Tom stared at Mitch, Shawn, and Prae with a glower on his face that Maria was still processing. He was always antagonistic toward the guy when Maria was around, but she assumed it was jealousy. Now she and Tom were sitting together as she attempted to make conversation, and he hardly responded to her questions. Either he had an insatiable hate crush on Mitch, or Mitch was onto something in accusing Tom of paying too much attention to Prae.

Maria couldn't decide how she felt about the latter. It diminished her guilt over her feelings for Mitch and for sleeping in his bed last night but also left her worried she might never be enough for the men she liked. No sense dwelling on it when there was a party to enjoy.

"The pierogies are tasty." She took another bite of the doughy, pork and cheese flavoured creations with gooey potato in the center. "Good call on the bacon."

"Mhm." Tom's eyes were glued to the trio, who were laughing together and clinking glasses.

She was trying to be an attentive date and not focus on Mitch, but Tom wasn't making this easy. After finishing her salad, she figured she might as well test Tom's distracted state if for nothing more than her amusement. "I'm going to do a few laps topless to work on my tan. You're okay with that, right?"

"Mmhm."

What would happen if she pulled Mitch over, climbed on his lap, and made out with him? Would Tom notice if Prae was still over there? As horribly cruel of an idea it was, it thrilled her. If the goal was to screw with Tom, Mitch might even be down for it.

She shook her head. After yesterday, she knew Mitch needed her in more than a physical way. She was one of few people he shared his past with, and she didn't want to ruin that by driving him away again. Plus, that would devastate Tom, which should have been her first reaction. The sangria was inspiring many terrible ideas.

Instead, she placed her hand on Tom's arm. "You've hardly touched your food."

"Sorry, I'm worried about what Mitch might do around Prae. Was it his idea to throw this party for her?"

"It was mine and Emma's. We thought the food, drinks, and fun people would get her mind off Sakda."

"That's asking a man like Mitch to take advantage of her. Look at the shots and sangria they keep giving her."

Maria didn't want to see Mitch enjoying another woman's attention. "Maybe she's bummed out and wants to take the edge off, or she's trying to enjoy the evening. Perhaps she's onto something, and I should grab more wine."

Tom turned back toward Maria. "Sorry, I'm not the best date."

"I'm not judging; although I did just say I was going to walk around topless and you told me 'mhm', so either you're very progressive or a bit inattentive."

His eyebrows rose to his ginger hairline. "Were you joking?"

Maria laughed, "Of course I was." Although if she'd done the same to Mitch, he would have half teased her until she did it then pulled her onto his lap to... She didn't know if the wine or two days of seeing Mitch shirtless, but these thoughts had to stop.

Before she checked the man out again, she kissed Tom and ran her hands through his soft hair. He returned the kiss with a passion she appreciated.

He pulled away and grazed his thumb over her lower lip. "You are very affectionate. I'm a lucky guy." He pushed her bangs to the side and kissed her again with similar intensity.

"I missed you yesterday," he whispered as they broke apart to catch their breath.

"Sorry, I wanted to help."

"The decorations are great."

"Thanks! Mitch had some cool pieces to add." Like a puppy sensing a treat, Tom's attention was drawn to the other group at the mention of Mitch's name. They cheered loudly as Emma downed a shot.

"He certainly gets around," Tom muttered and stabbed his lettuce.

"If you're that worried, let's go talk to them." She and Tom had been in their own bubble for most of the party.

"But what if that's what he wants us—"

"Tom, not everything Mitch does is a calculated plot. He's more perceptive and respectful than you give him credit for and probably just wants to make her feel welcome. Other than you, Emma, and I, she really doesn't hang out with any of these people."

Tom reached out for her hand. "I'm sorry. He reminds me of the type of guy who stole my ex-fiancé and threw her away the second someone more interesting came along."

"People are individuals, not stereotypes. Your jealousy is like my ex's, but I remind myself you're not him and that your pain contributes to it and makes it harder to overcome. I call it out when I see it, but I haven't run from it." She couldn't since a lot of it was founded in truth.

"I hadn't thought of it that way."

Maria forced herself to keep looking at Tom. "If you spent more time with him, you would see he's not the selfish egomaniac you think he is."

"I'd rather spend more time with you, and I promise you'll have my complete attention." He set down his plate of food and leaned in to kiss her slowly, which unwound some tension in her shoulders. "Thank you for being patient with me."

Her gaze slipped to Mitch as she sat back in the lounge chair. He, Prae, Shawn, and Emma were laughing at something. Prae scooted close to Mitch and touched his arm like Maria had done to Tom earlier. It jolted Maria like a shot to the chest. Prae wasn't looking for a fling, and if she was, Mitch wouldn't do that, would he? Maybe now that he knew Maria would support him emotionally, he'd return to sleeping around, or perhaps he already had. She shouldn't be so naïve to assume their closeness yesterday made Maria anything but a friend to him.

Why wasn't she half as upset about seeing Tom with Prae as she was with Mitch? Her heart was the worst. She had to purge all thoughts of that man to give Tom a shot.

She ran her palm along Tom's jaw, picturing their day at the waterfall, the way he'd dipped her toward the water, the rush of his lips on her skin for the first time. They had a promising future together.

She kissed him again, letting her hands tangle in his hair and moving onto his chair until the space between them vanished and warmth coursed through her veins. "Let's get out of here," she whispered.

Tom chuckled between deep breaths, his hands resting on her bare waist. "The party's hardly started, and you put in so much work."

Maria shrugged and traced the contour of his shoulders with her index finger. "You don't even like parties."

"But you do. I promise I'll behave and stop being so judgemental."

"I don't want to behave," she whispered in his ear.

Tom's eyes travelled over her body, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as his eyes lingered on her chest. When he looked at her with wide eyes, she nodded to confirm his unspoken question. Perhaps it was hasty, but no matter when it happened with Tom, it would mean something to both of them, and it would erase all thoughts of Mitch.

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

He couldn't reject her too. Maria jutted out her bottom lip. "Why?"

"Because I've watched you drink at least four cups of sangria in the past hour. I can't in good conscience do what I think you're implying when you're in that state. I want us to be sober and to both feel ready."

If he wouldn't distract her that way, there was another option. "Can we run to Sev for a ham and cheese then?"

"There is a table full of food behind you. How about I get you more pierogies? They have cheese and bacon, which is almost ham."

"Okay," she said. Maybe if she turned her back to Mitch and Prae, she'd be all right.

Tom left for the buffet table with her plate. She did her damnedest not to glance at Mitch and Prae. It had to be nothing. He wouldn't hurt Maria like that, not when he knew she still liked him to a degree. Tom returned with a plate full of his potato and cheese dumplings. She picked off the bacon bits with her fingers to snack on first.

"These are heavenly. A close second to what we could be enjoying."

"Thank you. That's quite the compliment. Prae gets most of the credit since hers turned out in proper shapes while most of mine resemble little UFOs."

As Maria's stomach clenched, she took a deep breath.

You can't be upset at him or her as you spent the night in Mitch's bed. You turned down Tom's request for help and encouraged him to be with Prae, and you threw this party for Prae to enjoy herself. If flirting with Mitch was her idea of fun, you had to respect that. You are dating Tom.