“Hey, J.”
I felt Tuck’s heat at my back, but not even that was a comfort. Because standing before me was the man who had torn my heart to smithereens and then spat on it. And there was only one reason he would be here.Noah.
“What are you doing here, Cody?”
I felt Tuck stiffen at my back. While he’d never met Cody, he certainly knew the name.
Cody gave me a gentle smile, the same one he’d given me so many times before. The smile that was a lie, but one I’d believed hook, line, and sinker. “Can we talk in private?”
“No.”
Cody’s eyes widened a fraction. “No?”
“No.” That’s right. I wasn’t the same naïve girl he’d manipulated all those years ago, and it was best he learned that now. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it here and now. And then leave.”
A flicker of annoyance flashed in his expression. “I don’t even know this guy.” He gestured to Tuck.
“Not my problem.”
Cody let the hurt show, but I was better at spotting his lies these days and knew the emotion wasn’t genuine. “You’ve changed.”
I raised a single shoulder and then let it drop. “That’s what happens when someone tells you they love you, that they can’t wait to marry you, then knocks you up and takes off. Leaving nothing behind but the realization that the person you fell in love with never existed.”
Cody took a step closer, and I felt Tuck move to my side. “That’s not fair, J. I was a dumb kid. I made the worst mistake of my life, and I’m here to make it up to you. You and my son.”
A roaring sound filled my ears, and the blood in my veins turned to fire. I was going to commit murder on the floor of my tea shop, and then Tuck would have to arrest me. “Guess what? I was a kid, too.Four yearsyounger than you. And you left me all alone to deal with everything. And never once looked back.” Tuck wrapped an arm around my shoulders, squeezing a few times.
Cody’s gaze flicked to the movement and then traveled to Tuck. “Who are you?”
Tuck let out a menacing chuckle. “Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but I’m a friend.”
Cody let out a scoff. “Yeah, a friend trying to get in her pants.”
My body went rigid. Tuck strode towards Cody. “It’s time for you to leave, buddy.”
Cody looked at me. “Are you seriously going to let him kick me out? We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing for us to talk about.” I kept my shoulders squared and my spine straight, even though all I wanted to do was curl in on myself. Cody Ailes would never see me brought weak by his actions again.
Cody pinned me with a stare. “I’ll be back. We’re going to talk. I want to see my son.”
17
Tuck
Rage flowed through me,causing my blood to pulse in my veins in a staccato beat. That rage was accompanied by something foreign. Uncertainty. I turned to face Jensen. She gripped the counter behind the register, the wildfire in her eyes slowly dimming.
I strode towards her, pulling her into my arms and resting my chin on the top of her head. “You okay?”
She nodded against my chest. Her silence had my gut twisting.
I brushed my lips against her hair. “What can I do?”
“You’re doing it.” We stood there for I don’t know how long before Jensen spoke again. “I’m scared.”
Her words ripped at my skin. God, I wanted to drop-kick that guy into the next county. “We’re gonna figure this out.”
Jensen pulled back so she could look at me. “I have no idea what rights he has. What if he takes me to court?”
