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I sighed. “I know. What was I thinking?” With two fingers held up, I signaled for Bernie the bartender to bring us another round.
Dan clapped me on the shoulder. "Love makes fools of us all. And hey, if you need backup, I'm here for you, man. Laney too. She’s rooting for you both." Bernie set the opened beers in front of us, and I took mine and clinked it against Dan’s, "Thanks, brother. I owe you one. So, you and Laney?" I asked, arching a brow.
It was his turn to grin, and I was thankful to have something positive to talk about.
“It’s always the quiet ones.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I do not want to know.”
We finished our beers and called it a night. I left the bar feeling like I had a new lease on life. I was going to make things right with Molly and get to the bottom of this profile mess, come hell or high water.
But when I got home and checked my phone, my heart sank. Patsy's Page had a new update, and it was all about my conversation with Dan.
"Breaking news, y'all! Seems like our Jake is in hot water with his girlfriend, Molly. Word on the street is he accused her of making those fake dating profiles everyone's been talking about. Looks like there's trouble in paradise, folks!"
I couldn't believe it. How the hell did Patsy find out about my talk with Dan? The bar was mostly dead. There were no eavesdroppers in sight, or at least I had thought.
I was pissed. This was a total invasion of my privacy, and it was only going to make things worse with Molly. I had to find a way to put a stop to Patsy's little game before she caused any more damage.
I shoved my phone in my pocket and headed inside, my mind racing.
Could things get worse?
27
MOLLY
I sat alone in my cozy little cottage, surrounded by a sea of ungraded papers and half-empty coffee mugs, still reeling from the epic bombshell from Jake. I mean, I could not believe he actually accused me of being behind those fake dating profiles? Me, the queen of all things honest and aboveboard? It was like he didn't know me at all!
I tried to distract myself by diving into the wonderful world of grading, my mind was about as focused as a squirrel on espresso. Every time I picked up my red pen, my thoughts would drift back to our argument.
Jake had been under a lot of stress lately, and I understood that maybe he wasn’t thinking clearly. That didn’t give him a free pass to point the finger at me like I'm some kind of teenage mean girl, though. I thought we were past all that high school drama!
Even though I was mad enough to spit nails, I couldn't help but miss the big lug. I wanted to work things out, to kiss and make up. But I needed him to apologize first, and it needed to be a proper apology with an annotated explanation that showed me he understood just how much his accusation had hurt me.
I was just about to give up on the whole grading charade and break out the emergency wine when my phone buzzed like an angry bee. It was a notification from none other than Patsy's Page.
I almost ignored it, figuring it was just another post about the latest scandal at the bingo hall, but something told me I needed to click on that link, like a sixth sense for juicy gossip.
And boy, was I glad I did! As I read Patsy's latest update, my jaw all but hit the floor.
Apparently, Patsy had been eavesdropping on Jake at the bar, because of course she was, and overheard him talking to his buddy about the fake profiles. Or at least I assumed, since Laney had told me Dan was out at the bar with Jake so where else would Patsy have gotten this info from?
According to Patsy, Jake had also mentioned the possibility of Natasha being behind the whole thing! At least Patsy wasn’t just dragging my name through the mud. I sat back, stunned and relieved. If Jake was considering Natasha's involvement, then maybe I had overreacted. Maybe he wasn't accusing me so much as ruling me out. He was trying to figure out the truth after all.
Guilt rattled in my belly like mechanical butterflies. I had been so quick to jump to conclusions, so ready to believe that Jake didn't trust me, but if he was confiding in his friend, then maybe he was just as lost and confused as I was. I knew it would have taken desperation for him to confide in someone else.
As I held my phone, ready to call Jake, there was a sudden knock at my door. I stomped over, ready to give whoever it was a stern talking-to about interrupting a woman on a mission, but when I swung the door open, there stood Jake, looking like a kicked puppy with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
My anger melted away, replaced by a surge of affection. "I'm sorry, too," I said, stepping aside to let him in. "I overreacted. I should have given you a chance to explain or at least accepted the explanation you already gave."
He set the flowers down on the counter, pulled me into a hug and spilled his heart. "I just don't know what to do, Molly. I feel like I'm losing control of my life. Of course, I never thought that you had done it, but I am so cautious with my heart after the number Natasha did on it. Then I see you holding the baby... there is this sense of possibly having a family with you some day. I want that dream and I am so scared to lose you that I almost torpedoed the whole thing."
I hugged him back, feeling the tension drain from his body. "We'll figure it out together," I promised. "You don't have to do this alone."
He pulled back, a small smile on his face. "I know. I'm just glad I have you."
I leaned in and kissed him, feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. We still had a lot to figure out, but at least we were in it together.
