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Ryder seemed to have disappeared in real life as well. I didn’t see him at all the rest of the week. Bobby Jay came around because he claimed I was the only one within fifteen hundred miles who could make sweet tea, and he loved getting a rise out of Marlowe and Macey. He regaled them with crazy tales from his youth, like how he and his buddy shaved the eyebrows off almost all the football players during a football camp, or when they made a corn maze in their neighbor’s field—unbeknownst to said neighbor—and actually charged admission. They made about five hundred dollars before the neighbor caught them. Macey giggled and asked for more while Marlowe rolled her eyes and challenged him on the truthfulness of his stories. That only lit a fire under Bobby Jay; he rose to the occasion by spinning grandiose tales with such detail about peeing in water balloons and tossing them at people. While this grossed Macey and Marlowe out, they never did leave.
I had a feeling Macey might have a crush on him even though Jaime was still interested in her. He had a bouquet of daisies delivered to the boutique. Macey said not a word about them, which made me wonder how much she liked him. Marlowe, on the other hand, was going to Edenvale whenever she could for lunch. I didn’t have the heart to ask Bobby Jay if he’d seen Marlowe and Ryder together. He was smart enough to know not to bring it up.
While I was still reeling from the revelation of how utterly deceived I had been, I threw myself into helping Emma and Sawyer get their eye clinic up and running in my spare time. I did know a thing or two about that business, whether I wanted to or not. Managing one of my so-called parents’ eye centers in Edenvale last year gave me hands-on knowledge I could pass on to Emma since she would technically be running the behind-the-scenes at their new optometry practice.
Monday evening I was helping Emma familiarize herself with the appointment and inventory software I’d recommended while Macey and Marlowe closed up the boutique for the night.
Emma’s hands were shaking while she typed in the business information to get started.
I grabbed her hands. “Are you okay?”
She looked straight at me with wide eyes. “I can’t take it anymore. I. Need. Sugar. If I eat eggs and spinach one more time for breakfast, I may vomit.”
I pressed my lips together and squeezed her hands. “You’re doing great. I have a yummy mint chip smoothie or chia pudding recipe you can try for breakfast.”
“Shelby, this isn’t natural and no offense, but you can take your chia seeds and shove them where the sun don’t shine,” she growled. “I don’t care that I’ve lost three pounds. I want to die happy with a full stomach.”
“Darlin’, I’m not saying this is easy. Believe me, I’m missing my sweet tea, but this I know, sometimes just a five-pound weight loss can make all the difference in the world when it comes to getting pregnant.”
She let out a heavy breath. “That’s what my stupid doctor said.”
“You’re almost there.”
“I just want my eggs to get fertilized! Is that too much to ask?”
“I’m trying my best,” Sawyer shouted from one of the exam rooms he was working in.
“You’re doing a great job, babe,” Emma shouted back.
I dropped her hands and laughed. “It will happen. I promise.”
“How about you? How are you doing?” Emma asked.
“I’m not trying to get my eggs fertilized right now but thank you for asking.”
She smacked my arm and laughed. “That’s not what I meant, but I give you props for the smart aleck reply. I fear Jenna and Aspen are rubbing off on you.”
“That wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Not at all.” She started typing. “But really, how are you? Have you seen . . . you know?”
“Ryder? No.” I bit my lip. “I actually think he might be seeing Marlowe.”
“What?” Emma whipped her head my way.
I shrugged my shoulders. “They would make a handsome couple.”
“They are both beautiful.”
“Hey, your husband heard that,” Sawyer complained.
“Honey, you know I only have eyes for you,” she responded to her husband before leaning toward me and whispering, “I just have to say this—Ryder, dang, he reminds me of Chris Hemsworth in the new Thor movie. The one where he has short hair. I can see why you chose him to uh, fertilize your eggs. You would have the prettiest babies.”
I tucked some hair behind my ear. “I thought so too.” I managed not to cry.
“Do you think there is any hope?”
I shook my head.
“Are you sure about Marlowe?”
I nodded. “Pretty sure.”
“I’ll talk to her if you want.”
“You’re the sweetest, but no thank you. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of them. Besides, I already inserted myself where I didn’t belong there. Worse, I turned out to be wrong. So wrong.” Not only that, I wasn’t sure Macey and Marlowe knew that Ryder and I had been engaged. That was, unless Ryder told her. I had a feeling he hadn’t. I was sure Marlowe would have said something by now. Tact wasn’t her strong suit. Unless he had told her and that’s why they hadn’t been seen together. Except I don’t think either one of them would care about sparing my feelings. Regardless, I had to brace myself for seeing them together one of these days. In my heart, I knew why she was going to Edenvale whenever she could.
