She shrugged again, her cheeks painting red. “I did what I thought was right. She trusted me with her words and I chose to give it when I saw fit.”
I couldn’t say anything. A hot fury was making its way up my stomach, and I knew if I tried to respond, I wouldn’t be able to restrain the hurtful words I wanted to growl at her.
She huffed her breath. “You can’t be mad at me, Brian. I honored her wishes.” She threw her bag over her shoulder and squinted at me. “You’re different now, Brian. You’ve changed. I’m not sure Hannah would’ve liked it.”
With that parting shot, she stormed out, leaving me alone with Hannah’s last words crushed in my hand.
Chapter 36
Maria
The sound of my phone pierced the quiet in my car, momentarily startling me. I always had music blasting when I drove, but tonight, an anxious and nervous knot had curled around my stomach. I needed a little peace and quiet in order to unravel the tension—or a moment where I could silently freak out.
"Hey, Lins." I indicated left before turning. I was getting close. That knot tightened.
"Are you driving?" Her voice sounded loud in the confines of my car.
"Yeah, I have you on speaker. I'm on my way to his now."
"Are you gonna ask him?"
My hand tightened on the wheel as my stomach churned away. I indicated one more time to turn down his street, but I pulled over a few doors down before I reached his house.
Tonight was a big night for us. Brian and I had been dating for a few weeks, but I was pleasantly surprised when he invited me to his house for dinner. I wasn't sure if I could fit in a dinner or even a lunch with him before New York; but that was before he asked if I would come to his home. When I heard that small nervous break in his voice, I decided anything else could be pushed back and saved for another day.
I couldn't help the thrill that zinged through me. I could count on one hand the amount of men who’d invited me back to theirs. I allowed myself to bask in the excitement and hope. That is until Linda called me up a few hours later and revealed something that made me want to throw up. I wanted to give Brian the benefit of the doubt, which was why I forced down my natural instinct to raise hell and take names later.
"Yeah."
She clucked down the phone. "It could be nothing."
It could be, but knowing my luck, it was precisely as I—and no doubt, Linda—had feared. I racked my brain trying to come up with an acceptable reason, but all my outcomes resulted in the worst-case scenario. Still, I planned on arriving with an open mind.
"That's what I intend to find out." I glanced out the window at the pretty trees lining the street. "How are you anyway?"
Linda was currently off for two weeks while she underwent IVF, but would be back in time for our New York trip. They had collected her eggs but, disappointingly, could only retrieve one. She had a few that were mature but was told they were in the lining of her endometritis. I didn't understand half of what she told me, considering I'd wanted to make myself sterile when I was twenty-one, but I'd read up on her condition, and I couldn't understand how Linda didn't just crawl into bed and never leave. It sounded painful and debilitating.
It had taken several visits to her doctor for her to be taken seriously as her "issues" were always waved off as bad period pains. You didn't need a doctor's degree to know that periods should not be painful. By the time her endo was discovered, the scar tissue was overwhelmingly bad. Her left tube was blocked and had to be tied off. Hence, she had difficulty falling pregnant.
She was now waiting to find out if this latest round of IVF worked. I wasn't religious but I did stop at the local Catholic church to light a candle. Considering I was a pretty big heathen, it probably had the opposite effect.
"Sore. I can't lift anything too heavy, so I've just been chilling out on the couch and drinking lots of water."
"Well, I have all my fingers and toes crossed for you."
"Thanks, girl. Anyway, try to enjoy your date. Don't jump to conclusions, and more importantly, call me straight after."
My laugh puffed out, despite my churning emotions. "I will."
I took a cleansing breath before rolling the short distance to Brian's house. It was a cute, two-story home with a front covered porch and open railings. There were white column beams, overhead gables, and a large front window. A driveway led up to a two-door garage. This was the home Brian had moved into with his wife; one they’d decorated and discussed their future dreams in. He'd told me he'd never invited a date here before. I'd like to think he was being truthful.
The white door with a gold-plated knocker opened, and Brian stood there with a wide, welcoming smile. "Hi. Come on in."
I reached out and clasped his outstretched hand as he helped me up the stairs. It was an unnecessary gesture, but it made me feel feminine and adored. As I came to his level, I got a hit of that spicy, warm scent he favored. It didn't help that he looked delicious; dressed casually in a dark blue t-shirt, black jeans, and bare feet. God, even his feet looked sexy.
"Thank you for inviting me."
He hurriedly took my jacket and hung it up on the coat rack. I wondered if his wife procured that. It didn't seem like something a single man thought to add to his home.
