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When I didn’t speak, he backed up, leaning against the glass wall of the bridal shop. I didn’t know if he was giving me space or taking some for himself, but either way, I was grateful for it.
“Okay,” I said, furrowing my brow as I sorted through the mess in my head, “so, three years ago, you found out you had a son and that his mother had died. You weren’t hiding a secret wife and child in another state while we were dating?”
He snorted. “No, I wasn’t.”
“So, you and Candice weren’t married?”
His expression darkened and he looked down. “No. We were only together one time. I’m not proud of this, but I barely knew Candice. In fact, until three years ago, I didn’t even know her last name. And as far as I knew, she didn’t know mine.”
“Oh.”
Zac scrubbed both hands over his face. I wasn’t sure what he’d seen in my expression, but he looked pained by it. He pushed off the wall and stood in front of me again. Not too close, but close enough that I felt the need to take a step back.
He dropped his head and sighed before looking back up at me with so much sadness in his eyes that mine threatened to tear up. “Listen, Layla, this was when I was stationed in Yuma. It feels like a lifetime ago. I was different then. I wasn’t the same guy you were with.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I simply nodded, looking down at my hands. “I see.”
“I changed for the better when I met you. You have to believe me.”
Absolutely no part of me had the mental capacity to comment on that, so I didn’t. Instead, I focused on something less personal. “So, how did her parents track you down? If she didn’t know your last name, I doubt you were on the birth certificate.”
“Candice’s parents took Grayson in after she passed, but they’re older and not in good health. They didn’t want to give him up to the state, so they thought maybe if they did one of those online DNA tests, they’d get a hit on some family on my side.”
“And that worked?”
“Yeah. Jo had done the test because she was curious about our genealogy or whatever. They reached out to her, and then she called me.”
My heart squeezed, imagining what it must have been like for him to get that phone call. Learning that he not only had a son he didn’t know about, but that his son’s mother was gone. And not only had he found himself suddenly a father, but he also had full custody thrust upon him. Part of me wanted to comfort him, knowing how hard that must have been. But a bigger part of me could barely see him past the bitterness and resentment that clouded my vision.
He could have told me. After he’d gotten off the phone with his sister, he could have told me what was going on, and we could have gotten through it together. At that point in our relationship, we’d been talking about marriage. We’d been planning our future. So why hadn’t he trusted me with this?
I let out a long sigh, my gaze traveling back through the window of the shop. Shelby and Lyndi were apparently finished trying on dresses. They sat on a bench in their own clothes, and Aria was nowhere to be found. She was probably in a fitting room.
Shoot. I needed to get in there. My mind and heart both raced thanks to everything Zac had just told me, but Aria was one of my best friends, and I couldn’t miss this.
“I have to get back,” I said, gesturing to the gown I still wore. “Aria’s wedding is in a few weeks, and she’s planning to buy a dress off the rack. I want to be there.”
“Right, yeah, of course. I just wanted to make sure you knew. About Jo, I mean.”
“Thanks for clarifying.”
He pursed his lips, his brown eyes holding mine. “It’s really good to see you, Lay.”
I wanted to say it was good to see him, too. I’d missed his laugh, his voice, the way he could make everything seem like it was going to be okay with just one hug. But at the end of the day, none of that changed the fact that he’d broken my heart.
A lump formed in my throat, preventing me from speaking. Lifting my hand, I gave him a small wave, then turned on my heel and headed back into the shop.
When the door closed behind me and I approached the mirrors, I braced myself for Lyndi and Shelby to pepper me with questions. Thankfully, Aria came out of the dressing room at that exact moment.Saved by the bride.
Her smile was wide as she approached the platform and carefully stepped onto it, turning in a circle so we could see the dress. While she looked as beautiful as always, the dress itself wasn’t doing it for me. I sneaked a glance at the other two bridesmaids. It looked like they felt the same way about it as I did.
“What do you guys think of dress number one?” Aria asked.
Shelby tilted her head as she looked her best friend up and down. “Well, doyoulove it? That’s what’s most important.”
The bride turned toward the mirror, looking herself over and angling her body so she could see the sides and back. The gown had long, opaque sleeves that came to a point on the back of her hand, a full skirt with none of the lace or detail that I would have expected from Aria, and a low back that didn’t seem to make sense when paired with the sleeves.
“I mean, yeah, it’s pretty.”
