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who he might
be.   And her mother was always too far
into the bottle to ever have had another child to care for.  
    “You don’t have to apologize,” he said, giving her
hand a little squeeze.   “I’m not that
kind of guy.   I never cheated on my
ex-wife.   And I’d never do that to
you.”   Tessa’s eyes widened at his use of
the word “ex-wife.”   She knew there was
no way she was the first woman to claim him, but the idea that he had earlier promised
his life to a woman made her a bit jealous.
    “Ex-wife?” she said, drawing out the words.
    “Yes, Tessa, I was married,” he said.   He brought his pint of beer to his lips and
took a sip of the dark brew.   “I married Nicole
when I was twenty-two.   Right out of
college.   We graduated at the same time,
and we married the summer between undergrad and law school for me.”
    “Why did you divorce?” she asked.   Curiosity had gotten the best of her.   Tessa didn’t know how much of his previous
marriage she wanted to know about, but she couldn’t stop herself from digging
deeper.
    “I’m pretty sure I never would have divorced.   I took my vows seriously.   She asked for it,” he replied.   He took another sip of his beer and his gaze
fell to his pint.   But Tessa couldn’t do
anything but hold on to his hand tighter.   Was he still in love with his ex?   “The years of marriage through law school weren’t so bad.   She worked as an accountant for a small firm
in Gainesville as I worked my way through law school.   But afterwards, I took a job with Lowes &
Kravitz in St. Petersburg.   I wanted to
be a little closer to my parents.   And
her family was in Fort Myers.   She was
pissed that I didn’t want to stay in Gainesville, but I wanted to be closer to
the water.   Christ, Florida is all about
the beaches and sunsets, right?”   Tessa
nodded in agreement.   She couldn’t
imagine living anywhere where the beach was more than twenty minutes away.
    “But she eventually agreed to move with me.   We got a small house just outside of the city
limits and Nicole found a job at an accounting firm in the city.   I was just an associate at the law firm and I
had to work twelve and fourteen hour days… sometimes seven days a week.   She started to hate me.   I had made her move to a city where she knew
no one and then worked my ass off until all I wanted to do was pass out when I
got home.”   He looked back up at her and
his eyes were sad.   “We fought almost
constantly for two years until she finally asked me for a divorce.   She just told me she couldn’t take being in
the marriage by herself.”
    “I’m sorry,” Tessa said.   She had no idea what to say.  
    “I tried to convince her that it would just be
another couple years of these hours and then I’d be partner and things would
slow down.   I’d have more free time.   But I think by that time, she was seeing
someone else… someone from her accounting firm.   And even though I had taken my marriage vows very seriously, I could
already tell I’d lost her.   So, I didn’t
fight it.”   Tessa’s heart ached for
him.   He was unbelievably handsome and
sweet and sexy, and it seemed like he had really been heartbroken.  
    “And so you decided to just stay single?” she asked
quietly.   She needed to know if he had
given himself in that way to anyone else.  
    “I decided to put my job first,” he said smiling at
her as if he knew exactly what she was asking.   She felt her heart rate accelerate.   What he did to her with just a smile baffled her.   “Until now.”   He brought her hand up to his lips and
pressed a kiss against the back of her hand.  
    Tessa slid out of her side of the booth and into the
side where Greg sat, all the while still holding his hand.   She never wanted to let him go.   She tucked her leg underneath her bottom and
pushed up to press her lips to his.   He
moaned against her lips and she took that as an