“Wait…what?”
“An email doesn’t mean shit. He was probably engaged by then.” I dismissed it all, climbing back into bed.
“Maybe he was—”
“Let’s go to sleep.” Turning the light off I punched my pillow out of habit.
“I’m kind of afraid to sleep with you right now. You are taking this way too well.”
“Rose, seriously, my days of being obsessed with the ‘what ifs’ are over. I need to focus on our practice. But tell me about Dean…I mean Grant.”
“He’s perfect.” Her voice was shaking. “What if he was going to come back to propose to you Dallas?”
“Rose,” I leaned in so we were forehead to forehead. “I love you more than anyone in the world. Do you understand? You are my number one.” I felt her nod and gave her a quick squeeze. “It doesn’t matter. I’m glad you told me the truth and maybe if I had told you mine a little sooner it could have been helped. Honestly, I just want to move on. I think all of us have suffered enough, including you. Love’s a bitch, but if she’s going to be a bitch to me, I’m glad she’s being good to you. Let’s go to sleep.”
I pulled my cell from underneath my pillow and looked at the screen.
DEAN: I just delivered a beautiful boy. I can’t stop thinking about you and how beautiful our baby would have been. We will have more. I promise you, Dallas.
For the first time since Dean popped back into my life, I wanted to believe him.
Dallas
Now
“Seth Whitaker, I am still young enough to divorce you!” Rose and I laughed hysterically at our parents fussing in the kitchen.
“Good morning!” I chirped as I watched them fight over the stuffing recipe. They ignored me as they fought for ten minutes about whose turkey tasted better.
“I bought two, Seth. You didn’t defrost yours, deal with it!” She raised her hands in a Hail Mary as he shook his head, his hands on his hips.
“Laura, you want to explain to me why you took yours out and didn’t bother with mine?”
“Are you saying I purposefully sabotaged your turkey?” My father winked at me as my mother’s blood pressure rose to an all-time high.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” His grin was cut short by a spoon full of raw dressing hitting his face. Rose and I ducked for cover as my mother threw spoonful after spoonful, drenching him in her concoction
“You are such a pain in the ass,” he roared, trapping her arms around her body and rubbing the dressing all over her by sliding against her. Rose and I quickly grabbed the broom and cleaned what we could before resuming the stuffing of the bird. Once we had completed our task, we looked up to see our parents smiling at us from our former chairs.
“They grow up so fast,” my mother said.
“Yes they do, baby.” He pulled my mother into a hug. “At least if the turkey is dry this year, for once it won’t be your fault.” My mother pulled away from his grasp and gave him an elbow to the chest. Grant came down and joined us with a smile. “Whoa, what happened here?”
“Oh, nothing out of the ordinary,” Rose chimed in, taking his hand, leading him into the hallway for what I was sure was a show of affection. I heard murmurs and promises and tried to be happy for her when the small pang of envy arrived.
I spent the day in the kitchen utilizing some much-needed uninterrupted time with Rose’s fiancé.
“Grant, why the rush to get married? Not that I have any objection,” I added quickly while Rose glared at me, popping the ends off of fresh green beans at the table.”
“I’ve wasted enough time with the wrong woman. I want our life to start right now.” He smiled at her, completely unaffected by my question.
“That’s all very romantic, but you do know she will bankrupt you with the grocery bill alone, right?” I laughed as several beans flew at me from her direction. “She eats like a—”
“Like she’s pregnant with triplets. Oh, God, don’t I know it. Last night she had a 3:00 A.M. feeding that gave me nightmares. I mean, really? Peanut butter and mayo?”
A fistful of beans hit him in the head as he chuckled and addressed her. “Baby, you’re a pig, but a beautiful pig.”
“I plan on getting good and fat once we are married,” she huffed. Grant and I spoke at once to egg her on.