Page 69 of The Wedding Planner's Manny
“Some of your lists are pointless,” Nick insisted. He turned to me again. “Last week he made a top ten of his favorite computer fonts.”
“For our invitation cards,” Zander cut in. “That's not pointless.”
“Whatever you say, love.” Nick gave his soon-to-be-husband a kiss and whispered something into his ear that made Zander's eyebrows climb his forehead. Then my brother led me into the kitchen with him.
“What did you tell Zander just now?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Nick said with a too-sweet smile. “Just that I was working on my own top ten list right now and he could help me do some research later.” When he was done speaking, he gave a little sigh.
“You have no idea how hard it is to work private time into your schedule when you have an infant in the house. Or, well, I guess you'll know soon enough.” He glanced at my belly. “Won't be long now.”
His features lit up. “I can't wait to meet your baby.”
“Yeah,” I said, trying to sound more excited than I was. I was looking forward to meeting my child, yes, but everything seemed so complicated right now. With the baby's other father... and with the man I only wished was the baby's other father too.
Nick made me sit down at the kitchen table with him. “Tell me what's wrong? You didn't show up here out of the blue for no reason.”
“Ethan's wife is back in town.”
“His wife?” Nick's eyes grew wide. “You mean the one who ran away and left him on his own with the childrena year ago? That wife? Wait, wasn't it the little boy's birthday party today?”
“Yes, she basically crashed the party.”
“Ouch. That must have been horrible. I hope Ethan threw the bitch right back out.”
“It's not that easy.”If only it was.
“No, I guess not.” Nick groaned and ran a hand through his hair in the exact same way his fiancé always did. I wondered if he even noticed that he was adopting Zander's mannerisms. It was kind of cute. “What does she want?” Nick asked.
“I don't know. But she's staying at Ethan's place.” I felt like the words had barbs that scratched my throat on their way out, it hurt that much to say it.
“Seriously? He's letting her stay?”
“I think she's blackmailing him in some way. I don't really know. It's only supposed to be for two nights but... I hate it. I really hate it.”
“Yeah, I would too. That's not cool. I hope she'll be gone again soon.”
“I don't know if I want her to leave again...” My gaze sank to the floor—which was full of crumbs of today's or yesterday's meals and really needed to be mopped. I almost wanted to ask my brother for his mop and do it, just to distract myself. But instead I made myself look up again and continue the conversation. “It might be better for the children if she stayed.”
“I'm not so sure about that. She sounds like a horrible person to me.”
“She's still their mother, though.” And what was I? Just the manny. I hadn't even been working there for that long.
“Mothers don't leave in the dead of night and disappear for a year,” Nick argued. “I'm sure Ethan knows that too. He seems smart enough to see through her, even if she's back now. You don't have to be so worried, brother. I doubt their relationship is salvageable. And honestly, if he wants to get back withher, you're too good for him anyway.”
I nodded. What he said made sense, if only I couldbelieveit. But I was still too rattled by the events of the day. The shock of seeing Laura in the doorway sat deep in my bones and wouldn't leave anytime soon.
Also, I still had a hard time believing I was too good for anyone.
“Hey,” Nick said, cutting through my melancholia to get my attention. “You gotta trust Ethan, okay?
He's doing his best. I mean, I don't think he's that high school jock who dated Laura anymore. He's standing by you in spite of all the rumors, anyway, and I think they're really bad for his business too.”
“Are they?” Now I felt even worse. I didn't know our relationship was jeopardizing Ethan's ability to make money and feed his family.
Nick's features darkened and his voice lowered as if he was about to share a secret with me. “I overheard him on the phone the other day when we were talking about officiators for the wedding. I think someone fired him because what he was doing went against their values. The way he accepted it sounded like it wasn't the first time.”
My stomach dropped and I lifted my hand to stroke my belly. The baby was kicking as if it wasn't liking the direction all of this was going either.
