Chapter 19
It was hard to get out of bed the Monday after Christmas, but Rebecca couldn’t complain. Work hard, play harder. That had pretty much summed up her weekend. She hummed as she dressed for work, replaying certain things in her mind. They’d ended up dozing on the couch through the end ofIt’s a Wonderful Life, and then Jay woke her up with a mischievous grin. He could never sit still for long. They drove to an ice skating rink where he’d reserved tickets ahead of time. With their rented hockey skates, they could weave in and out of everyone else wobbling around on figure skates and race each other. And after tiring out, they’d moved in lazy circles together, talking about anything and everything.
Even dinner at Grandma’s was fun. Jay kept everyone entertained with his best wedding disaster stories, and any time Grandma said something rude, he deflected, his small kind glances reminding Rebecca that she didn’t need to be mad about it.
A sigh the size of Texas left her lungs. That was the thing. She wasn’t mad anymore. At herself or Grandma or even Patrick. But that didn’t mean she had everything she wanted. Jay had talked about dating again, someone far outside their office, which obviously didn’t mean her. And despite spending all that time alone together, he’d never once made her think he might want more than the goofy friendship they’d found again.
Jay and Felicity were talking in the parking lot when she pulled in, and if they hadn’t already seen her, she would have pulled right back out and circled the block.
Wow, Jay had really taken her advice to heart.
She grabbed her purse and hoofed it inside, hoping it hadn’t been obvious she knew what kind of conversation they were having. Dorothy brought in a list of people to call back, all of them eager to set up appointments now that Christmas was over.
After pulling up their schedule, she went down the list, one by one, watching the clock to see how long before Jay and Felicity stepped back inside. Five minutes felt like fifty.
“Hey, you.” Clarissa tapped on the door frame. “Looks like Jay and Felicity are both late. I might need to pull you in with me for a consultation. The bride’s due to be here in fifteen minutes and I do better chatting when I don’t have to take notes at the same time.”
“Sure.” Rebecca smiled, confident Felicity would be there. Hopefully, she’d have it together enough to not tip off Clarissa that anything was wrong.
The bell jingled, and Clarissa glanced back down the hall. “Oh, there you are…” she trailed off as Felicity passed her and walked into Rebecca and Jay’s office.
“May I talk to you for a minute, Rebecca?”
“Felicity.” Clarissa tapped her foot. “You’re late, and we have work to do. Can this wait?”
“Sorry.” Felicity ducked her head. “Of course it can.” The look she gave Rebecca as she followed Clarissa out had Rebecca flustered for several minutes. What could she possibly have to talk to her about?
Jay walked in a few minutes later and dropped into his desk chair. “It’s done. I feel like a monster.”
Rebecca walked over to him so they could keep their voices down and still hear each other. “How did it go?”
“Like breaking up with her the first time. It’s all me. There’s nothing wrong with her except she’s not—” He looked away. “We’re not right for each other.”
Mentioning Felicity’s strange request to talk to her didn’t seem like something he needed to know yet. Instead, she showed him the additions to their schedule, and they got to work. Rebecca would be heading out to oversee a dress fitting, and Jay would be meeting with a pastor to go over what was and wasn’t allowed when it came to decorating the inside of their chapel.
It wasn’t until Rebecca returned and Felicity followed her into her office, that she remembered the promised conversation.
Felicity clicked the door shut behind them. “You went to college with Jay, didn’t you? You’re that Rebecca.”
“That Rebecca?”
Felicity wrung her hands together. “Well, are you? The one who got engaged? Because otherwise I feel really dumb and owe you an apology. I guess I owe you an apology either way. Will you just answer my question? I tend to ramble when I’m nervous and sometimes when I’m not.”
Rebecca motioned for Felicity to keep her voice down. “You can’t say anything to anyone. Especially Clarissa.”
“So, you are her.” Felicity’s shoulders dropped. “Wow, this really was a lost cause, thinking Jay might want to start over. Did he hire you on purpose or was it accidental, like me?”
Rebecca wasn’t about to point out that Felicity wasn’t exactly hired accidentally. “Marlise hired me. Jay was as surprised to see me as he was to see you.”
Felicity gave a sad little laugh. “Yeah, I can imagine. You’re the girl who broke his heart beyond repair.”
Rebecca froze, feeling suddenly hot and cold all over. “What are you talking about?”
“I knew he was holding back, but we were so good together and Bridger was getting so attached to me. I flat out asked him what was going on in his head that he wouldn’t let me see. And so he told me. He told me it was you. You were his first love but I wanted to be his last. I thought if I gave him time…” She shook her head. “I should have figured it out sooner. I thought it was a coincidence your name was Rebecca, too.”
Rebecca was torn between wanting Felicity to stop talking and making her explain. She rubbed her neck and tried to think clearly. Now she was rethinking every conversation she and Jay ever had.
Felicity sighed. “Crud, I have to get it together before I can go back out there. I still want this job.”
