Cody dealt with the ranch business, then met Kristi up at the house.
“Hey,” he said when he found her in the living room waiting, her hands clenched tight in front of her, showing her nerves. “I’m glad you’re here.” He hoped to put her at ease. “Let’s go in my study and talk privately before we eat.”
She followed him inside and took a seat on the sofa, right where she’d sat when he found out she was pregnant.
He’d spent the last couple of hours thinking about her and their relationship. Kristi was right. Their relationship stood on solid footing because they shared the same friends, interests,and were in the same place in life. They wanted the same things and were ready to embark on the future they’d talked about.
He sat next to her and took her hand. “We’ll keep the wedding date in June.”
She gasped and stared wide-eyed at him. “Really? You mean it? You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
She beamed, her smile filled with excitement.
Good. He didn’t like seeing her upset or anxious when it came to them. “My schedule is just starting to lighten up at the law practice. All the critical agenda items for the children’s hospital have been voted on and initiated, too, so I’ll have more time for us this summer.”
“I would really like that.”
“Me, too. I’ll make a bigger effort to listen to you when you want to talk to me. We’ll go out more often. I’ll even help you with the seating chart. We’ll sit your great-aunt Beth next to my uncle Sirus. He spent half his life as a bartender. He has about a hundred recipes that use rum as the main ingredient. They’ll get along great. We’ll take the next few months to settle in and move forward with both of us on the same page.”
Her smile went up two notches. “We’ll build something better.”
He smiled back, catching some of her enthusiasm. “Yes. Better.”
And different. Because it wouldn’t be what he’d hoped for with Brooke.
June was a good length of time for them to reconnect and focus on all the good things they had between them. They’d wait at least another year before trying to get pregnant again. Time enough to settle into being married. He liked that idea, warmed to it.
Kristi kissed him with noticeably more enthusiasm.
This would be a new beginning for them. They’d hit a bump in the road, but they were back on track. “Let’s go have lunch and really catch up,” he suggested.
Kristi kissed him again, then practically floated out of the living room, she was so happy.
He felt better, too, but there was one thing he still needed to do…
Alone in his office that night, he poured a shot of whiskey, sat at his desk, and pulled out his cell. Nerves knotted his stomach. He hit the speed dial for Brooke like he’d done a thousand times the last two months, but this time he put the call through, hoping he found the right words to tell her everything.
“Hey, it’s Brooke. Sorry I missed your call. You know what to do. Text me.”
Just hearing her voice made his heart throb with pain and regret. He missed her with every breath he took.
At the beep, he spilled the truth he wasn’t sure she’d understand after all that had happened between them. “Hi Brooke. It’s me. I hate to leave this as a message, but I get it, you’re busy with school and your…friends.”
Yeah, some guy who better be treating you right.
“Listen, I wanted you to know that Kristi and I postponed the wedding until the end of June.” He sighed and spit out the truth she deserved to hear from him. “She lost the baby.” He got choked up on the words. “We’re taking some time to get things back on track before we get married. We’ll have a family later. I hope you’re happy. I hope you’re doing well. Please come to the wedding. You said you would if you knew it’s what I really want. It is. Please. You can bring whoever you’re with if you want. Please come. We’ll always be friends, right?” Choked up, he ended the call, knowing she wasn’t going to call him back. Not now. Maybe not ever. Not when he’d chosen Kristi again.
If the sound of Brooke’s voice telling him to text her a message made him want her again that badly, he couldn’t help it.
Just like he couldn’t help walking into her room that night, stretching out on her bed, pulling her pillow to his face, inhaling her scent, and falling into a restless sleep full of dreams about her.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Brooke listened to the message for the fourth time, tears running down her cheeks, her heart broken all over again as Cody’s deep, rich voice told her yet again everything she didn’t want to hear.
He picked her again!
