m sure Jamie would not have either. We would have dragged you back with us, even if it was a fight.” She breaks then, big shuddering sobs she hides behind her hands.
I don’t think. I just move. One step forward, and my arms go around her, solid and automatic.
“But I asked him about it,” I say to the top of her head. “I asked if he knew what happened that night.”
“I’m not surprised. I think he felt bad afterward, didn’t want to admit it, but that doesn’t change what he did,” she cries into my chest. “He’s been good to me, but how can I be with someone so careless?”
