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“Then stay away from me,” I said and walked out the front door before anyone could stop me. I headed toward Marked where my truck was parked. When Max caught up with me, I ignored him.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he asked.
“I checked her ID,” I said.
“I’m sure you didn’t do anything to deserve the charge. I meant breaking up with Poppy.”
“It was the right thing to do, and you know it.”
Max was silent a while, his hands gripping the back of his neck as we continued toward Marked. Eventually, he muttered something.
“What’s that?”
“I was asking the good Lord to help me get your head out of your ass.” He didn’t say another word the rest of the way.
Chapter twenty-seven
Poppy
The door hadn’t evenclosed behind Theo before the pain crawled into every cell and took over. I’m not sure how long I stood in that law office before Aiden picked me up fireman style and carried me to Cal’s SUV. I don’t remember the drive back to Sullivan Street or getting out of the car or walking into Cal’s house and sitting on the sofa. Maybe Aiden carried me again.
I hadn’t heard anything since Theo said he loved me and then told me to stay away. My brain was still trying to reconcile those two statements and didn’t have space for anything else. I’d heard both plenty of times. Just never together. OK, so Theo was the first nonrelative male to utter those three words in my direction. But based on my limited romantic experience, aka observing Rowan and Cal, you usually want to bewiththe person you love.
Unless the person you love is me, apparently.
Eventually, I felt something warm in my hands and looked down at the mug releasing wisps of steam at my face. Rowan wrapped her fingers over mine and lifted the mug to my lips.I drank automatically. The tea had a kick I wasn’t expecting. It burned my throat on the way down and made me cough.
“What the hell is this?” I asked.
“My granny swears by a cuppa with whiskey for just about anything,” Aiden said.
“That’s disgusting,” I said, handing the mug to my sister.
“Got you talking, didn’t it?” Aiden said. “I was starting to think you’d become one of those comatose people who live in psych wards.”
“Catatonic,” Chris said, walking out of the kitchen with a bowl of chips. “Comatose is for people in comas.”
Aiden snapped his fingers. “That’s right. Is there any dip?”
“What kind of messed up party are y’all throwing right now?” I asked.
The front door opened, and Cal ran in. I hadn’t realized he’d left, or noticed when Chris arrived, for that matter. “Theo’s not home yet,” Cal said.
Aiden pulled his phone from his pocket and opened an app. “Looks like he’s still at Marked.”
Cal leaned over Aiden’s shoulder and let out a relieved sigh. “I’m sure Max is with him.”
“I wouldn’t mind cooling off a bit before we head over there,” Aiden said. “Enjoy this party a little,” he added, winking at me.
“What if Max isn’t with him?” I asked, my voice rising to a pitch I hadn’t heard since elementary school. “He can’t be alone.” I stood before I remembered Theo wanted nothing to do with me. Maybe if I was sweet like Rowan, he’d be willing to lean on me. He probably figured I’d make things worse, yelling at the injustice of it all instead of being a source of comfort.
“Easy, Hell Cat,” Aiden said, placing his meaty hand on my shoulder. He might have done me a solid earlier when I turned into a statue, but I was getting sick of him manhandling me.
“Do you know what he does to himself?” I yelled as I yanked Aiden’s hand off my shoulder.
Chris and Rowan looked baffled, but Aiden and Cal nodded.
“You knew and you never made him get help? Some friends you are.”