Page 70 of The Wedding Planner's Manny
“It's not your fault, okay?” Nick reached out over the table to take my hand. “I only brought this up as an example how much he cares about you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it.”
“It's okay,” I lied. “I'm just gonna go home and sleep. I'm tired.”
“All right. I'll walk you home.”
“You don't have to. I took the car.” I was always taking the car these days. The memory of the assault was gradually fading in my mind, but I still jumped at shadows in the dark when I had to walk by myself. All thanks to Jeremiah’s family.
My stomach clenched at the thought of meeting the man tomorrow. The events of the day had managed to make me forget all about it—until now.
“Is something wrong?” Nick asked. “You just went pale.”
“I think I just need to lie down,” I lied, knowing how Nick would get if I mentioned my ex to him now. Neither of us needed the aggravation. I would go to Ethan in the morning and he would help me.
My mind made up, I stood from the table. “Thanks for listening and everything.”
“Anytime.”
I nodded and turned to the door. It was time to put an end to the day and hope that tomorrow would go better.Muchbetter.
2 4
R H Y S
The next morning, I left for Ethan's place almost as soon as I was up—which was at the crack of dawn. I hadn't slept much. I couldn't. I was worried about my meeting with Jeremiah, and I kept wondering what was going on in Ethan's house too. Was Laura sleeping in the guest room or in Ethan's room? No, of course she was sleeping in the guest room.
Or wasn't she?
Maybe she'd sneaked into Ethan's room in the middle of the night to remind him what it was like when they were married.
I couldn't help but think of the way the baby in my belly had been created. I'd been coerced, yes, but I couldn't deny that it had felt good once we got going because I was remembering a time when I'd loved Jeremiah—or I thought I did anyway. I neverreallyknew what love was until Ethan brought me into his family. It was thinking about him all the time and getting this warm, tingly feeling that expanded from my chest to the rest of my body when I saw him. It was never wanting to be apart from him again because his smile lit up my day and it was going absolutely insane at the thought that someone else might stake a claim on him.
Ethan had loved Laura once upon a time, and she'd already proven how good she was at coercing people into doing things for her.
When I got to Ethan's house, I parked the car and got out to knock on the door. I had a key, but I figured it was polite to knock instead of storming in, anyway. Inside, the dog started barking and then steps approached the door from the other side.
I clenched my teeth so hard I thought some of them were going to break off when Laura opened the door for me in a thin morning gown. Beside her, the dog darted out of the house and greeted me excitedly. I leaned down to scratch his ear before focusing on Laura again.
Wasn't it too cold to be wearing something so see-through?
Unless she wanted to seduce someone.
Calm down, Rhys. And don't just stand there like an idiot.“Good morning,” I made myself say.
“Good morning to you too,” she replied in a sweet voice. “Would you like to come in and have coffee with me?” she asked with a smile. “The boys are still sleeping and I figure we have some time before they're up.”
Why was she being so nice to me? It made me feel like crap for having all those mean thoughts about her.
“Come on, come on.” She gestured me inside before I could even respond and sauntered off into the kitchen with a light spring in her step. I followed, confused. Why was she in such a good mood? Nick, who was notoriouslynota morning person, told me once that the only mornings he woke up with a smile were the ones that followed incredible sex.
Had Laura had sex last night?
No, Rhys, stop being silly and overthinking things. Maybe she's just a morning person.
In the kitchen, Laura served me a mug of coffee. “You do still drink coffee, don't you? I know you're not supposed to drink too much of it when you're pregnant, but I have no idea how I would have gotten through my pregnancies without it.” She winked at me before taking a jar of pancake batter out of the fridge. “When are you due?” she asked innocently as she gave it a stir.
“May,” I said. It was the only word I could get out of my throat. All of this felt so surreal. Laura wasn't at all what I expected her to be.
“Oh, that's soon, isn't it?” She got a frying pan out of the cupboard, moving around the kitchen with the familiarity of someone who'd lived here forever. “I hope you can find another job in time.”
