Page 60 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

Tyler was quiet for a moment. "They broke up a little while after that. She completely disappeared inside of herself. She was just this wisp of the person that I loved. And I couldn't stand it. I told her we could be friends. Because it killed me to see her hurting. I told myself that I could be okay with that. But then it was there again. That feeling that it was more. And it was. For one night, she validated all my thoughts. I let myself think that there really could be a future between us. That she'd get over him. That we could be together."

He shook his head. "The very next day, she got back together with James. And maybe I'm a fucking idiot for just letting it happen. But she was happy with him. He could give her a life I couldn't."

"You mean the money?" Suddenly it all made sense. Why Tyler seemed so upset that I was in awe of Josh's place.

Tyler looked up at me. "It was easy to fixate on that. But I know it was more than that. She just didn't like me." He looked away from me again. "No matter how much I liked her, it didn't change that fact. So I just accepted it. I told myself I had to move on. I applied for a job in New York and was excited to move away when I graduated. But then they fucking moved there too.

"Penny and I got into this routine of being just friends. It was easy. I just liked having her in my life. I guess I kind of repressed my true feelings for her for years, though, because when they called the wedding off, all I wanted to do was tell her."

I hadn't known that they had called the wedding off. I was surprised the tabloids hadn't picked up that story. I swallowed hard.

"I told her how I really felt. That I had always loved her and that I always would. She told me that she'd always love him."

I pressed my lips together. He'd always love her?

"Even if they never got back together, Penny said she'd never move on. She said she could never love me." He sighed. "That's it. I'm the biggest fucking joke."

I sat down next to him on the bed. To me it sounded like Penny was a tease. Running to him whenever there was the smallest problem in her relationship with James. Which was fine to do if they were just friends. But clearly it was more than that. She had to have known that. And I hated her for hurting him. Even if it wasn't intentional.

"But why are the cops coming after you?"

"Because James' ex wife is a psychopath. She's trying to set me up."

"Why?"

"I don't know. To break them up or something. She made it look like I stole money from them. And when that clearly didn't work, the psycho shot him. I have no idea why they're looking at me."

"So on the news when they said it was Penny's ex and best friend?"

Tyler shrugged. "Me and Melissa I guess. Which is crazy. I would never do anything to hurt Penny and neither would Melissa."

"And you broke up with Melissa because you realized you were still in love with Penny?"

"Yeah."

"And now you're traveling across the country to get away from all of it?"

Tyler didn't say anything.

"Why aren't you going back, though? If James dies..."

"I'm done being second. I'll be there for Penny as a friend if she wants, but nothing more. And I meant what I said before, Hails. I'm where I want to be. These past few days with you have been some of the best I've had in a long time."

"Me too." I took a deep breath. "I think I've been accidentally

putting myself in a similar situation."

"What do you mean?"

I looked up into Tyler's baby blue eyes. "I'm falling for a guy that will never love me as much as he loves someone else." A tear trickled down my cheek. I lifted my hand to wipe it away, but his hand beat mine. He brushed away my tear with his thumb. It felt more intimate than any other moment between us before.

"I've been holding on to my feelings for Penny because it feels like I'm drowning when I don't have them. But it's not because of her. It's because of my own problems. I don't want to feel the way I do. I want to move on." His eyes searched mine.

"We can heal each other."

"That's the thing, Hails, I don't think you need healing. I think you need someone as whole and full of energy and life as you." He brushed away another of my tears.

"I think that maybe I just need you."

---