Chapter 10
TEN
At first, given the dark room, Emily thought she’d woken too early, but a check of her phone informed her that it was after eight and Will had tried to call an hour ago.
She stretched and peered across the room to the window.
The storm clouds that had blanketed the sky last night hadn’t budged.
And on top of that, now they were unleashing a torrential downpour.
Last night, she’d silenced her phone to get some sleep, but she didn’t feel rested this morning.
Her shoulders ached, and she wasn’t sure if the pain was due to the rain or the subconscious stress about her life.
While this trip had succeeded in diverting her attention occasionally, it hadn’t been able to erase the pain completely.
And while she was ignoring all the work to be done regarding canceling the wedding until after her vacation, she couldn’t eliminate the stress of it weighing on her.
Pushing the covers off her legs, she climbed out of bed and padded into the bathroom. With a turn of the tap, the water squealed quietly from the spigot. She splashed her face and then lathered with lavender soap. The sweet scent calmed her nerves.
She didn’t want to jump right into a phone call with Will first thing. What did he even want at this early hour? But if it was about the house, she’d better call. In the end, getting rid of their joint asset as quickly as possible was in her best interest.
With a deep breath, she rinsed her face and dried it on a fluffy towel. Then she went back into the bedroom, dialed Will’s number, and put her phone on speaker. He picked up right away.
“Morning,” she said. Although, no greeting seemed to fit the conversation anymore. Even “Morning” was friendlier than she wanted.
“I decided to wait until I was sure…” he said.
Will’s dramatic pause annoyed her, but so did everything he did now.
She rubbed her temples. All of a sudden he liked to wait for things?
The memory of their engagement floated back into her mind.
I didn’t want to wait, he’d said as he’d proposed in the middle of the street, even though they’d had dinner reservations in ten minutes’ time.
He’d produced an oval diamond set in platinum and slid it onto her finger—a perfect fit.
Stunned and overjoyed, she’d wrapped her arms around him and kissed him right there.
Cars were honking in celebration, the drivers clapping and hooting out their open windows.
She focused on the grain in the hardwood floor to get the image out of her head.
“I want to buy the house with… We want to buy the house together.” His words seemed unsure, nervous.
He should be nervous.
His request hit her like a sledgehammer. He wanted to buy the house with her. The house Emily had found online? The one they’d gone to look at together right away because it was so “them”?
The agent had left them alone in the house to think it over and Will took her hands and spun her around in the empty living room.
“What do you think?” he’d asked, pulling her close.
She giggled, looking up at his smirk. “I love it.”
“Can you see us here?” He gave her another spin.
He’d said “us.”
“Definitely.”
He pulled her in and nuzzled her neck, sending a fleet of goosebumps racing down her arms and making her laugh.
“Since we both own the house,” Will said, his voice yanking her from the memory, “you’d need to sign a quitclaim deed.
We’re going to refinance in my name, which would remove you from any liability, but we can do a cash-out option so you can have a little equity.
And I could give you some time to get all your stuff before we move in… ”
She’d stopped listening. Will was buying their house with this woman?
They were that serious already? Everything she’d worked for in life was being jerked out from under her, and she had no say in the matter.
She couldn’t make Will love her, and she couldn’t get back the years she had lost. Her chin wobbled.
“So if we send over the document by email, will you sign it?” he asked.
She grabbed her shoulders and squeezed to release the tension. “We can talk about this later,” was all she could get out.
“Emily—”
Before she lost it completely, she hung up on him. She fell back into bed, buried her face in the pillow, and sobbed. Warm, salty tears puddled on her pillow, her back heaving, all the emotion she’d been holding inside finally breaking free from her stronghold. Why had he done this to her?
After longer than she’d wanted to cry over Will, she got up and went into the bathroom.
Flicking on the light revealed her swollen red eyes.
Her cheeks looked like the windows of her bedroom right now—streaked and void of color.
She unrolled some toilet paper, balled it up, and blew her nose.
Then she spent the next few minutes getting herself together before heading downstairs.
“Good grief,” Blair said when Emily got to the kitchen. “What happened to you?”
Emily cleared her throat and took a seat at the bar next to Blair.
“Your eyes are so puffy they’re almost shut. Here.” Sienna slid a cup of coffee toward her. “You need this more than Blair does.” She came over to Emily and put a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
With a groan, Emily told them about the call.
“I’m so sorry, Em.” Blair wrapped her arms around Emily and gave her a squeeze.
Sienna rolled her eyes. “He’s a selfish jerk. How did we not see it sooner?”
Emily took a long drink, letting the nutty, rich flavor settle on her tongue. “Believe me, I’ve been asking myself the same question. I agreed to marry him. If anyone should’ve seen it, it’s me. But I didn’t have a clue…”
“It’s terrifying actually,” Blair said. “You did nothing wrong, and Will strayed.” Her face paled.
“You okay?” Sienna asked, pouring another cup of coffee.
“This isn’t anything to do with your situation, Em, but it just hit me: What if Rocko looks somewhere else because I can’t give him what he needs?”
“Rocko isn’t Will,” Emily said.
Sienna slid a second mug over to Blair.
“Since losing the baby, I’m in my head all the time, worried about what might happen with every choice I make,” Blair said.
“It’s got me paralyzed. But at the same time, I’d die without Rocko.
He doesn’t really understand, but he’s supportive.
He was the first one to cheer me on when I wanted to start the influencer thing, while my family cautioned me.
I knew it was a crazy idea, and the chances of anything coming of it were relatively low, but he had my back from day one. He still does.”
Sienna sat down on the barstool beside Emily.
“Now you two have me worried. Tyson isn’t my rock like Rocko.
And, to be honest, I wouldn’t know if he had a chick in the city.
We’re like two ships passing in the night.
But we don’t worry about one another because we’ve always wanted the same thing—basically a single lifestyle minus the dating.
We can come and go as we please. And now, I’m going to change that. I’m not sure we’re ready for this.”
“I’m living proof that we can never be ready for the things that get thrown at us,” Emily said. “But it’s how we deal with the unexpected that matters.”
She wasn’t sure yet how she planned to deal with it, but the first step was to sign that form to transfer the house so she could start the next chapter of her life.
“You’re right.” Blair took her coffee and twisted around on the barstool.
“Focus on the positive. And my counselor says I need to develop emotional intimacy before I’ll feel totally comfortable with the physical.
Rocko has been trying. He’s been bringing home fresh flowers because he knows I like them.
And he spends an hour each night talking to me. That should say something, right?”
“Absolutely,” Sienna said. “But now I’m more nervous than I was to begin with. Tyson and I have a long way to go.”
“Talk to him about it,” Emily suggested.
“I’ll call him tonight and just feel him out.”
Blair leaned on her elbow, a dreamy look on her face. “It all seemed so easy when we were young. I used to put my bedsheet on my head and pretend to get married. I’d cradle my baby dolls and make-believe they were my kids. I never imagined any other future for myself.”
“Me too,” Emily said. “I had tons of dolls. It’s a wonder I didn’t start a daycare center.”
“Well, you did become a teacher,” Blair said. She leaned around Emily. “Sienna, what did your playtime look like as a girl?”
“I dressed up Barbies in their little business attire and created scenarios about how they were headed off to make millions in their pink convertibles.”
Blair laughed. “That sounds about right. We had no idea then what we’d all face as adults…”
Sienna blew out a loud breath of air. “We’re not even through breakfast, and I think we all need an escape from our regular lives already. It’s got to be this dreadful weather.” She shot an angry look at the gray view. “Who wants to plan the outing today?”
Blair raised her hand. “I’ll do it.”
“Perfect.” Sienna got up and walked around the bar. “Given that my waistline is expanding anyway, I’m planning on carbs this morning. I found ingredients for pancakes. Anyone up for some?”
Emily’s eyes widened. “I could definitely go for some pancakes. And I packed syrup.”
“The morning’s getting brighter already!” Blair cheered.