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He was right. I should talk to her. We could take things slow, but I hadn’t changed my mind. I still wanted us to be more than just friends.
“Yeah, maybe.” I chuckled, needing to change the subject. “Sorry about storming in here and starting shit first thing in the morning.”
“It’s all good. Just glad I was here to stop you from killing him.” He slapped me on the back. “You’re gonna have to work shit out with him too. He’s an ass, but he’s our friend, and it’s not like he knocked her up.”
I growled. “Don’t joke, fucker. I couldn’t handle that shit.”
Present Day
Chapter Eleven
Rhett
Bringing the girlI planned to marry home for family dinner should be something that made me nervous, but should I have dreaded it? No. The fact that I did told me a lot about my feelings for Sarah. I was trying my damnedest to do the right thing by her, but something kept nagging at me. And the conversation with my brother last night still weighed heavily on me. So I wasn’t in a good frame of mind to listen to Sarah’s rambling; on a good day, her constant drama annoyed me, but today, it was like a needle to my eye.
“Did you hear what I said?” Sarah huffed from the passenger seat of my truck as I pulled up and parked in my parents’ drive.
“Sure,” I assured her.
But my thoughts weren’t on her; they were on Bella. Exactly where they had been since Kyle forced me to admit I still wanted her. Although I wished it could be that easy, my wanting Bella had never been the problem. I was a fool to walk away from her all those years ago, letting fear and guilt and resentment get the better of me. However, the first time I held Brendan, it was more than apparent I could never resent that sweet little boy. I tried to be there for Bella, to show her I was ready, that I could be the man she needed. But it was too late. The damage had already been done, and she wasn’t ready or willing to let me back in. Forever stuck as just her friend.
“You want to do a gender reveal party at the restaurant,” I said when Sarah demanded I tell her what the fuck she was whining about. Her motivation had more to do with being the center of attention and wanting to talk than it did about the gender of the baby. I knew this. But that wasn’t what she and I needed to discuss.
The conversation we needed to have was about what Kyle told me last night, but it could, and should, wait until after dinner. I didn’t know what to think about any of it. The rumors before Christmas all said Sarah and her ex had a messy as fuck break-up. The cops had to be called for a domestic disturbance, and according to Sarah, she had a restraining order against him. There were just too many unanswered questions.
I was already halfway around the truck to open her door when it flew open and she climbed out. It really bugged me when she did that. Just let me open the damn door.
She glared at me, arms crossed. “Youweren’tlistening,” she spat out.
I closed my eyes and counted.One, two, three…
“Sarah, if you plan to spend this entire dinner fighting, then I’m taking you home. I invited you here tonight so my family can get to know you and vice versa. If you want reality TV type drama, then we aren’t doing this,” I snapped as I slammed the car door with more force than necessary.
She jumped.
Shit. This was my hang-up with the idea of her cheating on me with her ex, Drew. At the beginning of our relationship, there were a few times she acted jumpy or almost afraid of my reaction to something. Like the time she spilled wine on my new carpet. I full-heartedly believed her ex laid hands on her at some point. She never seemed inclined to talk about it, and I wasn’t the type to push.
“I’m sorry, Sarah. I am. I didn’t mean to scare you. Can we please just enjoy dinner tonight with my family?” I asked, reaching for her hand. My head was all over the fucking place. But there was one thing I knew for sure; whether or not I ended up marrying Sarah, I wanted my family to get to know the mother of my child.
“Yes,” she said reluctantly and took my hand. “You’re right. I’m sorry. No drama. Let’s try to enjoy dinner.”
Good. Hopefully, this dinner didn’t go straight to shit.
And at first it wasn’t awful. Somewhere between first day at a new high school and a root canal. Manageably uncomfortable. My family was trying, probably a bit too hard, to act welcoming of Sarah. Even Ashley and Savannah, the two mouthiest of my siblings, were cordial. And it wouldn’t have been bad, except Bella.
She refused to meet my eyes and said only two words directed at me or Sarah. I couldn’t tell if she was mad or about to cry, but I didn’t understand her anymore. As kids, I always understood Bella better than anyone, but now, I didn’t even know where to start. She had made no show of wanting anything more than friendship with me since that day we ended things. But tonight she acted like she didn’t even want that anymore.
“I’m assuming Brendan is all better?” I pinned my gaze to Bella, waiting for her to look at me.
She didn’t turn her attention from Brendan as she attempted to get him to eat a small spoonful of his dinner. “Yeah, he’s fine.”
That’s all I got. My jaw clenched becausewhat the fuck? I hadn’t even done anything to her.
“Ett, Wett, Wett,” Brendan called to me and kicked in his booster seat that was strapped on the chair. I had a lot to learn because I didn’t get why you strapped a little chair to another chair, but when Kyle laughed about it, all the girls rolled their eyes. Maybe it was a male thing, because Brendan didn’t seem to like it either.
“You need to finish your dinner. A few more bites for Mama?” Bella softly murmured, ignoring his temper tantrum. He was definitely going to be a terrible two.
“Wettt,Wettt.” His kicking and screaming were getting worse, and I could see Bella’s composure dwindling.
