He stopped pacing and crossed his arms, a buffer between the awful feelings mounting inside him and the beautiful woman watching his every move. “He was my closest friend. He was seven years older than her, which I wasn’t crazy about, but I trusted Kevin and I knew she was wild about him, so I let it happen. I know how that sounds to you. It wasn’t my decision to make; it was hers. But I could’ve stopped it, and I wish like hell I had.”

“No you couldn’t have,” Madigan said firmly. “That’s what big brothers don’t seem to understand. You guys aren’t all-powerful. If a woman wants something to happen, it’s going to happen.”

“I don’t think that’s true. He respected me enough to ask, and if I had told him I didn’t want him to see her, he would have backed off.”

“That’s only half the equation,” she said empathetically. “You just said your sister was wild about him. Do you really believe she wouldn’t have eventually acted on that? Women are strong, Tobias, and if she’s anything like me, then telling her something can’t happen just makes her want it more.”

“She is strong, and maybe you’re right. But I still wish I had tried to stop it from happening.”

“Why?”

“Because of all the shit that went down. But there’s something else you need to know before we get there.” He sat beside her, so she would see that he wasn’t running from the truth, and he held her gaze. “One night when we got home from a club, Carrie made a joke about me and Michelle getting married since she was there all the time. Michelle grabbed on to that comment and wouldn’t let it go. We were young, I was twenty-four and she was twenty-two, and I didn’t know a damn thing about love, but she was sweet, and I was happy enough. I thought she loved me, so two months later the four of us went to the courthouse, and Michelle and I got married.”

Madigan sat back, eyes widening. “You’re married?”

“No. I was married for less than a year.”

“Do you have kids?” she asked cautiously.

“No, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her, but you asked if I was married, not if I’d ever been married—”

“Guess that’ll teach me to be more specific,” she said sarcastically.

“It wasn’t about the question, Madigan. You and I weren’t supposed to be anything more than a good time.”

She lowered her eyes.

“But we both know we were never just that.”

She lifted her eyes in silent confirmation.