“Hi, Cheryl, it’s nice to meet you,” Gwen said smoothly, reaching out to shake Cheryl’s hand.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Cheryl replied, her eyes going from Gwen to me. She drew in a pained breath, pulling her hand abruptly from Gwen’s and reaching around to press both of her palms on her back.
I stepped toward her, my brow creasing. “Are you okay?”
“There’re just Braxton hicks, Alaric,” Cheryl replied, her breathing still labored. She glanced at Gwen again, her brow still furrowed as if she was in pain. “I just need to go home and rest. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you Friday.”
She straightened, smiling tightly at Gwen before she passed and walked to her van.
While she backed from my driveway, Gwen turned to look at me, her brow crinkled with uncertainty. “Alaric, if I’d known she was here—“
“Don’t worry about it,” I told her as Cheryl’s taillights disappeared down the lane. “Now she’s met you.” I shrugged, not bothering to contain my smile as my hands slipped around Gwen’s waist.
“She didn’t look too happy about it.” Her brow furrowed, and she worried her lip.
“She’ll adjust,” I said.
Tig finally gave up waiting for me to release him and ambled over, knocking his nose against Gwen’s hip. She pulled away, looking down at him, and stroked the top of his head.
“What are you working on?” she asked, peering into the garage and catching sight of the bookshelf. “Oh, it’s beautiful!”
“Yeah, someone mentioned that my house lacks bookshelves,” I teased.
“Someone must be very smart,” Gwen retorted, turning and slipping her hands around my waist.
I wrapped my arm around the small of her back and reached over to flick out the garage light. Opening the connecting door, I whistled, calling Tig in. He ran in ahead of us, and once he’d cleared the foyer, I swept Gwen up in my arms, carrying her inside.
She laughed until I pressed my lips to hers, my tongue sweeping across her bottom lip. Looping her arms around my neck, her lips parted, and she sighed.
20
Pre-Term
Gwen
“Look, Kelsey, you don’t need to figure this all out right now,” I said gently, pausing to look over an email that I needed to send out before noon. My sister’s meltdown was a little unprecedented, but as her maid of honor, it was my duty to reassure her.
My head was pulsing, and I couldfeela stress headache coming on.
“That’s the thing, Gwen. Idoneed to figure this all out right now,” Kelsey snipped, affronted.
“You have to figure out exactly what table your guests need to sit at right now? It can’t wait until we’re done at work?”
“You’ll probably be banging the welder,” she sniffled.
“Kels,” I sighed, closing my eyes. She wasn’t wrong; Alaric and I had been spending every spare moment with one another. The only thing we hadn’t done was to tell my parents. I planned on broaching the subject soon—just not yet.
“I need help,” she pleaded.
I opened my mouth, about to speak when the phone on my desk rang shrilly. “Come over tonight, and we’ll make the guest list. Bring the binder. I have to get back to work,” I said, speaking over the ringing.
“Fine,” Kelsey exhaled audibly. “Call me later.” She hung up, and I lifted the telephone receiver on my desk.
“Good afternoon. This is Gwen from Williams Tech. How can I help you?” I recited, massaging my temples.
“I need to get a hold of Alaric Petersen.” A woman said, her voice familiar. She let out a pained grunt before continuing. “It’s Cheryl Evans.”
Instantly recognizing her name, my spine stiffened with alarm, and I straightened. “Alaric is out on a job site right now. I can try and reach him through the on-site foreman. Can I relay a message?”
