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But nothing happened.
Casey shrugged and frowned at her phone.
It’s okay. You’re just busy. You’ll call me back soon.
With a sigh, Casey stepped inside Austin’s closet and slipped on a pale-pink sundress amidst a line of suit jackets. After snagging a pair of strappy sandals from her bag, she pinned her blonde curls away from her face with bobby pins and applied a light layer of makeup. She left Austin’s bedroom with her phone held tightly in her hands—still no response to boot.
The sounds of cans crunching, and bottles clinking met her ears as she moved down the staircase.Is that you, Austin?She followed the noise to the kitchen until a tidal wave of disappointment crashed into her body.
Mitch tossed an empty pizza box in a trash bag.
Oh. It’s you.
He smiled and lifted his gaze from the mess littering the counter. “Couldn’t leave this place a total dump.” Flattening a beer box, he winked, his chin rising to gesture in her direction. “You look really nice.”
“Do you even remember who I am?”
Mitch snorted. “Vaguely?” His hand rose to scratch the back of his head. “Casey, right?”
She nodded with a false smile. “Nice to meet you, Mitch.”
May Austin screw you over if you decide to divorce Lauren.
He scooped another pile of trash into the bag and tucked his shoulder-length dark hair behind his ears. “You too,” he hedged. “So, umm, you ready for the wedding and stuff?”
Casey stepped forward and turned on the faucet, tossing a dish rag under the flow and wringing it out with a squeeze. “Yeah, for sure. Are you?” She ran the wet rag across the counter until Mitch dropped his hand over hers.
“Hey, you don’t need to clean. We made the mess, not you.” He tugged the cloth from her grasp. “Besides, you don’t want to get beer stains on your dress.” His gaze fell to her stomach.
Following his line of sight, she shrugged, eyeing the new wet smudge on her belly. “Eh, it’ll dry. And it’s not like I have anything else to do. Austin left hours ago.”
Mitch wrinkled his nose and dropped the rag on the counter. “Where’d he go?”
“The office. He got a text this morning from his boss... er, bosses,” she corrected. “They wanted him to stop by while he was in town.”
He snorted again and tied the trash bag closed. “A meeting with the bosses. Well, I don’t envy him.” He winked and tapped his forehead. “Killer hangover.”
“No kidding.” Casey giggled and attacked a dried spot of marinara on the counter with the cloth. “I have no idea how he just hopped out of bed!”
“Bastard.” Mitch laughed and stepped across the room to open the side door. He tossed the bag of trash into the garbage bin as Casey’s phone pinged.
“Finally,” she muttered, snatching her phone. Austin’s name flashed across the screen.I’m not going to make it back before the rehearsal. Can you grab a ride over to the Manor from Mitch or Josh if they’re still there?
She bit her lip, dismay radiating from the pit in her stomach.
“Something wrong?”
“Oh, umm. I mean, I guess not. Austin isn’t going to make it back here before the rehearsal. Can I ride over with you?”
Mitch nodded. “Yeah, of course. Let me just finish up. Fifteen minutes?”
Casey forced a smile on her lips, pushing the unease in her heart away. “Cool. Thanks. I’ll go grab my stuff.” She stepped away from the counter and left Mitch to collect the last evidence of the party.
Something’s wrong. Austin didn’t even acknowledge what I said.
Her feet met the bottom stair as she tapped out a response that read,Okay sure, no problem. Love you.
She slouched upstairs and gathered her things. Stepping from the room, Casey sighed and rolled her eyes, retreating to make the bed as guilt wracked her body. “Wouldn’t want to give you an ulcer or anything,” she murmured, haphazardly flipping sheets around. Her fingers glided over his pillow and a sigh escaped her lips.
