Turning in that direction, my breath caught in my throat and it felt like I was that much closer to feeling whole again. Just seeing him made the empty feeling subside a bit, but I knew until I could be with him again, I wouldn’t be complete. Brody hugged his mom and his eyes bounced around the living room until they hit me and his face softened.

We said the polite hellos, both of us knowing this night was going to be torture, but worth every second of it. For the entire evening it seemed like someone in his family was constantly questioning Brody, and the majority of our glances happened across the room from each other. Our words were almost all through texts, and I had to make sure Kinlee didn’t notice that I couldn’t keep my eyes off him.

I was putting more food out on the table when he came up behind me and grabbed my hip. I immediately set down the food and reached back to touch him, a sigh leaving my chest when I did.

“How did you get off work?” I asked quietly.

“Practically begged for the night off. I knew you would be here, and any opportunity like this to see you, I’ll take.” He was silent for a minute as he pretended to look at the food. “This is killing me, Kamryn.”

I kept my gaze on everyone else as I whispered back to him, “I know.”

One of Jace and Aiden’s friends started walking by us and toward the kitchen, so I dropped Brody’s hand and he grabbed at some food. “Everyone’s going to know about us tonight if I see Aiden Donnelly touch you again,” he growled under his breath and let his hand run over the curve of my back, past my butt, and down my thigh. “This is mine.”

“He knows there’s someone else, Brody. He’s just hoping to one day get his chance.”

“Brody, honey, come here, there’s someone I want you to see.” We both looked up to see his mom, and I pushed around a few trays. “Do you remember Savannah from high school? She’s here and she’s single, Brody.”

I tensed and noticed Brody do the same. “I’m married, Mom.”

Until that moment, I’d never seen Mrs. Saco look at anyone like she wanted to smash their face into a gravel driveway and dig in with her stiletto heels for good measure. And I’m guessing that look wasn’t directed at her son, but had to do with the woman she refused to call her daughter-in-law. “Again, Brody, it’s to that bitch of a woman who doesn’t deserve you and is manipulating you into staying with her. You don’t owe her anything except a stack of papers to sign to get out of your damn marriage. Why don’t you just come talk to Savannah? Maybe you’ll realize what you’re missing out on, honey.”

“I’m not interested,” he growled, and then groaned, “Fuck.”

I looked up at him seconds before I heard her.

“Ohmigod, Brody! I haven’t seen you since high school, you look amazing!” A tall woman with dark hair and dark eyes threw herself at Brody and clung to him for far too long. Even when he stopped hugging her, she kept her arms around his neck.

“Savannah. You haven’t changed.”

“Your mom was telling me all about you. Army and then the police department? Wow, you’ve been busy since graduation.”

He pulled her arms from around his neck, and shit you not she put them around his waist. Brody sighed but didn’t attempt to remove her again. “Savannah, I’m married to Olivia.”

She shrugged. “Details.”

My eyes about bugged out of my head until I realized that I was no better than her. But I wasn’t so careless about it. Even with his horrible wife, what we were doing killed me a little more every day. I didn’t want to be the other woman; I didn’t want to be the reason a marriage ended. But I needed Brody to breathe. This girl didn’t care about any of that other than hooking up with him. Surely Mrs. Saco couldn’t want this more than Olivia. I looked over and realized that Mrs. Saco was gone and I’d just been standing there staring at Savannah and Brody.

“Olivia used to tell us all how wild you were. I can’t wait for you to show me just how wild you can be.”

I was going to throw up. I finally figured out how to get my feet to move and bolted away from them. Was this what it felt like for Brody when he saw Aiden touch me? Like he was going to die? But I always pulled away from Aiden. Always. Even when Brody wasn’t around. I had just been standing right freakin’ there! I slapped my hand over my mouth when a pained cry burst from my chest and tried not to think about what Brody was letting her do. Or what she was suggesting to him. She was probably telling him how they’d make freaking gorgeous Italian babies and how she would bake him manicotti instead of cupcakes.

“Oh, Kace! There you are, I’ve been look—whoa. You look pissed. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. What’s up?”

Kinlee tilted her head to the side as she studied me. “Uh, the fireworks from the park are going to start in about half an hour. We always light a few of ours before, and then a bunch after. Want to help me get everyone outside?”

“Yep!”

“KC”—she grabbed my arm and stopped me when I turned—“are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine. I’ll help you get everyone out there.” As soon as I was away from her someone grabbed my arm and pulled me down the nearest hall. I didn’t need to see him to know who it was. The way my heart raced and goose bumps covered my body told me all I needed to know. “Can I help you?”

“You had to have seen how uncomfortable I was,” he whispered in my ear, and I hated that my knees went weak. I wasn’t done being upset.

“No, what I saw was that you didn’t even try to get away from her.”

“Kamryn—”

“I always step away from Aiden, even when you aren’t around. And I was close enough that your arm brushed mine when you went to hug her. I was standing right there. Do you know what it was like having to watch that? Do you know what it was like listening to your mom trying to set you up with someone else again and having Savannah assume you were going to hook up with her?”

“I can’t stand that girl, never been able to. And you know I don’t want anyone if it’s not you.”

“I can’t do this right now, Brody. Your family is here.” I took a step away, but he pulled me close, his lips brushing my ear.

“Don’t do this. I never get you, Kamryn. Tonight is already hard enough staying away from you. Don’t pull away from me too.”

Tears pricked my eyes, and I blinked them back before turning my head to look up at him. “You’re right. We don’t get to be with each other a lot, and it is hard staying away from you. But we have to, and why is that? Oh, that’s right, because you’re still fucking married.” I jerked my arm from his hand and stormed off down the hall and right into Aiden. Seriously? I immediately took two steps away from him.

“Kace, are you crying?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” I said a little too brightly judging by the way Aiden’s eyebrows shot up. “Just got something in my eye and it’s killing me. Hey, we need to get everyone outside for the fireworks, can you help me?”

“Uh yeah, sure.” His eyes darted behind me, and I turned to see Brody watching us. “Hey, Brody, everyone’s headed outside for the show.”

His face remained impassive as he nodded once, but the pain in his eyes cut straight through me. If Aiden hadn’t been standing there, I would have thrown myself into Brody’s arms and apologized for everything I’d said.

The guys didn’t move, just stood there staring at each other, so I lowered my head and walked past Brody toward the front door. Everyone was setting up chairs and unfolding blankets as they got ready to watch our fireworks and the park’s, and I quickly made my way toward Kinlee and Jace. I sat on their blanket next to Kinlee and somehow I made it through the next fifteen minutes of our starter fireworks without looking back at where I knew Brody was sitting. Even when I felt my phone vibrate, I never checked it.

Savannah and two other girls around her age sat down next to us when the park’s show started, and I froze when she told them about how she was taking Brody back to her place that night.

“Isn’t he, like, married?” one girl asked, and I’m pretty sure I heard Savannah snort.

“And? It’s fucking Olivia. She’s a train wreck these days, and everyone knows their marriage is over. Besides, Brody and I have always had a connection—this was bound to happen.”

“What if he never leaves her?”

Savannah straightened and flipped her long black hair over her shoulder. “He will, I’ll make sure of it. I’ll trap him the same way that bitch did.”

The other two girls looked at each other and let out soft, but harsh, laughs. “Oh, my God, you’re going to get pregnant?”

Savannah turned and blinked her eyes rapidly. “I swear I’m on the pill, Brody.”

I turned to see Kinlee’s reaction to all this, but she was practically lying on Jace, watching the show, and they were whispering to each other. I wanted to scream at Savannah that he was mine, but honestly, what could I say? Our relationship was a secret. And though Brody’s family hated Olivia, I couldn’t do that to him. Until he left her, I couldn’t be seen as what I was. Oh, God, I was a home-wrecker. I curled an arm around my stomach and stopped breathing when Savannah spoke again.

“I just blew him in the bathroom before we came out here. That man is hung.”

“Oh, my God!” The other two laughed and pushed at her. “You are so bad! His family is here.”

“Who cares? They want him to be with me.”

I knew she was lying, but I couldn’t continue to sit there and listen to her talk about him like that. He was my Brody. I wanted to rip her freaking extensions out. Standing quickly, I bolted for the house and didn’t stop until I hit the bathroom. Gripping the countertop, I attempted to take deep breaths in and out and forced my tears back through the sobs that tore through me.