“Fine.” Missy turned and stalked toward the door.

“So that’s it. You’re just going to walk away.” His chest tightened with each step she took.

“You were the one who said it was nothing but sex. Well, I don’t sleep with ex-cons.” She laughed but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “Scratch that, I guess I have. You’d get along great with my father and brothers. They’re ex-cons too.”

After dropping that bombshell, she left, her boots clicking against the wood floor.

“Fuck.” T.S. balled his hands into fists and thought about driving them through the wall. Thankfully he’d passed that kind of stupid years ago. It would hurt like hell and only mean more work for him in the long run.

He took a step toward the door and stopped. He wouldn’t go after her. He couldn’t. He knew it was pride keeping him from calling out to her, from begging her to stay, to talk this out. But sometimes that was all a man had.

He’d made a stupid fucking mistake as a kid. One step off the straight and narrow and it had messed up his life forever. His only true crime was in trusting his older brother and a girl he’d been smitten with. For that he’d paid. Big-time. He didn’t owe Missy or anyone else any explanations. He’d built a life for himself out of the ruins of his childhood. And he was happy with it.

He absently rubbed at his chest. It felt as though someone had reached into it and yanked his heart out. No, not just someone. Missy.

“Damn it.” He tossed pride away and stalked out of the apartment, hurrying down the stairs. But it was too late. By the time he burst through the door, Missy was long gone. He looked up and down the sidewalk but she was nowhere to be seen.

It was just as well. He wasn’t about to beg the woman to listen to him. She’d judged him without even asking to hear his side of the story. And he’d spent half his life being judged. Those days were over. He’d worked hard to gain the self-respect he had today.

He didn’t need such a closed-minded person in his life. She had such high standards and expected everyone else to live up to them. No one was that perfect.

An inner voice told him that wasn’t fair. Considering what she’d told him about her family, it was a wonder she hadn’t ended up like them. She’d made her code and lived by it, dragging herself out of the cycle of despair, much as he had.

They had more in common than she realized. Both of them, it appeared, were trying to forget a past that just wouldn’t stay buried.

Chapter Ten

“He should have told me.” Missy was curled up on one end of her sofa with Candy sitting on the other. She had a glass of wine in one hand and a tissue in the other. Thank God for good friends. Candy had come as soon as Missy had called her.

“Maybe he would have in time.”

Missy didn’t want to listen to reason. She wanted her friend to agree with her. “Why did he wait?”

“Maybe because he thought you might react like this. Or maybe because he considers it his past.” Candy set her wineglass on the coffee table, leaned forward and rested her hand on Missy’s leg, squeezing gently.

Missy resisted the childish urge to pull her leg away. “Whose side are you on?”

Candy sighed and sat back, her eyes troubled. “I’m on both your sides.” She tucked a lock of her curly brown hair behind her ear. “Maybe you should have asked him what happened instead of just cutting him out of your life.”

The accusation stung. “I don’t want an ex-con in my life.” Even as she said it she felt a pain in her chest at the thought of never seeing T.S. again. It was almost too much to bear.

It had only been a couple of hours but she felt as though she was in mourning. She fluctuated between righteous anger and profound hurt. It was enough to make a girl dizzy.

Damn the man for making her fall in love with him. And damn her for letting it happen.

Candy nibbled on her bottom lip. Missy recognized the gesture and knew her friend was worried about something. “What? You disagree?”

She expected Candy to support her and was shocked when her friend nodded. “I don’t agree at all. Sometimes there are circumstances.”

“You know about my past.”

Compassion filled Candy’s eyes. “I do. I know it wasn’t easy growing up with a violent father who was in and out of prison, an alcoholic mother, a sister who didn’t care about anyone but herself and older brothers who followed in their father’s footsteps.”

That was an understatement. It was hell. She and her older sister had gotten away. The other two had spiraled downward into violence, crime, drugs and alcohol just like their parents had. She set her wineglass aside. She didn’t mind a social drink but preferred not to do so when she was upset. It was an easy path to go down for someone who had an alcoholic mother as an example on how to deal with stress.

“But you’re not the only one who’s had it tough. Some people make mistakes but manage to change their lives for the better.”

Missy hated feeling like she was in the wrong here. “He lied to me.”

“No, he simply hadn’t told you yet.” Candy sighed. “Listen to me. The man built a business from nothing. He works hard and he’s honest. He’s kind and good, if a bit gruff.” She laid out her best argument, trumping all Missy’s. “And he saved you from a brutal attack, maybe even from being murdered. The least you could have done was keep an open mind.”

Candy was right. Missy felt like crap and had ever since she’d stormed away from T.S. She’d simply reacted to the blindsiding she’d received, not taking the time to think before she acted.

Her friend continued. “You have very high expectations, Missy. Sometimes it’s hard to live up to them. No,” Candy corrected. “It’s downright impossible for mere mortals to live up to them.”

The accusation hit Missy like a two-by-four up the side of the head. “Are you saying I’m a snob?” As much as she hated to admit it, Candy wasn’t the first person to point this out to her. The accusation stung, especially coming from her best friend. Usually, it was some guy she was dating, although a few co-workers had pointed the fact out from time-to-time.

Missy prided herself on working hard and being better than her upbringing. She had standards that she set for herself. She saw no reason to apologize for that fact. But the idea that she was judging people, giving the impression she thought herself better than them made her feel sick to her stomach. It wasn’t that way at all. Was it?

Totally miserable, she rubbed her hand over the plush throw blanket that covered her legs. “It’s too late, anyway. I told him it was over.” She shredded the tissue in her hand as a deep well of loneliness and nothingness opened in front of her. All her well-laid plans were in ruins. None of them mattered anymore. Not without T.S.

“It’s never too late.” Candy was an optimist and while Missy loved that about her friend, she herself was more of a realist.

“You didn’t see him or hear him. He was so cold, so withdrawn.”

“I know what you’re going through.”

Missy frowned. “No you don’t.”

“Yes,” Candy countered. “I do. You have to promise me you’ll never repeat a word of what I’m about to tell you. Ever.”

The seriousness in her friend’s tone had Missy sitting up straighter. “I promise.” Candy was her one true friend and she’d never betray that.

“I found out that Lucas had been in prison when he was a teenager. I reacted without thinking and almost threw away the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Missy’s head was whirling with disbelief. “Lucas?” The man was tough as nails, but he owned a coffee shop. Heck, he made the best brownies on the planet. And he’d been in prison?

Candy nodded. She straightened the hem of her sweater. “He assaulted a man. Almost killed him.”

“God have mercy.” Missy fell back against the cushions, hardly able to believe what she was hearing. “Who?”

“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Lucas made a mistake and he paid dearly for it. He turned his life around and made himself into the man he is today.” Tears pooled in the corners of Candy’s eyes. “He’s strong and loyal and I love him so much. I can’t imagine my life without him.”

Missy handed Candy a tissue as the dots suddenly connected in her sluggish brain. “That’s where T.S. and Lucas met, isn’t it? In prison?”

Candy nodded and used the tissue to dab beneath her eyes, careful not to smear her mascara. “They were both young and had no priors, so they eventually got kitchen duty together.”

“Why was T.S. in prison?” Missy had a deep need to know.

Candy shook her head. “I don’t know. Lucas never told me. But even if I did know I wouldn’t say. That’s his story to tell. You need to ask him.” She glanced at her watch. “If you’re okay, I need to get home.”

“Sure.” Candy had certainly given her a lot to think about. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.” Missy had put her friend in the middle of things. T.S. was her husband’s best friend.

“Don’t worry about it.” Candy leaned down and gave her a hug. “Everything will work out.”

Missy wished she had her friend’s optimism. Deep down she didn’t believe in happily ever after, at least not in her own life. After she saw Candy out, she dragged herself into bed and curled up beneath the covers. She felt cold without T.S.’ large body curved around hers. In such a short time she’d grown accustomed to having him there.

“What have I done?” Tears rolled down her face and seeped into her pillow.

* * *

“Women. Who needs ’em?” T.S. lifted the bottle in mock salute and then took a swig of beer. It was only his second but, in spite of his determination to get drunk, he found himself counting. He couldn’t help himself. He never got drunk. Never let his life get out of his control.