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"You thinking what I think you're thinking?"
Cue another blush. A month ago she would have said absolutely not. But now... "It's not the worst idea in the world. All my single friends back in Billings are big proponents of rebound sex." She poured the beer and set it in front of Molly.
"Careful," Molly said with a chuckle as she put the drinks on her tray. "Brady was supposed to be my rebound guy and look how that ended up."
Colleen smiled, hoping Molly didn't notice that it didn't quite reach her eyes. Things might have worked out great for Molly, but she was the exception. Colleen wasn't stupid enough to believe there was a happily ever after out there for her.
Just then, Colleen felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out, cursing as she saw Gregory's number.
Crap. If she declined, it could be days before she got hold of him again.
She accepted the call while frantically waving at Molly who was delivering her drinks.
"Gregory? Hold on a second, don't hang up."
"I'm sorry—I have to take this," she said when Molly came over.
"Don't worry, I'll cover."
She hurried outside. "Gregory, are you still there?"
"Yeah. I got your message that you needed to talk to me about the house."
Colleen paused and took a deep breath, bracing herself. She'd never been good at confrontation. "Yeah, I talked to Ellen yesterday and she said that you've canceled the last two open houses. And last week you wouldn't let another agent show the house?"
"They didn't work with our schedule."
Colleen felt the muscles of her shoulders seize and bit back a snotty retort. More flies with honey and all that. "I can understand being out of your house for several hours on a weekend for an open house is a pain, but I don't see why people can't come see it when the two of you are at work."
"Angela's not working, actually, and she shouldn't have to be kicked out of her house just so some strangers can come look at it."
Colleen's vision went red for a moment. I don't give a fuck how Angela feels. And besides, that house is still half mine!
"The house has been on the market for over six months. We need to sell it. Angela doesn't really have a say in the matter."
"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about taking it off the market."
Her head gave an involuntary jerk. "Why in the world would you do that?"
There were several seconds of silence on the other line. Then finally, "Angela and I want to stay in the house."
Her grip tightened around her phone so hard it was a wonder it didn't explode into shards of metal and glass in her hand. "What? You can't stay in the house. In our settlement we agreed we were going to sell the house and split the profits."
"Angela's pregnant."
The words were like a sucker punch to her gut, hitting her with such force she struggled not to double over.
Pregnant. Angela was pregnant. It was awful enough to think of Angela living even temporarily in the house that Colleen had found, furnished, and decorated while Gregory worked long hours at the hospital. But the idea of her and Gregory staying in the house long term and—oh God—bringing their new baby home to the bedroom next to the master that Colleen had always envisioned as a nursery...
Her stomach roiled and she swallowed hard so she wouldn't barf right there on the sidewalk.
Gregory was still talking, she realized, though only a few words pierced through the roaring in her brain.
"...high risk...really sick...stressful...probably have to go on bedrest."
Grief battled with rage, sizzling through Colleen with such force she shook with it. She shoved the grief aside and latched onto the rage, clinging to it for dear life. Good. I hope she barfs till she's green every day of her pregnancy, still gains a hundred pounds, and that when the baby comes it doesn't sleep through the night until it's a teenager.
She said none of this, of course, and took another deep breath to calm herself. Do not let him know that you care. You are indifferent. You are a gray rock.
