Chapter Forty-One
Maria walked into the house as I was gathering up the meat to take out to the grill. When she walked around the back of me, she poked at my side. I was not very ticklish, but I did have weak spots, my sides. I jerked sideways and almost dropped the entire plate of uncooked meat.
“What the hell?” I put a safe distance between us and kept a careful eye on her hands.
“Don’t what the hell me. You took Leann with you. To pick out a ring for my best friend, you took Leann, instead of me.” She placed her hands on her hips and scowled at me.
“Don’t be pissed, I know how you are. You would have been proposing to her for me.”
She thought about it for a minute before she shrugged and laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
She pushed past me and walked back out front to meet everyone for the party. I could only shake my head and laugh. Sometimes that girl exhausted me.
***
The party turned out great. Rhett once again came out looking like he had won a shopping trip at Toys R Us. I was wondering where we were gonna fit it all.
We were sitting around the fire just out back. Leann and Ben had already gone home for the evening. Rhett crashed early from the excitement of the party, and Kori had already put him to bed. Everyone else had left besides Gavin and Maria.
Kori and I were snuggled in one of the loungers, and Maria and Gavin sat across the fire from us. They sat close together and on occasion would steal a glance or share a smile.
I could feel the tension in Kori every time they inched a little closer toward one another.
“So Gavin, when is your divorce final?” Kori asked, and I could see the scowl on Maria’s face from across the fire.
“Well, that depends on when Nicole stops trying to drag it out.” I sensed his posture had changed. He now leaned away from Maria. The mood had just shifted, and I wanted to place my hand tightly over my fiancée’s mouth and tell her to drop it. That wouldn’t have been the smartest idea, though.
“Is that the reason you have been going back to Savannah so often? Daddy said you went there twice this last week.” I poked her in the side, trying to be as casual as possible. She glared at me, and I did the same in return. I hoped it would let her know it was time to drop it.
“She, uh…” He paused and looked over at Maria. Their eyes connected before he spoke again. “She’s trying to back out now. She says she wants to work things out.”
I watched as Maria flinched at the words. “She what? How can you work things out with her? She screwed your boss behind your back.” He looked over at Kori and me, appearing slightly uncomfortable.
“I never said I wanted to work things out. I said she did.”
They sat staring at one another in a silent battle. Thank you, Kori. I loved the girl, but she needed to shut the door on this subject. It was time to move on and leave this garbage behind.
***
“What was that all about earlier? Did you have to say something in front of Maria?” I asked Kori as I crawled into bed next to her.
“Maria asked me earlier if I knew what he was up to. Apparently he told her that he cared about her, and once this divorce was final he wanted to see where things went between them.” She paused while we both got comfortable and she rested her head on my chest. “He promised he was done messing with Josie. Maria still thought he was seeing her. I was only trying to get him to talk about what he had been doing when he left town.”
I nodded, still unsure why it had to go down like it did.
“Maria asked me to find out. She never told me how.” She shrugged.
“Oh baby, let them figure it out on their own.”
I rolled over and placed my body over hers, looking down into her beautiful eyes. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What?” she asked.
“Promise me we’ll never reach that point. The point where we can’t talk it over and work it out. Losing you a second time just may end me.” I kissed her lips softly and skimmed her nose with mine.
“I promise. We’re a team. You, me, and Rhett,” she assured me, and it only made me smile.
“I want more kids, lots more.” I announced.
“Lots?”
I shook my head and laughed. “Oh yeah, and I think we should start now.”
I wiggled my hips against hers, and she giggled. “I’m on the pill, it wouldn’t happen that fast.”
I changed the mood quickly and looked at her deeply. “Stop taking them. Make the one you took tonight be your last.”
She watched my eyes for any signs of question. There were none. I loved the idea of Kori carrying my child. The thought was humbling. I wanted to give Rhett lots of siblings. I wanted a house full of laughter.
“We’ll talk about it more. Let’s just take one day at a time, okay?”
I nodded as I began kissing her neck and sliding my hands under her shirt. I’d drop the subject for now. I would let her sit on it for a day or two. I knew we just got engaged, but I knew I wanted it all. I didn’t want to miss any chances of happiness.
My next order of business would be to get her on the ball and start planning our wedding. I wanted a short engagement.