"I'm really busy, Kade." Lainey huffed and carried a stack of trays through a set of double doors I knew I wasn't supposed to go in, but I followed her anyway.
"I know." I jogged a few steps to keep up as we burst into the chilly fall air outside the back of the conference hall. "But I need you to hear this."
Wren was there stacking trays into the back of a minivan that looked brand new, maybe a rental? It sparked an idea in my head for a delivery van, and I knew how bad I had it. I was dreaming up business plans for her bakery and we weren't even officially together. I didn’t know what we were. I just knew what I wanted us to be.
Lainey rolled her eyes at Wren and sighed. Her sister ducked her head and walked back into the venue. Then Lainey turned and crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you need? My feet are hurting; I've been working for hours. I'm tired, Kade. I want to go home."
This was it. I was being given my shot, and I had to pour everything into it. I needed her to know I wanted her. "I've had those annulment papers for weeks now. They've been sitting in my car and my apartment and my office. And I never gave them to you." My chest was so tight I could hardly breathe.
She looked up at me. "Why not?" She didn't look upset with me, but confusion etched her brow.
"Because I didn't want to." I pulled them out of my jacket pocket. "I don't want an annulment, Lainey. I don't want to erase Vegas or pretend we never happened. I want you."
She took a step back and her eyes glistened with emotion. "I don’t know what to think, Kade. You told the whole world I was just a business arrangement."
God, my temper was hard to control. The promise I’d made to keep our relationship secret was on the tip of my tongue, but I bit it back. I knew things had changed, and I knew the instant I’d said those words to that reporter that it wasn't the right thing to say. "I was trying to protect you." My voice cracked. "I thought if I made it sound like nothing, they'd leave you alone. But I was a total idiot and I should never have said that. I'm so sorry." I reached for her but she stepped back again.
"You took off your ring on camera." Her eyebrows rose and her shoulders drooped.
"I know." I looked down at my bare finger, where that ring should've been. It was on my keychain. Little good it did there. "I've regretted it every second since."
She ran a hand through her hair and then rubbed her tired eyes. "What changed? Why are you here now, saying all of this?"
I'd known this question was coming, and though I had the answer prepared, I had no idea how she'd react.
"Brandon told me," I said quietly, "about the baby."
Her face went pale. I watched her throat work as she swallowed. "Of course he did."
"Nothing in this world would change my mind about you, Lainey." I took another step closer. "I need you, Lainey. I needyou and I need this baby and I need us to figure out how to make this work."
"Stop." She held up her hand. "Just stop." She turned away, walking back toward the doors to the venue and I snagged her wrist to try to get her to stop.
"Lainey—"
"I don't want you to want me out of obligation," she snipped as she pulled her hand away from me. Her voice was calm, but I could hear the pain in her tone. "I don't want you here because you feel responsible or because you think it's the right thing to do. I can take care of myself." She turned fully away from me. "You clearly do not know what love means, and I don't want a loveless relationship."
"Lainey, please," I started, but she shook her head so I stopped. I deserved this.
"I was really hurt by the things you said publicly about me. You called me nothing. You denied we existed. And now you show up here with some grand gesture because you found out I'm pregnant?"
"This is not because of the baby." My voice was raised, though I didn't mean to come across angry. It made her look up over her shoulder at me. She had no idea that I'd have done this just for her even if she wasn't pregnant.
"Isn't it?" She moved toward the doors again. "I'm not jumping into something with another man when my heart feels like this. I can't do that again."
"Lainey, please." I followed her. "Don't push me away."
"I'm not pushing you away." She stopped and turned to face me. "I'm protecting myself."
Wren appeared beside her with a box of leftover supplies. She gave me a look that could've frozen fire in its tracks, and my heart felt like it was shattering.
"We're all done in there," Wren mumbled quietly, and I knew I was losing my shot.
"Lainey, I love you, please." If throwing myself on the ground in front of that minivan would've stopped her I'd have done it, but her sister would probably have just driven over me.
"Goodnight, Kade. We can talk about the annulment next week." Lainey met my eyes one more time, and I saw the tears welling up there as she walked past me toward the van.
The women shut the doors and climbed in, while I stood there powerless to do anything. The van fired up; the taillights glowed, and they pulled away without looking back.
