“I just consider myself lucky that I happened to be here at the right time. We had fun, and we were safe. Anything beyond that is no one’s fucking business.”

I laughed once, surprised at his response.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked. “If you’re a slut, I’m a slut.”

“You’re a slut, Maddox.”

“Not lately.”

I fought a smile just as the microwave beeped again. Tyler stood, removing my plate and setting it on the black and white marble island. “And you’re clearly trying to make some adjustments in your life. It’s just fucking wrong for him to throw your past in your face.”

“Does eight weeks ago qualify as my past?” I asked, pulling a fork out of the drawer. I sat down, swirling the silver points around in the baked potato.

“This morning is the past,” Tyler said. “We can be totally different people today if we want. Fuck Sterling if he resents that you’ve changed. People like that are usually dealing with their own shit, anyway, and what they’re pissed about really has nothing to do with you.”

I felt a hot tear fall down my cheek, and I immediately wiped it away.

“Hey,” Tyler said, reaching across the island. “You can talk to me.”

“My sister? Finley? She’s in love with Sterling. That first-love love doesn’t go away.”

Tyler pointed his thumb behind him. “That douche? Why?”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s kind of a certifiable head case, but she loves him. She would be with him, but she’s holding off. She’s taking over my father’s business and doesn’t have time to be in a relationship. They want to be together. She’s fighting it, and he’s been miserable.”

“So how is that your fault?” Tyler asked, confused.

I wiped my nose with my napkin. “He had a … I don’t know … I was over there, talking about finding a new job. We were already drinking, and he had these pills. We took them … I don’t remember much after that, but we…” I nodded.

Tyler nodded, too, letting me know I didn’t have to continue. His face flushed, his teeth clenched. “He drugged you, fucked you, and now he’s blaming you for it.”

I closed my eyes, and more tears fell down my cheek. So many hours of the day had been spent trying not to think of what I’d done and how it could have happened, that hearing Tyler describe it so bluntly made my chest ache.

“I shouldn’t have taken the pill. I didn’t even ask him what it was. I just popped it in my mouth.” My breath faltered. “Sterling loves Fin. If he knew that was going to happen, he wouldn’t have taken it, either. He’s just as scared as I am that she’ll never speak to us again.”