“Nah, I’m more of a dark roast kind of guy at 7am,” he says.
“Suit yourself,” I mutter, taking a long pull from my glass, willing the alcohol to fight off the splitting headache.
“Now that I think about it, you’re usually an Americano guy yourself. Which tells me something is off.”
“Are all our friends and family still out there waiting for Ben to tie the knot?” I ask.
“No, they heard through the very short, very obvious grapevine that things are amiss and took off this morning,” he says.
“And you didn’t go with them…” It’s a statement, not a question. “Better hurry before your ride leaves.”
“I sent Bethany home with the kids. Which means you are my ride. Which means you might as well start talking because I’m only going to hound you until you tell me what happened.”
“Funny, I would have thought you had already heard the whole story by now,” I say, being stubborn. It’s a trait that runs in our family, obviously.
“Call me crazy, but I’m kind of interested in your version of it,” Elias says with more patience than I have.
I take another gulp of beer.
“I don’t even really understand what happened. I was falling for her…hard. I’ll admit that. But then I find out who she is.”
“Ben’s ex…” Elias says.
“How is that…I mean, what the hell are the chances?” I ask.
“The universe is clever,” Elias says, taking a sip of his coffee.
“More like the universe is an asshole,” I say. “I’m involved with my son’s ex-girlfriend. And she is pregnant with my baby.”
“Okay, I guess that borders on asshole more than cleverness. But I don’t know if it’s the end of the world.”
I belt the last of my beer and set it down on the bar top hard. Jordan is a good enough bartender to know it’s going to take more than one to kill my hangover. He hands me another without even being asked. He’s redeeming himself slowly.
“How do you figure?” I ask. “She lied to me. About Ben and about the baby.”
“Did she, though?” he asks skeptically. “Or did she just not tell you?”
“How is that any different?” I snap. Part of me is annoyed that he’s here and I’m about to pay to Uber his ass down the mountain. The other half is grateful because thanks to him, I’mpounding the beer and my headache is starting to back off a little.
“I mean, it all took place in a matter of weeks, Gavin. You think you’re lost and confused; imagine how she feels. Dealing with her ex. Being pregnant. She’s got to be terrified.”
Elias’s words are irritating. Maybe because he’s right. Still…she could have told me. Sheshouldhave told me. And again, I’m too stubborn to abandon that ship.
When I don’t say anything, my brother takes that as permission to go on. “She’s also not the only one who kept secrets. Ben didn’t tell you or his fiancée that Charlotte is his ex.”
“Exactly,” I say. “Fooled by both my son and my woman.”
“And you didn’t tell Ben you’ve been banging his ex.”
I snap my fingers and point at Elias. “Ha! But I also didn’t know that he’s her ex. So I lied about nothing,” I say as I take another sip.
“But you knew that she is their wedding planner and that even that could get sticky if it came out,” he says, and I bite my lip.
“He used Allie against me,” I say. Am I grasping at straws? Maybe. But even if a captain goes down with their ship, it doesn’t mean they don’t try to patch every hole before that happens. “He basically said that the women I date can’t compare with Allie,” I say, taking another sip. Elias waits, and the words and feelings fester until I keep talking. “And they can’t, obviously.”
“Of course not,” he says.
“How did I get here?” I ask, setting my glass down and slumping back in the leather-backed stool. “How did I go from perfectwife, two great kids, and all the money and status in the world to a widower who has no fucking clue what I am doing?”
