Chapter Twenty
T he next day Val met Cici for lunch at the Main Street Diner. While she and Cici were nowhere near as close as she and Letty were, they were much closer since Val had married Liam. Cici might not know as much as Letty did about Val’s feelings toward Liam, but she was very observant. Val didn’t doubt that at the least Cici suspected she was in love with Liam.
But did she know anything about Liam’s feelings? Val knew they were friends, though she didn’t know if Liam had confided in her. Far more likely that if he’d confided in anyone it would be one or both of his brothers.
Val saw Cici waving at her from a booth and headed her way. They hugged and exchanged small talk until the waitress took their order.
“How are you feeling?” Cici asked.
Val knew she meant pregnancy-wise. Cici and Letty were the only two women she could talk to about it at this point. “I’m good.” The diner was noisy, but she lowered her voice anyway. “The nausea is much better.”
“Oh, good. I bet you’re glad of that. How are things with you and Liam?”
Val thought about the night before after they came home from the Garden of Lights. Their lovemaking had been particularly satisfying. Not that it wasn’t always but last night had seemed extra special. Afterward, when they lay in each other’s arms, Liam had said, “Val?”
“Hmm?”
“I think…” His voice trailed off.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he said, and kissed her. And soon she wasn’t thinking at all.
“Judging by that smile,” Cici said, “I’d say things are going really well.”
“They are.” She was still worried about Trent and what he might do, but most of the time she managed to push that out of her mind. “I’m so happy.” Liam seemed happy too. She wished he loved her, but that might never happen. Still, he seemed content, especially since they’d been having regular sex. Truthfully, she was happier about that too. “Sometimes I think it can’t last.”
“There’s no reason it shouldn’t, is there?”
The waitress brought their orders just then. Both of them had ordered grilled chicken sandwiches and chips, which was one of Val’s favorites.
Val took a bite of her sandwich, thinking about Cici’s question. “There could be. A certain person might change his mind and cause a lot of trouble. If the truth came out—” She cut herself off, unwilling to even consider what a mess that would be. Cici knew what she was referring to since Logan had told her the truth about the baby’s parentage. But she let it drop, thank God.
“Logan was telling me the other day that he thought Liam was happier than he’d seen him in a long time.”
“I hope he is. We went to the Garden of Lights last night and I noticed him looking at the babies and little kids. Mostly because I was watching them too,” she said with a laugh. “But that’s a ways off.”
“Logan and I have talked about having a baby. Or at least, when we think we might be ready.”
“Did you make any decisions?”
Cici laughed. “Yes. We decided not yet.”
*
Val was coming out of the Main Street Diner, fumbling in her purse for her keys, when she ran smack into a man. She started to apologize for not paying attention but when she looked up and saw him the words stuck in her throat. Trent Harvey. Oh God. Of course, she knew he lived in Marietta, but he wasn’t usually in town a lot. Which was one reason she hadn’t known him before the night they spent together. She could easily have done with never seeing him again.
“Well, if it isn’t Val Fletcher.”
It gave her great satisfaction to say, “It’s Val McFarland now.”
His brows drew together, and he frowned. “You’re married? When did that happen?”
“Why do you care?”
“Were you married when we—”
She cut him off quickly. “No.” What kind of a person did he think she was? “I wouldn’t have gone with you if I had been.”
“What about the kid? The kid you said was mine. What happened? Did you get rid of it?”
Shit. She should have ignored him. Not engaged so he could ask her more questions. “I don’t think that’s your concern anymore. You denied responsibility. You don’t get to ask me questions now.”
“You said it was mine,” he repeated. “Are you saying you lied? About being pregnant? Or about me being the father?”
She wished she could say yes. Wished that she hadn’t felt telling him was the right thing. And she wished he’d keep his voice down since they were standing on the sidewalk in front of the diner for all the world to hear. “It’s none of your business. You wanted nothing to do with me. Fine by me. Now go away.” Of course, he didn’t.
“Which McFarland did you marry? It’s not Logan. I heard he’s married to some writer chick.”
“Again, why do you care? It’s absolutely none of your business.”
“Answer the question.”
She might as well tell him. He’d find out soon enough. “Liam.”
His eyes widened and an angry expression came over his face. “You’re shitting me. You married Liam McFarland and now, what? You think he’s going to raise my baby?”
“Your baby? The baby you claimed wasn’t yours? That one?”
He had no response to that other than another frown.
“Liam is going to be raising our kid. Mine and his. He’s the legal father of my child.”
“Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that.”
She turned to leave but he grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into it.
“Where do you think you’re going? This isn’t over.”
“Oh, yes, it is.” She jerked her arm away and walked off. She managed to make it to her truck before she started shaking.
Oh my God. What am I going to do now? She’d known this meeting was coming but stupidly, she hadn’t been prepared.
She rubbed her arm where he’d grabbed her. She pushed up her sweater sleeves and saw his finger marks on her arm. Hopefully they’d go away before Liam saw them. She had a feeling he was not going to be happy about Trent manhandling her.