CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Tamera’s shoulders sagged in relief as the driver she’d called on a ride share app pulled up in front of her condo. She quickly wiped her tears and thanked him before climbing out of the vehicle. So much for a fun-filled day at Universal Studios. What a disaster.
Wyatt’s ex-girlfriend was pregnant. And he was trying to say the baby was Drew’s. She felt numb, as though her body refused to feel anymore as a defense mechanism. She didn’t know who to believe. Wyatt seemed like a good guy—one she’d maybe even loved. But she’d lived with Drew for twelve weeks. He wouldn’t abandon his pregnant mistress.
Would he?
Tamera trudged up the stairs to her condo. Confusion hung over her like a fog. Maybe she’d been too hasty in leaving the park. Didn’t Wyatt at least deserve the opportunity to tell his side of the story?
But she was so tired of sides. Sick to death of he said/she said situations. They always ended with Tamera trying to pick out fact from fiction. Right now, all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and cry herself to sleep.
She paused at the top of the stairs, surprised to see someone standing in front of her door. A girl with long brown hair, the same color as Tamera’s, was examining her nails. She wore shorts that could be classified as microscopic and held an oversized bag in the crook of one arm.
Well, so much for hitting rock bottom. Apparently there were still a few feet left to fall.
Tamera took a step backward, ready to run down the stairs. What was her sister doing here? She so couldn’t deal with this right now. But the step creaked beneath her feet and Katie turned around.
“Tamera?” she called.
Tamera closed her eyes and cursed. Stupid stairs. Stupid noise that gave her away to her stupid sister. She didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to deal with one more betrayal tonight. If Katie was here to tell her she was pregnant…
Katie put a hand on one hip. “I can see you hiding.”
So much for escaping. Tamera sighed and walked up the last few stairs, mentally preparing for battle. “Katie. What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you, silly.” Katie held out her arms and Tamera reluctantly went into them for a brittle hug.
“Where have you been?” Katie asked as Tamera unlocked her front door. “I’ve been waiting here for almost an hour.”
No comment on Tamera’s splotchy, tear-stained face. No concern for her well-being. “I was out.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I figured out that much.” She followed Tamera inside and tossed her purse on the couch, then sank down beside it. “You okay? It looks like you’ve been crying.”
Tamera paused, then set her own purse on the counter. Katie hadn’t asked if she was okay in a few years at least. What was her game? “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
Tamera ignored the comment. Instead, she grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured herself a glass. She could already tell that this conversation was going to require the extra help. She poured a glass for Katie as well—she was a happy drunk and that might work in Tamera’s favor tonight. “This is a surprise. California’s pretty far from Texas.”
“Oh, you know.” Katie accepted the glass of wine, avoiding Tamera’s gaze. “Everyday life is such a bore after the Bahamas. We decided to take a weekend trip. Sort of an extended honeymoon.”
Yeah, Tamera wasn’t touching that topic of conversation with a ten foot pole. She took a sip of her wine instead.
“Caleb went for a run,” Katie continued. “He wanted to come and say hi, but I told him I needed some time with just me and my sister.”
Tamera couldn’t help it—she snorted and set her wine glass on the coffee table.
Katie’s mouth turned down in a pout. “You don’t have to be rude.”
“Me?” Tamera shook her head in disbelief. “You stole my boyfriend, made me the maid of honor at your wedding, and now you’re flying halfway across the country to rub it in my face. What’s going on?”
Katie looked away, the tips of her ears turning red. She took a sip of her wine, avoiding Tamera’s gaze. “It sounds so bad when you put it like that.”
Tamera pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ve had a pretty craptastic day. Get to the point.” Whatever Katie was here for—a pregnancy announcement, to ask for money, maybe just to share more photos of the honeymoon—Tamera wanted her to get it over with and leave so she could go back to crying over Wyatt. She eyed the mostly full bottle of wine. It would pair nicely with an all-night binge-watching session.
Katie’s eyes welled up with tears, startling Tamera almost as much as her arrival.
“Whoa,” Tamera said, patting Katie’s back. “What’s wrong?”
“I think Caleb’s already losing interest,” Katie whispered. “I thought our honeymoon would be magical, but I never had his full attention.”
I told you so was on the edge of Tamera’s tongue, but she bit it hard, refusing to let the words slip out. For better or worse, Katie was her sister and she was hurting.
“Did you catch him with another woman?” Tamera asked cautiously. Had she seen the texts he’d sent Tamera and come to confront her?
She should’ve told Katie immediately.
Katie shook her head. “No, nothing that obvious. But his eyes would follow other women on the beach, or he’d make flirtatious comments to the waitress at dinner, or I’d be talking to him and he’d be on his phone. Just little things, but they have me worried. He’s really good at hiding stuff, you know?”
Yeah, Tamera did know. Because he’d hid his relationship with Katie for a year. How was Tamera supposed to handle this?
This is so not what she had envisioned doing tonight. She and Wyatt were supposed to be cuddled close against the cooling night air, standing in line for the Simpson’s Ride and talking to fans. She grabbed her wine glass and took a sip.
“I can’t help but wonder…” Katie shot Tamera a sideways glance. “Well, he cheated once, you know? Maybe he’ll do it again.”
“You know what they say—once a cheater, always a cheater.” Tamera kept her voice even and held Katie’s gaze, refusing to blink or look away.
Katie broke eye contact first. She sniffed and looked down at her own glass of wine. “At first, it was about winning,” she whispered. “I was so annoyed that once again, the guy I liked went for you over me.”
Anger shot waves of heat up Tamera’s spine. “When he asked for my number, I came to you and said I wouldn’t go out with him if you didn’t want me to. You laughed and said you could have a guy ten times hotter than him, and that I could take his call or not take his call, because it didn’t matter to you.”
Katie laughed darkly. “And what was I supposed to do, Tamera? Confess how big of a crush I had on Caleb and beg you to let me have a shot?”
“I would’ve let you.” Tamera threw up her hands. “But you never told me, Katie. And then you stabbed me in the back in the worst possible way. I wouldn’t treat my worst enemy the way you’ve treated me. We’re supposed to be sisters.”
“I know.” Katie’s words were thick with suppressed emotion. “And I know I shouldn’t have come here, either. But I didn’t know where else to go.”
Tamera folded her arms tightly across her stomach. It ached with the pain of this conversation, and she wished she could reverse the clock and wish Katie back to Texas. “Do you love him?”
Katie’s eyes widened and Tamera caught the sparkle of tears. “What?”
“It’s a simple question. Do. You. Love. Him?”
“I…” Katie’s shoulders slumped. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
She hadn’t known if she was in love, but she’d married him anyway just to hurt Tamera. Another stab of betrayal.
“I was so caught up in everything, you know?” Katie continued. “Someone had finally chosen me over you. It felt … well, it felt amazing, to be honest. But I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m so sorry, Tamera.”
Tamera blinked, not sure she wanted to hear Katie’s apology. Not sure she was ready to accept it. But she did know one thing—she couldn’t hurt Katie the way she’d been hurt. Slowly, Tamera opened her phone to the texts from Caleb and handed it to Katie.
Katie’s eyes scanned the texts as the color drained from her face.
“I should’ve told you immediately,” Tamera said. “But I was … I don’t know. Shocked, I guess? You were on your honeymoon, for heaven’s sake. It wasn’t like I expected him to reach out.”
Katie rose, grabbing her purse. “So it’s still you he wants.”
Tamera rose as well. “He doesn’t know what he wants. That’s the problem. He’s not good enough for you, Katie. Both of us deserve someone better.”
The phone buzzed and Katie gasped. She threw the phone at Tamera and headed toward the door.
“Katie!” Tamera grabbed the phone, quickly reading the text.
Katie didn’t want me to come with her to see you. Maybe we can meet up tonight after she’s asleep?
Tamera closed her eyes, silently cursing Caleb.
“A month!” Katie yelled. “We’ve barely been married a month and already he’s going back to you.”
“I told him to be faithful.” Tamera brandished her phone like a weapon. “It’s all right here in black and white. Just read the stupid texts.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Katie threw open the door. “Thanks for nothing.”
Tamera stared, her hands curling into fists as her bruised and battered heart took yet another hit. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What do you want me to say, Tamera? My husband would still rather be with you.”
So much for apologizing. Tamera blinked back the angry tears forming in her eyes. “I have tried so hard to be a good sister. I let you plan my dream wedding and didn’t say a word. I let you marry my groom and smiled for the camera. I caught your bridal bouquet and didn’t make a scene.”
“Yeah, you’ve been a freaking saint.” Katie pointed at the cell phone. “If you didn’t tell me about the texts, what else are you hiding?”
Tamera threw up her hands and shook her head in disbelief. “I’m done here.”
“That makes two of us then. Have a nice life.” Katie slammed the door behind her, rattling the frame so hard that a clock fell off the wall and crashed to the ground. The protective glass cracked, sending spiderwebs all across the face.
Tamera dropped to the floor and stared at the clock, no longer able to hold back the tears.
Her phone buzzed again, skittering across the hardwood floors. Tamera set the clock on the ground and crawled over to her phone, picking it up to find another text from Caleb.
Still keep your spare key behind the loose brick?
No—Tamera had moved it not long after she and Caleb broke up. She texted him back with shaking fingers.
I showed Katie the texts.
A string of curses soon came through. Tamera deleted the texts with shaking fingers, then blocked the number.
What a mess.