At his revelation, Nathaniel almost choked on the mouthful he was chewing. Coughing and spluttering, he opened his bottle of water, swallowed a few mouthfuls, and then stared at Micah like he’d just announced he was the king of the world.
“You and Teresa know each other?”
“We do.”
“When did you meet? How did you meet? Why did neither of you say anything?”
“We met when I was sixteen and she was fourteen. My dad arrested her brother.”
“Simon,” Nathaniel muttered like he was aware of Teresa’s criminal brother. “Ava said he’s bad news. Also said he occasionally pops up to try to demand money from Teresa.Apparently, it always freaks her out, although she tries to hide it. According to Ava, anyway.”
“Started getting into trouble before he hit his teens,” Micah explained. “Always thought he was going to drag his family down with him one day. I’m glad he didn't. Teresa is doing well for herself, and she’s taking good care of her mom and Arthur.”
“Haven't met the kid, but Ava said Arthur is the sweetest.”
“He is. There’s something so innocent and charming about him. I know he was a lot of work for Teresa back when they were kids, with her mom working so much she did most of the caring for him when he wasn't at school, but she did good.”
“She did great,” Nathaniel agreed. Studying him in such a way that Micah wanted to squirm, he wasn't surprised by the question his friend asked next. “You and Teresa dated?”
“We did. For three years.”
“Who ended it?”
That was a difficult question to answer. He supposed technically he had ended the relationship, but he’d only done so because Teresa had cheated on him. So he supposed in reality she’d been the one to end things through her actions.
“That’s complicated. We were young, and stuff happened, and neither of us handled things like we should have.” Micah felt that was fair. The majority of the blame lay on Teresa’s shoulders. If she’d been having doubts about them, needed something he hadn't been providing, or wanted to let loose and be free, then she should have come to him and talked it through. But a little bit of blame rested with him for not confronting her before bailing.
“Fair enough. Relationships are hard enough as an adult, let alone when you're just a kid,” Nathaniel said, and Micah knew his friend was thinking about how he’d kept messing up with Ava by allowing his past to get in the way of his future.
“I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about what Teresa is like now.”
The smile was back on Nathaniel’s face. “You want a second chance with her?”
“Maybe. I'm not sure. It wouldn't be easy with her working here and us on the other side of the country.”
“Ava and I are going to find a way to make it work.”
“Don’t doubt it for a second.” But that was different. Nathaniel and Ava were falling in love. Teresa didn't seem to want to have anything to do with him.
“I haven’t spent a huge amount of time around Teresa. I barely have enough time to spend with Ava with being back on the team, and everything going on here with the trafficking ring, but from what I can see and what Ava has told me, she’s a great woman. Loyal and protective, she definitely made it clear she wouldn't stand for me hurting her best friend. She’s smart, practical, logical, and no-nonsense. She’s probably the best on the team at maintaining emotional distance.”
Everything else he’d already known, but the last part shocked him. He’d already thought that young Teresa could never handle a job like this, so he’d known she’d changed somehow over the years, but no way would he have thought she was the best at compartmentalizing.
“Better than Josiah Fleet?” he asked, positive that couldn’t be true. He knew what the former SEAL had been through and the psychological toll it had taken.
“Josiah just channels everything as anger from what I hear and what I've seen. But Teresa is able to take a mental step back and not allow her personal feelings to get in the way. It makes her an amazing analyst.”
That might be true, but Micah was stuck on what had made her change. How had she gone from having such a big heart that she hurt for others, took on way too much responsibility, andallowed herself, but never Arthur, to be bullied by Simon just so as not to cause her mom extra stress, to a woman who could take an emotional step back?
So much had changed over the last decade, and he wasn't sure what that meant for him and Teresa going forward.
Chances were, he was kidding himself that there was anything for them going forward.
After all, she didn't seem to like him much anymore.
“Has she …? Does she …? What's her dating life like?” He forced himself to shove aside his embarrassment and come right out and ask the question he was dying to know.
“Pretty much opposite from you as far as I know,” Nathaniel replied.
