chapter three
♥
Ridley had been so preoccupied lately that she forgot it was time for Girl’s Night, her group of friend’s monthly gathering to catch up, hang out and talk about their men. It was a welcome distraction to plan the menu and she even bust out the bottle of tequila she hadn’t touched since she’d gotten pregnant to make margaritas.
Her future sister-in-law Kaylee arrived first with her best friend, Sasha, in tow. Both were singers and had been friends since childhood. Over the years, Ri had gotten to know Sasha quite well, too.
“Oh my god! Look at you!” Sasha embraced her gently. “You’re about to pop!”
Ridley rubbed her belly. “It feels like it, too.”
Kaylee led her toward the sofa. “You need to put your feet up. We can handle letting everyone in.”
Grateful, Ri allowed them to tuck her into a corner of the couch, her eyes tearing up slightly when Sasha rushed over with a throw blanket to cover her legs.
“You guys are the best,” she whispered.
Kaylee peered down at her with concern in her eyes. “Is everything okay, Ri?”
But just then the door opened again and she heard the voice of her friend Penny and then the extremely loud voice of Raina.
Ridley sighed. “I’m fine. Just tired and wishing I could have a margarita.”
Kay gave her a sympathetic look. But just then they heard Raina’s voice calling out again.
“Ri! Where’s Ri?” When the crowd parted so she could see her sister, Raina bounced up and down in excitement. “I just got a major campaign! The first since I had the baby!”
A cheer went up from the others and Ri held out her arms. Raina dropped down on the couch next to her and hugged her.
“Congratulations, sis. I’m so proud of you.”
Raina shrugged but Ri could tell she was just bursting with excitement. “Maybe I really can have it all. Nick, a family and my career. It feels too good to be true.” She stood. “I need a drink. Ooh you made margaritas!”
When Raina walked to the kitchen, Ridley’s neighbor and good friend Katie Mason sat in her place. Ridley observed her silently. One of the things Ridley loved the most was matchmaking. Despite everyone else’s claims that she was “meddling” she’d done a pretty fine job of matching couples so far. When Nick and Raina were still dancing around each other, she’d told her brother-in-law that her sister longed for a baby, knowing that he wouldn’t want anyone else fathering her children. Now they were happily married.
When Kaylee had still been too nervous to talk to her brother-in-law Elliott, Ridley had come up with a way to force the two together. She’d been asked to schedule a small gig for Kay and instead of booking an extra room for Eli, who was coming along as her security, Ridley had made sure to only book one.
Now they were engaged.
So when she’d seen the way Katie looked at the oldest Alexander brother, she’d hoped that her matchmaking luck would hold out once again. She’d gotten her friend a job assisting Bennett in his lab but if the sad look on Katie’s face was any indication, things weren’t working out so well.
Katie sighed and peered down at the drink in her hand. It was still full.
“You’re not drinking. Is it too strong?” Ridley asked. “I probably overdid it. Since I can’t have alcohol anymore, I had to guess at how much tequila to add.”
Katie smiled but Ri could tell it wasn’t genuine. “No, the drink is fine. I’m just daydreaming.”
“Are the kids okay?” Ridley pressed.
“Oh yeah. They’re fine. Mrs. Hillard is babysitting tonight and she brought her grandson Carter along again. They always have a good time when she babysits so it’s not that.”
“But it is something,” Ridley argued, her eyes narrowing.
Kaylee plopped down on the couch beside Katie. “You might as well just tell her. You know how she gets.”
The whole group laughed and Ridley flushed. What did that mean?
Raina patted her hand. “You know it’s true, Ri. You’re not happy unless you’re meddling.”
Kaylee covered her mouth with her hand she was laughing so hard. “You’d better watch out. If she thinks you’re not moving fast enough, you’ll end up booked into a hotel with Bennett.”
“That was an accident I swear,” Ridley lied. It wasn’t that bad, was it? When she’d done it for their own good?
Kay didn’t look convinced. “I think your brain does matchmaking subconsciously.”
“I’m just concerned for my friends. I want you all to be happy, that’s all.” Suddenly Ri was extremely tired. Was she really so annoying to everyone? Maybe she just thought she was helping. Obviously it wouldn’t be the first time when she’d read a situation wrong.
Katie seemed to sense that she was upset because she smiled. “I know you do, Ri. I’m happy. I’m just… confused. Okay, here’s the thing.” She took a deep breath, like she was gathering her courage. “You know how Bennett and I have been dating, right?”
“Uh huh. Things seem to be going well. Julia’s thrilled about it, you know.”
Katie winced. “I’d hate for her to get her hopes up. Especially since it’s probably already over.”
Ridley paused. “Whoa. What does that mean?”
“You know how Bennett originally wanted me to help him so he could impress his friend Olivia?”
Everyone nodded agreement. Ri wasn’t sure how the others had heard the story but it was pretty much impossible to keep anything a secret in the Alexander family.
“Well, apparently even though we’re together, Bennett is still going on a date with Olivia.”
Ridley immediately started to shake her head. “Wait, what? Bennett wouldn’t do that!”
“Oh I didn’t think so either. So I asked him point blank and he said he couldn’t cancel on her so close to the event. That it was rude. The man who would barely say hello to his neighbors is worried about being rude.”
“That’s crazy. I can’t believe Bennett said that. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind the next time I see him.” Ridley was going to strangle her brother-in-law.
Here she was going through all this trouble to find him his perfect match and he was jacking it up! Who went on a date with another woman when they had a girlfriend? Bennett was brilliant but completely clueless socially, everyone knew that, but even he should know better.
“No, I don’t want that. He should be with me because he wants to be. Not because he’s afraid of his sister-in-law.”
“He’s not afraid of me,” Ridley protested.
Raina looked at her twin from the corner of her eye. “Um, you haven’t seen you when you’re on a tear. You’re pretty scary.”
Kaylee got up and came back with the pitcher of margaritas. Without asking she refilled Katie’s cup. “This sucks. I still think we should go kick his ass. Why do men have to be such idiots?”
Soon the room was a chorus of voices, all talking about the dumb things their men had done.
Ridley sank back into the cushion of the couch, wishing desperately that she could chime in and ask for advice. But she’d already done that once and look at what had happened. She hadn’t had the heart to tell Raina that her seduction plan had backfired so spectacularly. It would only make her sister feel sorry for her and Ri didn’t want that.
No, she didn’t want anyone’s pity. She just wanted her husband to want her again.
♥
Ridley closed the door behind Kaylee and Sasha gently, who’d stayed behind to clean up. It had been so much fun hanging out with her friends. She rotated her neck. Fun but exhausting. Not that she minded. At least it took her mind off her problems.
Before she even got out of the entryway, the door opened again and Jackson stepped inside. As usual, her heart rate picked up as soon as she saw him. Even after several years together, she still got breathless at the thought that this incredible man was actually hers. Then she remembered how awkward things had been since the night she’d started calling The Great Lingerie Fail. They’d been dancing around the topic for days, each pretending nothing was wrong. She wasn’t sure how long they could go on like this.
“Hey baby. Everything okay?” Jackson glanced behind her curiously.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine. I was just daydreaming. The girls just left.”
He kissed her forehead and Ridley sighed. It was such a small thing but after how tense things had been lately, it was heaven to feel like things were okay again.
“Where are the kids?” she asked. Whenever she had Girl’s Night, Jackson took the kids out for ice cream and a movie or to his parents’ house.
“At Mom and Dad’s,” he answered. “They fell asleep playing in their room so Mom told me to let them sleep over. I think she’s just happy for any excuse to use the bunk beds she bought them.”
He hung his coat absently on the hook by the door and then walked to the kitchen.
Ridley was about to follow when his coat fell off the hook. Luckily she was standing so close to it that she caught it. It was a good thing too since she hadn’t been able to bend over in ages. Ridley rubbed her belly absently as she hung the coat back on the hook. It would be awesome when she could finally see her feet again.
As she was hanging the coat, she noticed something white sticking out of the pocket. A business card.
Don’t do it. You trust your husband. Women who trust their husbands don’t go snooping in their coats.
But despite all the warnings swirling through her brain, Ridley snatched the business card. When she saw the name on it, her throat instantly went dry. She crumpled the card in her palm and then carried it to the kitchen. What was she supposed to do? Confront Jackson? But what good would that do? People who were doing things behind their spouse’s back didn’t just admit it when confronted anyway.
The kitchen was empty by the time she got there, so Ridley was left alone to stew and stare at the card she’d now crumpled into a ball. It was probably for the best. Even though Jackson was just as sweet to her as ever, there was a huge difference in the way he interacted with her since she’d gotten pregnant. At first she hadn’t thought anything of it, he’d just been more careful with her when they made love and he didn’t initiate as often. But then slowly, all the passion had disappeared and he kissed her chastely, like a distant cousin you hadn’t seen in years.
Maybe that was just the reality of marriage, that her husband wouldn’t always think she was the hottest thing out there. He was damn near perfect in every other way. Was it really the worst thing if he wasn’t groping her all the time anymore? There were plenty of women who had way worse things to deal with.
But did those women’s husbands have their ex-girlfriend’s number in their pocket?