The quiet words halted her friends’ ranting and moving about. They all stared at her.
Rebecca, forever the calm one, was still crouched in front of her and spoke first. “You knew who he was?”
Taryn nodded miserably. “Yeah. Not at first but early on, before anything got serious. He told me. I’m sorry I kept it from y’all.”
Kincaid collapsed into her chair, looking down at Taryn on the floor, a helpless look on her face. “You’ve been dating Shaw Miller?”
“Yes,” Taryn said softly.
“Why?” Kincaid asked, clearly dumbfounded. “Didn’t he, like, go to jail or something? I heard he’s like his brother.”
“He’s not and he didn’t,” Taryn said, maybe too sharply. “He had an assault charge on a reporter who verbally attacked him. He’s…been through a lot.”
Rebecca exchanged a worried look with the other two women.
Taryn smirked without humor. “Y’all think I’m crazy.”
Kincaid pressed her lips together. “Can we go with misguided for now? Sugar, I get that he’s cute, but the fact that he messed with you at all is…kinda screwed up. What his brother did to all of us…to your family. How could he even approach you?”
“He didn’t know who I was either. The night we met, I gave him a fake name. Then things just…happened before we connected all the dots.” Taryn rubbed a hand over her brow bone. “He’s not his brother. He’s sweet and funny and…kind of amazing. But we both knew it was doomed from the start. That’s why I broke it off.”
Liv groaned and plopped down on the floor in front of her. “Girl. We’ve all been hoping you’d get out there and date, but you went from zero to Romeo-and-Julieting this shit right out the gate.”
Taryn laughed, even though tears flooded her eyes. “Do I get extra credit for that?”
Rebecca settled next to her and put her arm around her. “No extra credit but maybe extra hugs. And wine.”
Wine.
Taryn started crying and leaned in to Bec. “I thought y’all were going to hate me for lying.”
Kincaid’s expression turned sympathetic. “It’s not my favorite thing you’ve ever done, but I get why you did. And if you say he’s a good guy, then he’s a good guy. We’ve got your back.”
“Of course we do. That’s never a question,” Liv chimed in.
Taryn’s chest expanded with their easy acceptance and trust in her, their unconditional love. She knew even thinking about Joseph had to hurt them, but her friends weren’t going to judge her or criticize her. Their only concern was that she was okay and safe. No matter what happened with this huge mess, Taryn found comfort in knowing that these women were there for her always, that she was never really alone. That she was part of this family and no one was going to kick her out.
Taryn swiped at her eyes, looking at all her friends. “Thank you. Y’all are the best people I know.”
Kincaid smiled. “Of course we are. We’re amazing. So are you. That’s why you’re in the club.”
Taryn sniffed.
“But you’ve got a big decision to make,” Liv said gently. Taryn turned her head and met her friend’s worried gaze. “What do you want the public to know?”
“More than that,” Rebecca said grimly, “what do you want your family to know? You know we’ll back your decision no matter which way you choose, but you’re going to have to decide.”
Taryn closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about it. If she lied to the press, she threw Shaw under the bus and made him look like a sick manipulator. If she told the truth, her family would be devastated and she’d look like a traitor. The internet would eviscerate her and possibly threaten her fund-raising. That chick is crazy. Who wants to give her money? Normally, she wouldn’t care about public opinion, but the momentum she had in the press for her program would be lost because everyone would be digging into her personal life and mental state instead.
Her phone rang again. Another unknown number.
She needed to talk to Shaw but wasn’t sure she could.
I think I probably love you.
What was she supposed to do with that? The words were everything she wanted to hear and the very thing that hurt her the most. Because he was right—sometimes love wasn’t enough.
Sometimes the world took those choices from you. Or worse, it made you decide between different kinds of love.