“Why don’t I come with you and take a few pics of your coffee creations just so I can be prepared for when you’re ready?”
My eyes lingered on her.The way she clung to Michael’s gaze, almost a plea in her eyes, as if she was dying to get away from me… What in the hell was going on?
“Sure, why the hell not?”
Rose shot to her feet.“You don’t mind, right, Wy?I won’t be long.”
“No, of course not.”I wasn’t going to stop her from doing the work she loved so much.I missed her and was desperate for any ounce of attention she gave me, but I wasn’t a complete prick.
“I’ll be right back.Promise.”
I picked up my scone and took a bite as she walked away from me.I knew she’d be back, but I also knew something was bothering her, and I needed to find out what.
Clothes were spread across my bed, hangers and more clothes scattering the floor.I was packing for a weekend, but one would think I was packing for a month.The problem was I had no idea what to pack.I never thought too much about pajamas when Wyatt and I were together.They never stayed on long enough… if I even got them on.
Now I needed something that didn’t sayrip these off me.I also wanted something comfortable and not clinging too tightly to my stomach.I rested a hand there.There wasn’t a bump, but what if it appeared overnight?
I grabbed my prenatal vitamins and the anti-nausea meds—that weren’t helping—and went to toss them in the bag but halted.Wy couldn’t see these.Digging through my bag, I retrieved my bottle of antacids and dumped a few vitamins and pills in there.
What if my morning sickness kicked in full force?Wyatt wasn’t going to accept I’d spoken with the doctor.Throwing up every morning was not normal.I’d started my morning puking for thirty minutes as it was.I wouldn’t be able to hide it from him.
And I didn’t want to.Not anymore.He had a right to know.
I wanted to stick to my plan, though.Just had to get through this wedding, and I would tell him.He already had to be the life of the party because it’s what everyone expected of him, if I dumped this news on him, it would take that much more out of him to put on a happy face and give everyone the entertainment they loved.
If they only knew how exhausted he was by the end of a night, maybe they wouldn’t put so much pressure on him to be their jester.They didn’t see the way he collapsed on the bed once the music stopped and the lights dimmed.The way his smile faltered the second the door clicked shut behind us.The way he stared at the ceiling like it was the only thing holding him together.
I saw it.
I saw all of it.
It was why I couldn’t tell him yet.He already put too much on his shoulders as if it were his responsibility to make sure every single person in the room was having the time of their life.I would let him have his weekend.Let him make people laugh, dance like an idiot, wear his tie around his head, and charm every single person he met.
He deserved one last hurrah before everything changed.
A knock on the door grabbed my attention, and I stepped over the mess on the floor and made my way to the front of the house.I glanced out the window and yanked the door open for Sutton and Rhone.
“What are you guys doing here?”I asked as Sutton held up a dress I had let her borrow months ago.
“Here to return this.”
“You didn’t have to come all the way here.You could have dropped it off at the vineyard or given it to Rhone.”
She shrugged and pushed her way inside with a smile, her dark hair swinging over one shoulder, and her big brown eyes sparkled with mischief.I loved Sutton.She’d been Rhone’s best friend since we were kids, and I considered her a sister, so I knew exactly what she was doing.
“You’re here for dirt, aren’t you?”
“Of course not,” she denied, her full mouth curving into a smirk that made her look far too pleased with herself.
“Sut, you’re smirking,” Rhone immediately called her out, one dark brow arching.He leaned against the wall, tall and annoyingly composed, his sharp features set in that smug expression he had perfected in high school.
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she straightened her shoulders.“Am not.”
I laughed despite myself.“I’m sorry to disappoint, but there is no dirt to report.”
“Rose, you’re getting ready to go away with Wyatt for the weekend, sharing a hotel room.If there’s no dirt, you still have to be feeling some sort of way.”
That was the thing about Sutton.She, like any true small-town girl, loved her gossip, but she also cared immensely.
