His friend didn’t appear the least bit apologetic for his comment. “If you’re not careful, some other man is going to come in and sweep that woman right off her feet. Guess what you’ll be then?”
When Mac paused, Tommy just stared at him, which made his friend shake his head and grunt with disgust.
“You’ll be second in her eyes. Right now, you’re first, and you’ve always been first. How’s it going to feel when you’re not the most important man in her life?”
He didn’t want to fucking think about that. “Jesus, Mac, why would you even encourage something like that? You know my reputation. Would you want your daughter dating me?”
Tensing, Mac squinted off into the distance for a minute before looking back at him. “Nope. If I had a daughter and saw you get out of the car to pick her up, I’d load the shotgun.”
“Then why—”
“We’re not talking about hypothetical daughters. We’re talking about Julie. And you would die before treating her like one of your flavors of the day. I’m just telling you, man, life’s short. What’s here today might not be here tomorrow.” The muscles in his face tightened and he started backing away. “I’ll see you later.” He turned and jogged off.
Knowing he was thinking of his wife, Tommy let him go. What’s here today might not be tomorrow. That was his biggest fear. That he’d lose Julie. Not in the way Mac lost his wife, God forbid. But because of his actions, because he’d hurt her.
While he appreciated Mac’s faith in him, Tommy wasn’t convinced. All he had to go on was his track record. A part of him was convinced he was just like his mother—sans the alcoholic part.
She’d never been able to truly love anyone, either…including him.
At least he was able to love: he loved Julie. He really did. It was the whole romantic love thing he was a lost cause at. And that was something she needed.
If there was even the slightest chance he could hurt Julie because of his shortcomings, then he needed to keep his distance. Better yet, he needed to get the hell out of her place as quickly as he could, before he did something he couldn’t take back. Something they’d both regret.
Earlier today, he’d spoken to his insurance agent. They were processing his claim, but it could still take more than a week before he’d see a check. Maybe he’d go ahead and start the search anyway. He hadn’t wanted to start looking for a place to live or replacing his furniture until he knew for certain he wasn’t going to have any issues with the insurance company. Which was actually pretty damn responsible of him. In the past, he’d just have spent the money. But after the shit had hit the fan, he’d started investing his money, for once thinking of the future.
Either way, he was going to have to find a place to live, and pronto. As for furniture, he’d just get the bare necessities until the check came in. Feeling better with a firm plan, he worked his arms to relieve some of the lingering burn, turned to start the trek to his rental car. And froze.
About fifty feet away, Julie sat beside Brody on a blanket. The two looked so comfy together, their bodies close, her shoulder pressing into his chest, Brody’s arm behind her in a possessive way that had Tommy clenching his teeth against a violent surge of jealousy.
The truly fucked-up part was Julie didn’t seem to mind being touched at all.
But he did. A lot. Seeing her curled up against the other man enraged him in a way that was actually frightening. Unnerved by the foreign emotion, he inhaled deeply. He needed to get the hell out of here before she saw him. The last thing he needed was to have a conversation with her and that man while he was this jacked up inside.
But Julie’s gaze snagged his and she didn’t seem surprised to see him. Which meant she’d already known he was there.
All right, dude. This is your best friend. Keep it that way.
Unable to ignore her direct look, he strolled over to them, keeping his stride relaxed, until he reached the edge of the blanket. “Hey. What are you guys up to?”
Seriously stupid fucking question.
“Enjoying the warm day.” Julie smiled up at him. “Seems you and Mac were getting in a really great workout. Looking good out there.”
Male satisfaction coursed through him knowing she liked what she saw, and he cast Brody a smug look. The man held his gaze and didn’t look the least bit bothered by his date telling another man he was looking good. Why not? What had she told Brody about him?
Why was he bothered by the fact Brody wasn’t bothered? But he was. Big time. He didn’t like the confidence the man was exuding, nor the way his hand had just slipped down to touch Julie’s lower back.
He was seriously going to rip the motherfucker’s throat out.
“Hey, Jules, tell Tommy about the street performer we saw last night.”
Jules? All right, it was official. He really hated this asshole.