Page 37 of Better Off Wed
“Hi, I’m calling about Life’s a Stitch. Is the space still available to rent? How much are you asking for it?”
“May I have your name?”
“Sadie Ge—Sadie Mars,” I said, and I swallowed thickly.
There was tapping on a keyboard, and then the woman said, “Life’s a Stitch is available to rent.” She named a price that was modest but still out of my budget. My heart sank. “Would you like to meet to have a look at the space?”
“I’ll have to think about it,” I said, and my anger deflated like an old balloon.
I didn’t have enough money to reopen the doors on Sadie Bridal, even in this tiny town. I’d need a serious injection of cash to be able to sustain a new location until I got a steady stream of clients. If I ever got a steady stream of clients without someone like Henry propping me up.
Maybe I just wasn’t good enough to run my own business.
Dejected, I started the long walk back to the cottage. I waved at Mrs. Gretzinger, who was standing by the front sign of The Pier with a contractor, then continued on my way. I passed two cars going into town, and I could tell only one of them was a local because he lifted two fingers off the steeringwheel of his beat-up pickup in greeting as he passed me. The other car was a fancy Mercedes with dark-tinted windows whose driver ignored me. An out-of-towner.
The thought made my shoulders slump. An out-of-towner like me.
Ten minutes later, a third car drove up toward me, slowed, and stopped. Gideon rolled down his window. “You were supposed to call me,” he rumbled. His expression was still guarded.
My silly heart soared at the sight of him, thumping wildly at the thought that he’d gone out of his way to come pick me up. It took so very little to make me fall for a man. I smiled. “Did the Marswood Harbor Watch call to tell you about your dereliction of duty as my husband?”
“Three phone calls and six texts about you walking down the road on your own,” he grumbled.
I laughed as I got in the car, but sadness pierced my chest. In an alternate universe, he would be my husband in truth. I would open up to him, and he would accept me for who I was. He would stop thinking I was going to leave as soon as our trial period was over. He would believe me when I told him that I found him wildly attractive.
But this was real life. We had four more weeks to figure out if this was what we wanted forever. And if things kept going the way they were, I already knew my heart would break. If I stayed, I’d be married to a man I loved who didn’t love me back. If I went, I’d leave the man who had my heart.
I watched Gideon cook dinner, and then I worked on sketches of Lola’s dress to show her at Sunday lunch the following day. It was the kind of quiet evening I’d imaginedwhen I wrote about my perfect day. But when it was time to go to bed, I went to the bedroom, and Gideon stayed on the couch.
That night, when all was quiet, I tried the dilators again. Thought of Gideon, even though I knew I shouldn’t. Dreamed of a life that involved the love of a good man, a successful business, a big family, and a cozy home. Fell asleep knowing I would never have it.
GIDEON
I should’ve thanked Ivan Popov, I realized. I’d needed a reminder that Sadie and I weren’t on the same level. But it was easy to forget when she looked at me with glittering brown eyes and lit up the room with her smile.
TWELVE
SADIE
I was starting to look forward to Sunday family lunch. Both my parents were only children and they weren’t close with their own parents, so I’d never had any cousins or grandparents around. As the family outcast, it had been a lonely upbringing. Gideon’s family was loud, overwhelming, and warm.
Lola grabbed me as soon as I walked in, and we went over her design. She bounced on her seat and changed her mind a million times, making me laugh.
“So, no straps?”
“No. Strapless. But this dress looks so good with the sleeves.”
I sketched on some sleeves and glanced at her.
She hummed. “No,” she finally said. “Definitely strapless.”
I couldn’t help my smile. It was worse than working for a bridezilla, but I was enjoying myself. Then I glanced up and met Gideon’s gaze across the room. He stood in a knot of people,silent, his left side turned to the wall the way it always was. Even in his family, he hid himself.
My heart ached for him.
“Sadie.”
I turned at the sound of Etta’s voice, straightening. “Grandma Mars,” I greeted. “Hi.”
