Shoving her hand behind the cushions, she came up with both her phone and a bone-shaped treat. Zeus must’ve spotted it immediately, because he plopped his bottom down so hard the area rug shimmied beneath him. She tossed him the treat and forced her stiff legs to stretch into standing. “Fifteen messages?” she mumbled.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.” She skimmed the string of texts from Ava and Kinley—both confirming lunch plans today to discuss wedding details, one from Mom asking her to pick up some diapers, and the rest from Haylee demanding to know why she was still gone. One early morning message suggested Laurel had decided to stay married and already moved out. Haylee could be almost as dramatic as their other sister when she was running on little to no sleep. She didn’t bother to read the rest.
“Orange juice or coffee?” Chase asked as he slid a plate in front of Laurel at the breakfast bar.
She set her phone off to the side, leaving it on silent. She’d respond to everyone after she shook away the grogginess. “Coffee. Please, coffee. Just bring me the pot.”
“You didn’t sleepthatbad, did you? That couch is crazy comfortable.”
Her back didn’t ache and she didn’t remember waking up even once after falling asleep. “The couch was great. I think it’s just life that has me a little out of sorts.” She offered him a reassuring smile, then switched the subject. “What happened last night?”
“Davenports lost their detached garage.”
“The Davenports?”
“What a coincidence, huh?”
She accepted the oversized mug, already fixed with creamer and sugar, and sipped eagerly. “Let me guess. It looks like an accident too?”
“Kerosene heater didn’t get turned off, or so Crissy is saying. Henry was in there, making a spice rack, but swears he didn’t even use it.” Chase carried his own plate to the spot beside her and sat down. Though he seemed to treat it as the most normal thing in the world, Laurel’s heart pounded at his proximity. A hint of his enticing cologne drifted to her, and it made her yearn to wrap herself in his arms like they had so many sunny mornings like this when they were first married.
“So the heater caused the fire?”
“Yeah, the evidence agrees with that much.” Chase ate a strip of bacon, swallowed, and added, “Guess who else showed up at the scene last night?”
“Who?”
“Mr. Insurance Adjuster.”
Laurel dropped the piece of buttered toast that had been halfway to her mouth. “Why is he even still here?”
“Same question I asked him.” Chase’s easy-going demeanor switched to cool in a flash. “Laurel, there’s something about that guy that just rubs me wrong. I just can’t put my finger on any of it.”
“You don’t think he’s a part of this?”
“It doesn’t make sense. I mean, what would he benefit?” Chase turned his gaze over his shoulder, peering at her. Laurel’s whole body tingled at that one look, making her forget that five years had ever passed with them apart. “Now Bauer wants me to getbothreports done on Monday.”
Monday. The same day she was supposed to seal their fate. “Chase, I—”
“Your phone is lighting up like a New Year’s Eve fireworks display,” he said with a nod. “Do you need to get that?”
Ava and Kinley had added Laurel to a group text about the lunch date. Today they were trying to finalize flowers. Laurel couldn’t believe how much work that one simple task was already turning out to be, and they hadn’t even gotten started. “I have to meet the girls for more wedding plans.” Her face dropped when she looked down at her clothes. “I can’t go out like this. I can’t even gohomelike this.”
“Take a shower here,” Chase suggested.
“And put on yesterday’s clothes? No thanks.” Somehow she’d have to sneak back into her parents’ house and change so Mom wouldn’t know she’d been out all night. Never mind that she had a perfectly rational explanation. Mom would blow it out of proportion. “And I’m not borrowing any of your clothes,” she added before he could offer. “That would be harder to explain.”
“How scandalous that mywifespent the night,” he teased before draining his glass of orange juice. “You have clothes here, in those boxes you still need to go through.”
“Oh.” How many outfits had she left hanging in the closet after shoving her whole life into two suitcases? Her chest constricted at the thought of going through boxes that would no doubt sway her decision to sign the papers. This was how it had to be. She loved Chase more than she would ever love anyone, and that was why she had to force him to move on. To find someone who could give him what she never could.
“At least half of the boxes are clothes,” he said, carrying his empty plate to the sink. He called Zeus to the back door. “Grab a shower.”
“Hey,” she said before he could follow the dog into the backyard. “Who got hurt?”
“What’s that?”
