seeing her again had unsettled him more than he would have thought possible.
Being on the receiving end of her cool indifference had made him feel as though he’d lost something special.
At that moment the kitchen door flew open and Bryony stalked into the room, her whole manner confrontational.
Tom rose to his feet, his own gaze equally accusing. Ordinarily they were as close as a brother and sister could be, but tonight they glared at each other like enemies.
‘Why didn’t you tell me that she was coming back?’ Tom’s voice was hard and Bryony’s gaze was equally hard as she met her brother’s eyes.
‘And good evening to you, too, Tom.’ She leaned forward and kissed Jack, her expression softening slightly. Then she straightened and shrugged out of her wool coat.
‘You should have told me she was coming back,’ Tom snarled, and Bryony lifted an eyebrow, refusing to be intimidated by the dangerous light in her brother’s eyes.
‘Why? What reason did I have to believe you even cared? You ended it, remember?’
Colour touched Tom’s cheekbones and his jaw tightened. ‘That is none of your business.’
‘It’s my business when you expect me to help you smooth the path with her.’
‘I can’t change the past.’ Tom sat back down in his chair and reached for his beer. ‘And Sally and I need to move on. We can’t do that if we don’t have a conversation. We need to clear the air.’
‘You mean you need to make yourself feel OK about what you did.’
Tom tensed, realizing with a considerable amount of discomfort that she was right. His conscience was troubling him. And he had a feeling that a conversation wasn’t going to cure his problem.
‘I did what I thought was right at the time.’
‘Right for her or right for you?’ Bryony put her hands on her hips, her expression disapproving, and Jack frowned.
‘Bry, this really isn’t our business.’
Bryony ignored him, her eyes still on her brother. ‘You drove her away and now you’re expecting her to be pleased to see you again.’
‘I’m not expecting that.’ Tom cursed softly and ran a hand over the back of his neck. ‘And I didn’t drive her away. She left.’
‘Because of you! Because you didn’t want her and she couldn’t live in this small community alongside a man who’d rejected her. Do you know your problem?’ Bryony glared at him. ‘You just can’t bear the fact that there’s a woman in the world who doesn’t think you’re God’s answer to romance. You broke Sally’s heart but you want her to say, “That’s fine, Tom.” Well, it isn’t fine!’
Tom’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re being emotional about this.’
Bryony gave a growl of feminine frustration. ‘And you’re being ice cold, as usual! Show a modicum of sensitivity here, Tom Hunter! You decided you didn’t want her. End of story.’
It wasn’t the end of the story.
Not by a long way.
It had been so much more complicated than that.
‘You should have told me she was back.’
‘Why would I do that? I assumed it would be of no interest to you.’
Tom gritted his teeth. ‘Sally and I were together for almost three years, for goodness’ sake. Of course I would have been interested in the fact that she was back.’
‘You drove her away, so I assumed her return was a matter of the same indifference to you.’
Tom closed his eyes briefly and muttered something under his breath. ‘Whose side are you on?’
‘Sally’s,’ Bryony replied sweetly. ‘And if you want my opinion, she should have blacked your eye seven years ago when she found you with that—that—tart!’
Jack winced. ‘Sweetheart, you—’
‘Don’t sweetheart me!’ Bryony glared at her husband. ‘Tom behaved horribly to Sally.’
‘I wasn’t with anyone,’ Tom gritted, ‘I went on one date with another woman, that’s all! One date and it was after Sally and I had split up. After we’d agreed to see other people.’
‘You’d agreed to see other people,’ Bryony reminded him coldly. ‘Sally was so devastated she just sat in her flat broken into tiny pieces.’
Tom winced at the description. ‘It was the wrong time for both of us and we were in an impossible situation, Bry, as you would realize if you took the emotion out of it and looked at it logically.’
‘And if you took the logic out of it and looked at it emotionally, you might stand some chance of sustaining a relationship with a woman!’ Bryony glared at him. ‘You threw away something really special. You’re as bad as Jack!’
‘Hey!’ Jack put a hand on his chest, totally affronted. ‘I married you!’
Bryony breathed out heavily. ‘Only because I told you some home truths,’ she said bluntly. ‘If I’d left it to you, you’d still be dating half of Cumbria. You were so afraid of emotional involvement I virtually had to tie you up and beat you before you’d agree that you loved me.’
Jack gave her a sexy wink. ‘I’m not sure you should be revealing the details of our bedroom antics to your brother, darling.’
Bryony pulled a face. ‘What I’m saying, as you well know, is that both of you have spent the best part of your adult lives avoiding commitment. Of course Sally doesn’t want a conversation with you, Tom. Why would she? You lost that right when you started dating other people.’
Tom sighed. ‘You make it sound like a crime, but we weren’t together any more, Bry.’
‘That’s right.’ Bryony’s tone was chilly. ‘You weren’t. You left the rest of us to clear up the mess.’
‘I tried to see her, to check that she was all right.’
‘Well, of course she wasn’t all right! And she didn’t want your pity!’
Tom gritted his teeth and drew in a steadying breath. ‘Do you realize how contradictory you’re being?’
Jack groaned out a warning. ‘For goodness’ sake, don’t tell her that.’
‘Well, on the one hand she’s telling me I left her to comfort Sally, and on the other she’s telling me that Sally wouldn’t have wanted me around anyway.’
Bryony scowled at him. ‘You behaved badly!’
Jack yawned and reached for his beer. ‘OK, honey, give the guy a break. He’s not
