While I could probably summon the willpower not to watch him if he was alone, watching him with the kids is too hard to resist. I can’t tear my attention away from the joy on their faces as he swings AJ up on to his shoulders, while Daisy forces a leashed Penny to accept a kiss on top of her head. He’s unguarded—love practically shining from him—and staring at him is like standing outside in a lightning storm. You know it’s dangerous, but it’s too mesmerizing to look away from.
He’ll be a great dad someday, when he has kids.
With some other woman.
“Oh, hey. Why do you look like you’re going to cry?” Mel moves closer to me, and sees where I’m looking. “Dammit, Cara. We talked about this.”
“I’m not going to cry, Mel.”
She leans close enough to hiss in my ear. “You said you wouldn’t fall in love with your husband. It hasn’t even been a week.”
“I am not in love with my husband.” I tell myself it’s the truth, but I might be lying.
“Did you sleep with him on your honeymoon?”
“Mel.” I’m not answering that question, best friend or not. “We are standing in the middle of the Sumac Falls Fourth of July celebration. Literally everybody we know is around us right now.”
“You better call me later.”
“Sure. I’ll talk to you about it when I’m in the house that has zero sound insulation while my mother and my husband are in another room.”
Her eyes narrow. “This level of snark from you tells me everything I need to know about what’s going on.”
I force myself to look her in the eye. “Nothing has changed regarding our situation.”
“I’d call you a liar, but a lot of people are looking at us right now, probably afraid we’re having an argument.” She fakes a laugh. “How was that?”
I paste an obnoxiously fake grin on my face. “They’ll never suspect a thing.”
When I look for Hayden again, he’s no longer playing with Daisy and AJ. He’s talking to an older guy I’ve seen around town for years, but can’t actually place. I say goodbye to Mel and head over, but by the time I reach him, he’s already shaken the man’s hand and started walking my way.
“Who was that?”
He smiles and shifts Penny to his other arm. “He’s the man that’s going to install a new hot water heater at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“You’re kidding. A Friday in the middle of a holiday weekend, with no advanced notice? Hayden, that’ll cost a fortune.”
“I’m pretty sure you know how I feel about hot water, since you’ve been in my shower.”
Heat floods my face and I lower my head to kiss Penny, hoping Hayden won’t notice. His low chuckle tells me it didn’t work.
“She’s trembling,” I tell him, scratching under her chin.
“She’s a good sport, but she doesn’t love strangers. Or crowds. Or people. Or, believe it or not, being outside. Unless there’s snow. She likes snow.”
“Should we take her home?”
Something I can’t decipher flashes through his eyes—perhaps a reaction to my use of the word home—but he smiles. “She’d like that. You can stay here if you want, though. I’ve gotten a few snide comments about spoiling my dog, so if anybody asks where I am, they won’t bat an eye if you tell them I took her home because she needed a nap.”
I think the only thing worse than having to look happily married in front of all of Sumac Falls would be answering questions about my husband’s whereabouts. So far Hayden has done most of the talking, reminding me yet again that he’s a very smooth liar, and I’d rather not be here without him.
“No, I’m ready to go, too. Maybe if I put all the pans away before Gin gets home, she’ll forget she was mad this morning.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Cara
I’m not going to survive this long weekend. Being caught between two people who really don’t like each other isn’t fun, and I have a new appreciation for people who struggle with in-laws when they actually intend to stay married for the rest of their lives.
