Tuck shrugged. “I have plenty of conversations. They’re just with a lot of different women. Variety is the spice of life, my friend.”
An image of Taylor pushing out of the pool flashed in my mind—water running down her curvy body, turning her golden skin slick. God, that made me the biggest kind of ass. Couldn’t even stay focused on my girlfriend when I was thinking of breaking up with her. Maybe I was more like Tuck than I thought.
“You dog, you. You’ve got your eye on someone else, don’t you? Who is it?”
I grimaced. “I don’t. I mean, there’s this girl, but it’s not like that.” I wouldn’t have been surprised if the skies had opened up and lightning struck me right there.
Tuck clucked his tongue. “Uh-uh. We are blood brothers, cradle to grave. Spill.”
I toyed with the water bottle in my hands. “Did you hear that someone moved into our guest cabin?”
Tuck straightened. “Permanently?”
“For a year. A girl from LA.”
“That sounds promising. If she’s from LA, she’s probably smoking.”
“She’s pretty.” World’s biggest understatement. “She’s also this weird, walking contradiction. One-part cold aloofness, the other sarcastic spunk.” Taylor Lawson was fire and ice. And the combination had intrigued me from the moment I met her.
A sly smile crept over Tuck’s face. “You like her.”
I lifted a single shoulder. “She’s nice.”
Tuck’s smile grew. “Youreallylike her.”
“What are you, five? I told you, it’s not like that. I have a girlfriend,” I griped.
Tuck’s face grew serious. “Walk, you’ve had one foot out of every relationship you’ve been in since Julie.” I tightened my grip on the water bottle and tried to keep my expression passive. “I get it, I do. Her death marked us all. Hell, it’s why we’re both in law enforcement now. But just because she’s gone, doesn’t mean you can’t have that great love again.”
The water bottle in my hand began to crumple as I tightened my grip. “Julie was my one.”
“She was one of your ones. God would never be so cruel as to only give us one shot at happiness.”
I wasn’t so sure. It had seemed like a miracle to find it in the first place. A second time was surely an impossibility. I smacked Tuck’s gut with the back of my hand. “What is this? Lessons in love from Sutter Lake’s own Casanova?”
Tuck grinned. “You never know, maybe I’m hiding my true nature as a romantic. Maybe I need to meet this new neighbor of yours.”
My jaw locked, and I hated myself a little for the jealousy that flared to life within me. “You can’t. I don’t want your smarmy ass around her.”
“Afraid she’ll fall for me, huh? It’s to be expected, I am the better-looking and richer of the two of us.”
“Yes, I’m terrified she’ll fall in love with your ego and fart jokes.”
“I’ll just call up Mama Sarah or Jensen and get them to introduce us. I bet they’d be thrilled to play matchmaker.”
“Don’t.” The word came out harsher than I’d intended, surprising even me. The brief sparks I’d felt with Taylor were more than I’d ever felt with Caitlin. In that moment, I knew I needed to end things with Caitlin. It wasn’t fair to her. She wanted something I’d never be able to give her.
Tuck sobered. “All right. I’ll stay clear.” I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “So, what’s new with the Cole family? Jensen still dating that douchebag, Bryce?”
I was grateful for the subject change. “Bryce isn’t a douchebag.”
Tuck scoffed, straightening his baseball cap.
“He’s been good to Jensen. She hasn’t introduced him to Noah as a boyfriend or anything yet. They’re taking things slow.”
“At least there’s that.”
I studied Tuck. “What’s your problem with him? This is the first guy she’s dated since that ass in college. Bryce has a good job, he’s not a player. We should be relieved there’s someone decent in her life.”
