I wasn’t too excited about surprising Dawson anymore. It was almost eight before I was finally dropped off at my door. I was exhausted, my feet were killing me, and I was freezing. I wanted a hot bath and my bed. I would show up at the station the next day and surprise him. The only surprise that I cared about was how good my bed was going to feel.
I stepped out of the shower, when my best, annoying friend came popping into the bathroom, calling my name.
I wrapped myself in a towel just in time.
“I thought you weren’t getting home until Friday,” Lauren said, dropping her flannel pants and pissing in my toilet.
“I decided to come home early,” I couldn’t even be mad at her. I missed her audacity. Only Lauren would unlock my door, burst into the bathroom while I was naked, and drop her pants in front of me.
“What?” I asked, wondering what the glare was all about.
“You were with Drew,” she demanded, following me out.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, sliding on a pair of panties and night shirt.
“You’re an idiot, Ry. You have no idea how much that man loves you,” she stated.
“Yes. I’m sure I have a pretty good idea. What is your problem?”
“Did Drew give you a hickey?”
“What?” I hadn’t seen a hickey and had even showered in front of a full length mirror. It was all steamed over, but still.
“Yeah, right below your collarbone.”
I pulled my shirt out to look.
Fuck. Shit. Fuck. I’m going to kill him.
“Lauren, you can’t say anything to Dawson,” I all but begged.
“I can’t believe you, Riley. If you don’t want him, tell him. Stop letting him think that you’re going to marry him, and he’s going to live happily ever after.”
“I do want that, Lauren,” I assured her.
“So, you’re going to divorce Drew now?”
Shit.
“Lauren, you have no idea what this is like for me.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’re right, Ry. I have no idea how hard it must be for you to keep two good looking men going. You poor little thing.”
“Don’t do this, Lauren. This is really none of your business.”
“You are absolutely right, Riley or Morgan or whatever the hell your name is. It is none of my business, but it is Dawson’s. Are you planning on telling him that you just spent the last three days fucking your husband?”
“Really, Lauren?” I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say. She was pissed.
“Yeah, Ry. Really?” she replied and left me standing dumbstruck in my room.
I pulled my covers back and crawled into bed with my cell phone.
“You stupid son of a bitch,” I yelled as soon as Drew answered.
“Why am I a stupid son of a bitch now?” he asked.
“You know why. I can’t believe you did this again. My best friend just stormed out of here pissed as hell because you had to go and leave your mark again. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You didn’t mind last night while I was doing it.”
“I hate you, Drew Kelley,” I stated. I did hate him. I was sick of him swooping in and out of my life and screwing everything up.
“That’s too bad because I love the shit out of you.”
“It’s not funny, Drew,” I pouted.
“I’m sorry.”
“You are not, you’re… whoa,” I stopped when the baby’s foot almost came out of my stomach.
“What’s wrong, Morgan?” Drew asked alarmed.
“Nothing, the baby just kicked me.”
“That’s because he is pissed off at you.”
“No. He’s pissed off at you for upsetting me.”
“No. He’s pissed off at you because you are making me miss it all. You should be in my bed, and my hand should be right there.”
Well, shit…
I was at my wit's end. I couldn’t take either one of these men anymore. I needed to get away. I needed a break. My daily talks with Drew, sneaking off to meet him, lying to Dawson, Lauren thinking any of it was her business, I couldn’t take it. I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t decide on one of my men soon.
I stayed on the phone with Drew until almost eleven. I couldn’t hold my eyes open for one more second when I finally told him I was falling asleep and would talk to him the next day.
Although I did sleep well, I felt like a horrible person when I woke. I felt bad for betraying Dawson, I felt bad for leading Drew on, I felt bad for being a bad friend to Lauren, and I felt bad for having Star lie for me.
I got up, dressed, and headed into town. My first stop was to see Star. I needed to talk to someone who wasn’t going to judge me.
We took our coffee and headed to her office.
“Talk to me,” Star said. She knew something was up.
“Star. Help me. I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.”
She sipped her coffee and peered over her cup. I couldn’t read her. Was she mad at me too? She sighed and sat her cup down.
“What’s your heart telling you, Ry?”
“I don’t know,” I whined. I had decided just the day before that I wanted Drew, but now that I was back in Misty Bay, I wanted Dawson.
Star took a sheet of paper and drew a line down the middle. I snickered a little. I had watched Drew do this same Ben Franklin so many times on different prospects. I knew what she was doing.
“This is Dawson, and this is Drew,” she explained, writing their names at the top. “Only pluses first,” she said. “Tell me one reason why you love Dawson,” she persuaded with her pen ready to begin.
I went through a long list of whys. He was sweet, he loved me, he could read me like a book, he knew how I liked my tea, he was there for me when I needed him, he had never made me feel beneath him, I went on and on. Star had the whole side of the page filled. I could have probably thought of a few more, but I figured that was enough. She moved her pen just below Drew’s name and looked up to me waiting to start.
I snorted and sucked in a deep breath.
“Drew is so damn good in bed,” I said. Star smiled and wrote, great lover. “I can’t fill up a whole page with Drew, Star.” I told her honestly. “Drew drives me insane. Drew can push every button that I have. Drew makes me laugh when I feel like I’m ready to fall apart, the sad part is, he doesn’t mean to. His scent, his lips, his eyes, his touch, they all drive me crazy. I wouldn’t say that is love; there is just something about him. Drew makes me want to swim with sharks. Dawson makes me realize the safer alternative.”
“Like what?” Star asked. She had stopped writing and was just listening now.
“Like feeding goldfish,” I laughed. It was the truth. Dawson made me rationalize before I did stupid things. Drew lived in the moment. Dawson would have never climbed up that rock wall, let alone had sex in the open universe.
“Can you talk to one more than the other?” she asked, tapping her pen on the desk in a slow tap, tap, tap, motion.
I thought for a second. “Not really. I mean, I guess I tend to keep silent more with Daw, I feel like I care about hurting his feeling more so than Drew. I don’t have a bit of a problem telling Drew where to go. I don’t really talk to Dawson like that. He would never talk to me like that.”
“I see,” she replied.
“You see what?”
Star sat back and crossed her arms. “I think you know who you want to be with. I think you’ve known all along, and I think you are afraid that the one person who could fix the pain is the one who caused it.”
“You think I should choose Drew?”
“I think you already have,” she spoke, honestly.
Fuck…
“But what if this baby turns out to be Dawson’s? It’s a very good possibility.”
“Cross that bridge when it gets here. I’m going to miss you,” Star said, like she knew that I was going to leave. I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know what to say. “You need to talk to Dawson, Ry.”
“I know,” I admitted. I just hated the thought of it. “I don’t want to hurt him, Star.”
“You’re hurting him more by sneaking around with your husband.”
“Maybe, if he knew, that is.”
“He knows Ry.”
“What do you mean?”
“He talks to me. I shouldn’t say that he knows. He speculates.”
“You think he knows that I have been with Drew?”
Star nodded. I wanted to get back on the plane and get the hell out of dodge. I didn’t want to face him. Shit. He knew. What the hell was I supposed to say to him?
I hung around with Star until almost two. I knew that Dawson took his lunch from two to three and I had planned on meeting him and maybe going to Millie’s for lunch. I felt my nerves stand on end with every tick of the Indian wall clock above my head.
Star hugged me and told me to call her. I thanked her for being my friend and not judging me the way my so-called best friend, Lauren, had.
I pulled over to the curb when I saw Dawson walking down the sidewalk. I smiled a sad smile at the sight of him. I really didn’t want to hurt him any more than I had. I couldn’t believe that he knew that I wasn’t at my mom’s. He never mentioned it when I had talked to him the day before. I lost my smile pretty quick.
What the fuck?
I watched Lauren run up behind him and jump on his back. He carried her for a few steps before she slid off. They were laughing and flirting. Was this why Lauren was so interested in my plans with Dawson? I watched Dawson hold the door open at Millie’s for her. I couldn’t help but notice the look between the two as she passed.
Dawson didn’t have lunch with Lauren. They never hung out. I sat dumbfounded for a few minutes, trying to process what if anything was going on. How did I feel about it? That was when I knew exactly whom I belonged with. I thought about how it made me feel to think of Dawson with someone else. I smiled and shook my head. I was okay with it. I thought about Drew being with someone else and how I wanted to scratch Celeste’s eyeballs out when I thought they were being intimate. I couldn’t handle the thought of Drew being with someone, but I was okay with Dawson being with my best friend.
I wondered about Joel although I knew that Lauren had said she would never be serious with him. I really didn’t know that Lauren had feelings for Dawson. I guess I should have. She was very insistent on me not hurting him.
What should I do? Should I walk in? Should I wait until later? What did Lauren tell him about our fight? I wasn’t sure what I should do. I didn’t want to embarrass either one of them. I decided to wait until later in the evening. I wanted to talk to Lauren first. I could very well just be an innocent lunch, and I was reading more into it than I should have been.
Staring out the window, I patiently waited for Lauren to get home. She pulled into her drive five hours later. I knew she wouldn’t come over like she normally did. She was pissed at me.
I took a deep breath and slid my arms through my coat. I didn’t even know what I was going to say. Was Lauren really seeing Dawson behind my back?
Lauren opened the door before I had a chance to knock.
“Can we talk?” I asked.
She stepped aside and gestured for me to come in.
“I just made coffee, want some?”
“Sure,” I said, sitting at the table. “Lauren, I’m sorry,” I blurted out even though I didn’t know what I was apologizing to her for.
“Me too, Ry. I just don’t want you to hurt Dawson. He is so in love with you.”
Hmm. How do I respond to that? She wasn’t going to mention having lunch with him. Should I? I decided to let it slide and pretend that I didn’t know.
“Why don’t you and Joel come over tonight?” I asked. I didn’t want her to come over with Joel. I wanted to spend the evening alone, talking to Dawson. I was just fishing for information.
“Joel and I broke up almost a month ago,” she stated.
“What happened? Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, playing the concerned friend.
“I came over to talk to you last night. We didn’t really talk.”
“Why did you break up?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess I have decided lately that I wasn’t getting any younger. Joel’s not really the settling down type. I want to be in love and start a family.”
“Got anyone in mind?”
She thought briefly before answering. “No, not really.”
She wasn’t going to tell me that she went to lunch with Dawson, and she wasn’t going to tell me whom she had in mind, but I could tell there was someone, and I had a good feeling that it was Dawson.
I answered my phone when I saw that it was Dawson.
“Where are you? I brought supper.”
“How did you know that I was home?” I asked. I knew Lauren had told him. I just wanted to see what his answer was.
“ESP, baby. Get over here. I’m hungry, and I miss you.”
I smiled. He wasn’t telling me either. “I’m coming.”
I stood up and took Lauren’s hand. “Come, let’s go eat.”
“No. I think I’m just going to hang out here. You go ahead,” she said pulling her hand from mine.
“I thought you said you weren’t mad at me.”
“I’m not. I’m just not hungry. I had a big lunch.”
“Please,” I begged.
She groaned and got up. We walked across the yard, arm in arm. I knew I was being sly, but I couldn’t help it. I had to know.
Dawson was setting plates out on the table and getting spoons for the carton of mashed potatoes and corn. I went to the kitchen and got Lauren a plate and the butter for the biscuits. I watched the two of them exchange a glance. It was not my imagination. I know what I saw, and I know that Lauren quickly redirected her eyes.
I placed the utensils on the table and decided to try something else. I wrapped my arms around Dawson’s neck and kissed him.
“Hi,” I said as his hands moved around by ever growing body.
“Hi,” he said, and I kissed him again.
“I think I will just leave you two alone,” Lauren tried.
“No. I’m done. I promise,” I said, playing it off. “Sit.”
We ate the chicken, and I purposely touched Dawson every chance I got, just to observe Lauren’s reaction. It was obvious. She didn’t want me touching him. There was something going on. I knew it.
Lauren helped clean up the trash. I could tell that she wanted out of there. I kissed Dawson again in the kitchen, and that was it. She was gone.
“I’ll see you guys later,” she stated, not looking back.
“What’s her problem?” I asked Dawson.
He shrugged one shoulder. “She’s your friend,” he accused, like I should know better than him.
“Did you miss me?” I asked, moving into his arms. I don’t know what the hell I was doing. I guess I felt a little rejected or some shit. I had planned on telling him that I didn’t want to be with him and that I was going home to my husband. I didn’t feel that way anymore. I wanted Dawson, especially after realizing that Lauren wanted him too.
“Of course I missed you,” he assured me, pulling me into his arms. “How’s your family?”
Was he now fishing for information? “Good, I’m going back down in a couple of weeks. Caroline is in a school play, and I promised her I would come and watch.”
I’m pretty sure he bought it. He kissed me, parting my lips with his tongue. I kissed him back and ran my hands along his ribs and to his strong back. I wanted him. I wanted him right that second. What the hell was wrong with me? I needed professional help for sure.
Dawson tried to lift my shirt over my head. I stopped him. I hadn’t forgotten about the nice little surprise that Drew had left for me.
“I need a shower,” I whispered to his lips.
He placed his forehead on mine and took a deep breath. “Then you better get away from me and go,” he assured me.
I kissed him again and left.
I prayed that he didn’t come into the bathroom. I think I showered quicker than I ever had in my life. I even dressed in record time.
Dawson was in my room emptying his pockets when I came out. He took clothes from his dedicated drawers and kissed me as he headed to the shower next.
Dammit he was staying. We were going to have sex. This was not the plan… at all.
I slipped on a pair of socks and eyed his cell phone, trying to tell myself not to do it. I had never looked through his phone. I never had a reason to. I jumped up and practically ran to it. I opened it up and went right to the messages. Fifty-seven of them were to and from Lauren. I scanned them quickly, listening for the shower to shut off.
Most of them were just quick little texts. Like, good morning, good night, how is your day going? And then I read where they were meeting. He knew that I was home the night before. Lauren had texted him and told him not to come over because I was home.
Why was I so pissed about Dawson and Lauren? It wasn’t like I hadn’t just lied to him and spent the last few days with Drew. I was furious. I was reading one from Lauren, telling Dawson that she missed his lips and couldn’t wait until she could kiss him. I didn’t hear the water shut off, and I didn’t hear Dawson walk in.
I don’t know how I knew that he was standing there. I guess I just sensed his presence. I turned to see his tight lipped face staring right at me, going through his phone.
“Dawson?” I said. I needed to know. Screw the private investigator crap. I wanted to know, and he was going to tell me.
“I’ve wanted to tell you, Riley.”
“Tell me what?”
He didn’t speak. I could feel my heart beating. I could feel the blood pumping through my veins. I was ticked. I wanted to pick his gun up and shoot him in the head. I was literally seeing little light prisms. I was so freaking mad. I couldn’t see straight. Why, I wasn’t sure. I really had no right, but Goddammit, this hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn’t expecting this. I could have never seen this coming, not in a million years.
“How long has this been going on, Dawson?” I asked. I was trying my best to keep my cool. Never mind the fact that I was planning on dumping him that very night.
“Riley, come here,” he tried. Fuck that. He wasn’t touching me, ever.
“Just fucking tell me, Dawson,” I demanded, still trying not to yell.
“Come out here and sit down. I will put on some tea and we’ll talk.”
I stormed past him shoving his phone in his chest. I didn’t want to sit. I couldn’t sit. I walked out into the cold November chill in my sock feet. I needed air. I needed the brisk cold sea air. I felt that I was suffocating and didn’t know why.
Dawson left me alone while he heated water. It was probably best that he did. When I finally cooled off, I walked back in and sat at the table. I shivered, freezing from the cold air.
“Do you love her?” I asked, looking down at the table. I didn’t want to see his face when I got my answer.
“I don’t know, Ry. Lauren has been there for me through all of this. We spent hours together when you were missing.”
“How sweet,” I smartly, replied.
“Not like that. We spent hours looking for you. You were gone almost five months before anything ever happened. We were only intimate twice before I found you.”
“Why didn’t you just leave me lost?”
“Because I love you. I still love you.”
“Do you want Lauren?”
“I don’t know how to answer that right now. I guess that is up to you.”
“Why would it be up to me?” I asked, turning to look at him.
He brought our teacups to the table and sat in front of me.
“If I thought for one second that you were going to divorce Drew and marry me and raise our family together, I wouldn’t want Lauren.”
“So, you are doing to her, what I have done to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you are putting her second because you feel obligated to make things work with me.”
“Is that what you have been doing, Riley?”
“Not on purpose, but I guess so. It’s always been Drew, Daw. I didn’t always realize that, but it’s a fact. We could have been happy had things not have happened the way they did. If I wouldn’t have forgotten who I was and fallen in love with my husband for the first time, things may have been different. I do love you. You have been my safety blanket from day one.”
“You want out too, don’t you?”
“Yes. I didn’t go to my mother’s. I have been with Drew.”
“I kind of figured as much, and it wasn’t the first time. Was it”
I shook my head.
“What about the baby, Riley. If this is my kid, I want to be part of his life.”
I smiled at him. I couldn’t help it. “I know, and I would never keep you from that. I would actually be a little relieved if I knew that Lauren was going to be the other female in his life.”
He smiled too. I think at that point we were both praying that this little boy wasn’t his.
“I’m glad I had the opportunity to know and love you,” Dawson, quietly said.
I don’t know why that bothered me, but it did. I think because I knew he was at the place where he was telling me goodbye. I quickly swiped the escaped tear.
“Riley?” Dawson said, sadly, wanting me to look at him.
“I’m not Riley, Dawson. I’m Morgan.”
He smiled a weak smile. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine. I’ve been through worse. I’ll manage.”
“Yes, you have, and I hope the rest of your life is full of nothing but happiness.”
I stood and walked toward the front door. I’d had enough for one night. I wanted Dawson to leave. “You can come and get your stuff whenever you want,” I said, placing my hand on the door knob.
Dawson removed my hand and pulled me toward him. He held me tight, and I was trying with all of my might not to cry. It didn’t work, and I let go. I cried into Dawson’s shirt for the last time.
He pulled away after a bit and held my face with his hands. He bent a little so that we were at level eye contact. “I love you, Riley, and don’t you ever think that I didn’t.”
“I love you too, Dawson. I swear I do.”
I closed the door behind him, feeling as I was closing the door on that fragment of my life. I knew it was over for good this time, and I was hurt. I wasn’t surprised, but I was definitely hurting. I wanted Drew. I didn’t call him though. I needed time first. Instead, I called my mom and cried to her for over an hour.
She didn’t speak and only listened until I was done sobbing and had cried out the last of my tears.
“Now that you are done, I think I should tell you something,” she finally spoke.
“No, Mom. I can’t deal with any more tonight. I’m coming out there tomorrow. I can’t stay here. Save it for another day, please,” I begged. She didn’t.
“I understand Morgan,” she began, ignoring my request. “Drew flew here when they picked your car up to bring to you. I know everything, Morgan. I know how you spent your first six years. I know that you ran from him and acquired a new identity. I know that he took you from the hospital with the same intentions as the day he picked you up when you were eighteen.”
Drew told her everything. I was speechless. I couldn’t believe it. Why would he do that?
“I know that he hit you and God knows what else happened. I know what his assistant did to you, and I know it was all for money. He was angry that he worked so hard on making sure that he was on that will, and you just happened to pop up out of the blue as the only living heir. But you know what else, Morgan?”
I still couldn’t speak. I shook my head, like she could see.
“I know that man loves you more than his own life. I have never seen a grown man cry as much as he did when he confessed all of his sins to me. I can’t even judge him for putting a dollar before the happiness of another human being. I did the same thing. Maybe with different intentions, but nonetheless, I did the same thing.”
Drew cried? Drew didn’t cry. Drew wasn’t capable of crying.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“He made me promise not to. He said that he was going to step aside and let you decide on your own.”
I snickered. “He never stepped aside. The longest he ever made it was almost three weeks. He couldn’t stand not emailing, calling, or texting.”
“That’s because he loves you, baby.”
“What if our past always haunts us?”
“Are you afraid of him?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Then don’t let the past haunt you. Leave it in the past and move forward.”
“If this baby turns out to be Dawson’s it will undoubtedly complicate things.”
“I don’t think so. We talked about that too. He actually told me that he was glad that Dawson was there for you and that if it is his baby, he couldn’t have handpicked a better father figure.”
I couldn’t believe that it was almost midnight.
“I will let you go, mom. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was so late.”
“I’ve got all night, sweetie.”
“Thanks for listening, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, honey. I’m always here for you, and I’m so glad that you are back in my life, even if you are making me a grandma,” she teased. “I love you, Morgan.”
“I love you too.” I hadn’t said that to my mother in years. It felt good, and it felt good to talk to her. I was so thankful she was there.
“Can I tell Caroline that you will be here tomorrow?”
I smiled. “Yes. I can’t wait to see her.”
“Goodnight, Morgan.”
“Goodnight, Mom.”
I lay awake for hours, thinking about my life. I was leaving Misty Bay. I couldn’t stay there. It would be too awkward, and not fair to Dawson and Lauren. Wow. Dawson and Lauren. I still couldn’t believe it. I had to talk to Lauren. I had to let her know that I wasn’t mad. I was happy that Dawson would have her, and I hoped that they lived happily ever after. I needed to get hold of a realtor. No. I should wait. If this was Dawson’s son, I would want to be close by when he was visiting there. I might need to keep my house.
I’m not sure what time the exhaustion finally took over, and I slept, but I didn’t wake until almost nine. I got up and started packing right away. I had wanted to be on the road by seven. I was brushing my teeth when I heard my cell phone and ran to the kitchen to grab it.
“SHIT!” I yelled when my pinky toe came in full contact with the wooden bar stool leg.
“Hello,” I danced around answering Drew’s call.
“What’s wrong? Are you in labor?”
“No, you moron. I stubbed my toe trying to get to the phone, but it feels like labor.”
“I’m afraid you’re in for a rude awakening, my love.”
I chuckled and sat on the stool, massaging my aching toe. “Are you home?”
“Not yet, getting ready to fly out. What are you doing? How’s my boy?”
“Your boy is fine, and I’m packing to go to my mom’s.”
That was the first time that I ever said “your boy.” I had always rotated it back to my son and not either one of the two possible dads.
“I thought we were waiting a couple of weeks. You can’t have the plane until tomorrow.”
“I don’t want the plane. I have a very expensive BMW, sitting in my driveway.”
“Oh no, Morgan. Don’t you even think about it. You’re not driving all the way to your mother's in your condition.”
“Drew, I’m pregnant, not crippled.”
“You’re not driving, Morgan.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“I mean it dammit. Listen to me for once in your life.”
I had to bite my tongue.
“Did you call me to tell me what I can and can’t do?”
“Yes. Now listen to me, would you?”
“Yes.” I replied. I would just wait until we were off the phone and leave.
“I don’t think your sheriff is as smart as you think he is. I can’t believe he is going to let you get in your car and drive to North Carolina.”
“Dawson doesn’t tell me what to do. Only you do that.”
“If you take off in that car, I’m going to beat your pregnant ass, and that’s a promise.”
“Hmm, I’m positively doing it now,” I teased.
“You’re a sick individual, Morgan Kelley.”
“You made me that way. Drew can I call you back in a little bit? Lauren is at my door.”
“Doesn’t Lauren just use her key and walk in?
“We kind of had a fight.”
“About what?”
“I will call you when she leaves.”
“Okay, but don’t you dare take off in that car.”
“I’ll call you back,” I replied, opening the door to Lauren’s weak smile.
I would call him back, just not until I was on the road.
“You’re not at work,” I stated the obvious.
“Nah, I’m sick,” Lauren smiled. I stepped aside so that she could come in.
“You look sick,” I teased. “Do you want coffee?”
“You know I do.”
We were silent for a few minutes. Neither of us knew quite what to say.
I sat across from her, and it felt the exact same way as the night before, when Dawson was sitting in her chair. I guess I wasn’t as mad, but I could sense the conversation we were about to have.
“Dawson told me that he told you everything last night.”
“Actually he didn’t. I figured it out on my own. I saw the two of you going into Millie’s yesterday. I knew right away. I have never seen you two like that together.”
“Riley, I’m so sorry. I never meant to fall in love with Dawson. You were gone. I didn’t think you would ever be back after all of those months. I thought you ran away again.”
I could see how she would think that. I had done it before, and she didn’t know the details behind it. For all she knew I was running from Dawson, after all we were about to be married.
“I’m not mad anymore, Lauren. I’m still shocked; I never saw this coming.”
“I almost left Misty Bay when you came back. I couldn’t stand seeing him with you anymore.”
“But you had Joel,” I said trying to understand.
“I did, but I never loved Joel. Joel was just a distraction.”
“You love Dawson?”
She nodded, spinning her cup in circles. “He had a really hard time when you disappeared, Ry. We spent hours looking for you. By the fifth month, we had gotten pretty close. We had pizza and beer one night, and I guess we were both a little tipsy. Dawson kissed me and—”
“I don’t want to hear the details, Lauren,” I said cutting her off. I didn’t.
She nodded. “I was with him the night when he sat straight up in bed, remembering you telling him about Drew donating money to your school. I’m a horrible friend, Ry. I didn’t want him to find you by then.”
I smiled. “You’re not a horrible friend. You fell in love. And to a good man. I fell in love too, but it wasn’t with Dawson. I mean I loved Dawson. I still love Dawson, but it’s not the same kind of love that I feel for Drew. I was actually going to break his heart last night. I’m glad that he has you, Lauren, and if this baby turns out to be his, I’m glad that you will be the other female in his life.”
“You’re going back to Drew?”
“Eventually, I’m going to my mom’s for a while. I think I might have the baby there. She’s been out of my life for a good many years. I want to make up for that.”
“I’m going to miss you like crazy.”
I smiled. “I would say that you and Dawson can come and visit, but that might be a little too awkward.”
“Yeah, no doubt,” she agreed.
Lauren and I talked for two hours and drank a whole pot of coffee. I felt good after all the cards were laid out. I was surprised that Dawson hadn’t told her about why I had run from Drew the first time. Well, she didn’t reveal that she knew anyway. I was hugging her at the door when my unbelievable husband pulled up. I should have expected it. He was only in New York, extremely close to Maine when you owned a private jet.
Lauren and Drew exchanged greetings, and she headed across the yard, back to her own dwellings. I stared after her, sadly. I was going to miss her waking me up, and eating my food. She turned and smiled at me before disappearing into her house. I turned my attention to Drew.
“What’s going on?” Drew wanted to know, sensing the thick air.
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” I said, sliding into his arms. I missed him, I loved him, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life being his wife.
“I had to come and drive my obtuse wife to North Carolina because she is so damned hardheaded and difficult, and the most beautiful woman on earth,” he explained.
“You have to work,” I reminded him.
“Not really. I own the company, and I have a really good assistant.”
“I own the company, you kind of work for me,” I teased.
“In that case, may I please have a few days off so that I can spend the next fifteen hours trapped in a car with my wife?”
“Hmm, most definitely,” I replied, kissing him.