Page 76 of To Belong Together
Tanner stepped closer. “Her senior prom. You know how that turned out, thanks to you?”
John moved back, again, praying this would end before either of them lost their temper. John didn’t know anything about Kate’s prom; he’d left years before. On the other hand, Kate and Tanner hadn’t met until years after, so the man wasn’t exactly an expert.
“She’d had it bad for a guy for over a year, and he asked her. She gets all decked out and ready, and she’s waiting to go, but he stands her up. You know where he was?” Tanner waited as if John ought to know what some high schooler he’d never met had done on a day he didn’t remember.
John splayed his fingers to indicate he didn’t know, but the movement was fraught with frustration. He needed to do better than that if he was going to keep the peace, so he tried to infuse his expression with patience.
He doubted it worked, but Tanner remained unfazed. “Awestruck played in Milwaukee. He got tickets at the last minute. Kate couldn’t bear to show up at the dance solo, so she stayed home, bawling her eyes out, alone, because you’d sent your parents backstage passes, so they were at the show too. By that point, Stace was off at college and Angie had her own life. So Monday, Kate rallies. She confronts him, and you know what he tells her? The only reason he asked her in the first place was because she was your sister, but he got to meet you for real that weekend, and rocking with the band was better than …” Tanner sneered. “Their plans would offend your delicate sensibilities, but I’m sure you can imagine.”
John’s breath rolled fast, and his right fist clenched.
Tanner lifted his hands in a careless shrug, finally stepping out of the way. “We can take this outside, but do you really want to hijack another of her moments?”
Kate’s senior prom should’ve been the highlight of high school. Or one of many. Doubly so if a guy she’d been crushing on that long had asked her.
Although from the sounds of it, she was better off without him.
What had her life looked like senior year of high school?
John didn’t know.
He used to be closer to Kate than the others, but he’d been gone so long, he couldn’t get anything right with her anymore. No wonder. He didn’t know her. Hadn’t for a long time.
“So you get it now? Tell your friends to cool it with the engagement party out there. Lay low. Let her have her night. See if, for once, you can make it about her.”
John nodded and waited in case Tanner had more to add. He hated to think what other experiences Kate might’ve had, but he owed her a willingness to learn what it’d been like to have him as a brother.
Tanner scoffed as he turned away, dismissing him.
John exited. Despite avoiding a fight, he felt freshly bruised. He still didn’t like Tanner and wouldn’t have chosen him for Kate, but at least the guy cared about her. And he had a point. John’s life had impacted his sister more than he’d realized.
Guests lingered in the foyer, where bartenders rushed to keep up with orders. He could take the edge off with a drink, but the memory of Tim staring down into his coffee yesterday morning stopped him.
He proceeded into the ballroom, darker now than when he’d left. The tables glittered with votives while the DJ’s lights colored the dance floor. The dimness made it harder to spot Gannon. What had he been wearing?
Not a tux. Black pants? White shirt? A tie to match Addie’s dress, which was … pink?
No. Gannon wouldn’t wear a pink tie, even for her.
“Hey there, stranger.” A delicate hand settled into the crook of his elbow.
For a split second, excitement cut through the darkness, but no. That hadn’t been Erin’s voice. He turned to find Megan, the bridesmaid Mark had warned him about.
He resumed his scan of the room. “Have you seen Gannon?”
Megan pointed toward the dance floor. John didn’t spot them. Addie and Gannon might’ve been minding their own business out there, but a cloud of people were probably following them with cameras.
And though he longed for Erin to arrive so he could hold her in his arms and forget as much of this day as possible, his involvement in a romance would draw attention too.
“What a mess.”
“Hey.” Megan squeezed his arm. “Something wrong?”
He tried to extricate himself.
She caught his hand and stepped backward, beckoning him onto the dance floor. “Come on. This is a party, you know.”
Not for him. He pulled his hand free, spotted a phone pointed their direction, and softened his scowl. No need to turn this into a headline. “I need to find my friends.”
