Page 171 of The Reason I Married Him
I tug on my hair in frustration, knowing that I have to agree with her. “I know,” I reply and blow out a heavy breath. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Aubree. I’m apparently having a hard time controlling myself.”
“It’s fine. We don’t need to apologize. I think just be more careful.”
“Yeah, I agree,” I say, sitting up. “Uh, I think I’m going to take a shower, if that’s okay?”
“Yes, um, can I just wash up real quick, and then I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Sure,” I say as she lifts from the bed and puts on my T-shirt. She walks over to the bathroom but then looks over her shoulder at me. “Thanks for taking care of me last night.”
“Here in the guest house . . . or in the club bathroom?” I can’t help myself.
She smiles. “Both.” Then she shuts the bathroom door, and I lie flat on the bed, gripping my hair.
Fuck.
Me.
Sittingon a bench in the park right across from The Talkies, I stare out at the hazy ocean as I hold my phone, contemplating if I should talk to Laurel.
I mean, who am I kidding? If I don’t talk to her, I might lose my fucking mind.
I pull up her name in my phone and text her.
Wyatt:Do you have a moment to talk?
I sip my coffee from The Cliffs. Christ, this coffee is good, which means it’s not Clearwater Coffee. On the walk over here, I downed a bear claw, knowing that this afternoon, I’ll have to go to the gym at the inn—Ethel gave me permanent access—and work it off.
My phone beeps with a text.
Laurel:Yup, I’m free. Want me to call?
I don’t bother texting her back. Instead, I dial her number, and she picks up on the first ring.
“What’s going on? Everything okay?” she asks as a hello. Leave it to the lawyer to get straight to the point.
“Not really,” I say, slouching on the bench.
She pauses for a moment and then whispers, “Did she call off the wedding?”
“No, nothing has changed there. Planning on Saturday. You can still come, right?”
“Do you really think I would not make it to your wedding that’s fake, but not really fake? I’m there for the drama.”
“There better not be any drama.”
“Very true. We don’t want any drama. Okay, so if the wedding is still set, then is it your parents? Are they pissed?”
“Uh.” I scratch the side of my jaw. “I haven’t told them yet. I didn’t want to tell them out of fear that they’d mention something to Wallace.”
“Probably smart, but does that mean they won’t be at the wedding?”
“No,” I say. “I’ll tell them we eloped. My parents did the same thing, so I know they’ll understand. I do think they’re going to have a hard time understanding that it’s Aubree I married and it’s not even been two months since I was supposed to marry someone else, but you know, that’s a bridge I can cross when it happens.”
“So then, what’s the problem?”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “Fuck, Laurel, I don’t know how this happened, but . . . I think I like her.”
There’s silence.
