Chapter 6
REID
Istood frozen in the open doorway while my brain refused to catch up with what had just happened. For several long seconds, I couldn’t move, then panic hit me, and I bolted out the door.
“Lila!” I shouted, running down the front steps.
I’d kicked my shoes off when I got home, and the yard was wet, but I didn’t care that my socks were getting drenched as I raced toward the street.
Lila had used my hesitation to her advantage. She’d already backed out of my driveway and was three houses down. There was no way I’d catch her on foot, so I sprinted toward the garage, frantically punching the code into the panel to get the door to open.
I threw myself into the car, started the engine, and backed out too fast, the tires squealing against the concrete. By the time I reached the street, her car was nowhere in sight. The road stretched empty in both directions under the streetlights.
“No, no, no,” I groaned, slamming my fist against the steering wheel.
I was gripping the ring so tightly that the setting for the diamond had pressed deep marks into my palm. The realization unsettled me because it should’ve still been where it belonged—on Lila’s finger.
Instead, I sat there in the middle of the quiet street, my car engine running, staring at the empty road where she had disappeared while her ring cut into my skin. My fingers refused to loosen their grip, but staying here wasn’t helping the situation at all.
Forcing myself to turn the wheel, I did a U-turn and drove back into my garage. Cutting the engine, I shut the garage door before I climbed out of my car. A couple of my neighbors had been in front of their houses, but there was only one person I wanted to see right now—Lila.
Walking back inside the house, I heaved a deep sigh when I realized the front door was still wide open. I slammed it closed, and the silence hit me immediately. Although Lila didn’t live here with me yet, my home felt wrong without her in it.
There were reminders of her all around the place.
Her soft cream throw blanket was draped over the arm of the couch.
One of her black hair ties sat on the edge of the coffee table.
If I went upstairs to the primary suite, I would find her slippers tucked under the side of the bed she liked to sleep on.
In the kitchen, a half-empty bottle of her favorite Pinot Noir was on the counter.
Everywhere I looked, small pieces of her were woven into my home. And I hadn’t realized I relied on them so much until it suddenly felt like they might disappear for good.
I sank down onto the couch and stared at the blank television screen, trying to make sense of how everything had unraveled so fast.
Lila knew I loved her. I told her all the time and showed her in every way I knew how. So why had this hurt her so badly that she had to end everything?
My phone felt as though it carried extra weight in my hand as I started texting.
Me
Baby, please answer.
I waited a full minute, staring at the screen, willing those three dots to appear. But there was no response.
Me
Can we talk?
I stared at the screen, desperate for her to reply.
Me
Please.
The panic in my chest grew with every silent second.
Me
At least let me know that you’re okay. You were crying when you left.
I dropped the phone on the cushion beside me and dragged my hands down my face. She had never shut me out this completely before. I didn’t know what to do.
Unable to sit still, I picked the phone back up and opened the social media app where Kaylee had posted.
I found her profile and studied the photo.
At first glance, it looked as bad as Lila had described.
Except I knew my hand hadn’t been on Kaylee’s waist. It had been resting on the back of the chair.
But with the way the photo was taken from above and how Kaylee had leaned in, it seemed like we were much closer than we actually had been.
And that wasn’t the only thing that raised a red flag. Lila had said Kaylee tagged her in this post, but it was no longer there.
Fucking hell.
I lowered the phone, wondering if maybe I’d been wrong about the whole thing. Or if Kaylee had seen the comments and worried about hurting Lila’s feelings, so she removed the tag.
My phone started ringing while I was still sitting on the couch, staring at the ring. Mom’s name lit up the screen. I almost didn’t answer, but I knew she’d keep calling if I ignored her.
I picked up, trying to sound normal. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, honey! I wanted to go over a few more details for the bridal shower. The vineyard grounds I booked are stunning, and they have a gorgeous outdoor pavilion that would be perfect for photos. I was thinking peach linens with cream and emerald green accents to complement the wedding colors. Do you think Lila would like that? I want everything to feel special for the newest member of our family.”
I swallowed hard, my grip tightening on the phone. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”
She kept talking, her voice full of excitement. “I’ve already ordered the invitations, and I can’t wait to see her face when she opens all the gifts. Lila is such a wonderful girl. I’m so happy you found someone like her.”
It was a good thing my mom was a talker, because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to force words past the lump in my throat. But after a few more seconds of her chatting about centerpieces and guest lists, she finally paused.
“Reid? You’re being awfully quiet. Is everything okay?”
I closed my eyes and dragged a hand down my face. There was no gentle way to deliver the bad news. “Lila called off the engagement tonight.”
The line went completely silent.
When she finally spoke, her voice was stunned. “She did what?”
“She ended it.” My voice was rough. “Took off the ring and left before I could stop her.”
There was another long pause. Then she asked the question I didn’t want to answer. “Why?”
I exhaled slowly. “Kaylee, one of my paralegals, posted a picture from lunch today on her social media.”
When I didn’t say anything else, she urged, “And? There has to be more to this story. Lila is a level-headed girl. She wouldn’t call off the wedding because of something silly your paralegal did.”
I stared down at the still-wet socks on my feet. “Kaylee called me her ‘work hubby’ in the caption. Lila saw it and completely lost it.”
My mom had the chiding tone I remembered from when I was little and about to get into trouble. “Did Lila tell you she was uncomfortable with this girl before tonight?”
I shifted uncomfortably on the couch. “Yeah.”
“More than once?”
I hesitated before admitting, “Yes.”
“And what exactly did you do about it?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Because I suddenly realized every answer sounded terrible.
I’d told Lila she was overreacting. I’d brushed it off. I’d defended Kaylee instead of shutting it down. And I’d done it after Lila let me know she was hurting.
The discomfort in my chest grew heavier with every moment of silence from my mother.
She finally let out a disappointed sigh. “You negotiate million-dollar deals for a living. I’m not sure how you managed to be this blind at home.”
A text came in, making a small ding sound. Putting my mom on speakerphone, I checked the notifications, my shoulders falling when I realized the message wasn’t from Lila.
Mom must have heard me pause. “What is it?”
“Just a text from Kaylee,” I muttered, staring at the message.
Kaylee
I had so much fun today. Thanks again for lunch.
Before today, I would have seen it as nothing more than a friendly note from a helpful paralegal.
Now the casual tone and little smiley face landed differently.
And then there was the way she referenced lunch like it had been something between us instead of just a work event that I hadn’t even arranged.
“A text from the paralegal who torpedoed your engagement? Outside of office hours?” Mom asked. “Let me guess, she wasn’t following up on a case.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “She wasn’t.”
“This isn’t the first time she’s texted you at night, is it?”
Anyone who thought I’d gotten my debate skills from my dad had never been grilled by my mom. “It’s not.”
The silence stretched between us before she sighed again. “My boy, it sounds to me like you kept asking your fiancée to be okay with things that would’ve bothered you if the roles were reversed.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, remembering how I’d almost denied that very thing to Lila when she asked if I’d be okay with her calling another man her work husband.
My mom’s tone softened, but it didn’t soften the blow when she said, “You may have just done irreparable harm to the best thing that ever happened to you, sweetheart.”
I sat there, unable to speak.
“I love you, but right now you need to think long and hard about what you’ve done. I’ll talk to you later.”
After she ended the call, the silence pressed in from every corner. The house felt too hollow without Lila’s presence filling the spaces.
I set the ring on the coffee table in front of me and stared at the diamond I’d put on her finger when I promised forever. The happy tears she’d cried at my proposal were the complete opposite of the devastated ones that streamed down her cheeks tonight.
And I couldn’t help but worry that I’d already lost her for good.