Page 97 of Wed to You

“I’ll be right there.”

Chelsea shook her head of fanciful dreams. He was just being flirtatious. “Hey, how about a snack, Kaden? I can make us some ants on a log.”

“Ewww.” Kaden scrunched up his face.

“You’ll love it. I promise.”

Back at the house, she and Kaden washed their hands, then she sent him looking for celery, while she went to the pantry to find peanut butter and raisins.

When she heard talking in the dining room, she initially ignored it, until she heard Miss Z say, “Have you seen how she eats? Some day that metabolism will stop, and she’ll get as fat as a pig. He won’t want her then.”

“She’s pretty active,” Mrs. Stanton said. “She and Jagger are newlyweds. Knowing Jagger, they probably burn calories in their private time.”

Chelsea’s cheeks burned. Was the staff really talking about her and Jagger’s sex life?

“No, ut-uh. I’ve changed a lot of Talbot sheets in my day, and I can say for certain, they’re not burning them up.”

Chelsea gaped.

“Miss Z.” Grayson’s voice sounded affronted.

“I’m just saying. There’s something fishy. I know you think it too. She doesn’t fit. She’s boyish. I think I can count on my hand the number of times I’ve seen her wear real shoes—”

Chelsea looked at her sneakers. Weren’t those real shoes? Normally she wore flip-flops. She supposed those weren’t real shoes either.

“She just doesn’t have the grace and sophistication of a Talbot.”

“Neither did Tanya,” Mrs. Stanton said.

“And look what happened there. I can’t imagine what he sees in her, unless this is all about Kaden’s custody.”

“Mr. Talbot wouldn’t do that.” Grayson’s voice sounded sure.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Mrs. Stanton said. “I think he’d do anything for that boy.”

“Well, if you ask me, he should have chosen someone else to play wife and mother. She doesn’t have grace or class.”

Normally, Chelsea could let such remarks roll off her. Especially from snooty folks. In fact, she’d usually give them a piece of her mind. But this time, humiliation struck deep. Did Jagger think she lacked class too? She knew why he chose her. She was a teacher and had deep roots in the area. He was attracted to her and enjoyed spending time with her, but did he think less of her because she didn’t have the grace and sophistication of Alexis? If Mitch hadn’t intervened at the wedding, would Jagger have asked her on a date, or would he have thought as his staff did, that she wasn’t Talbot material?

“Miss Chelsea?” Kaden yanked on her shirt. “The peanut butter is there.” He pointed to the shelf.

“Yes. Thank you.” She grabbed the jar and closed the pantry. Today, they’d just have logs without ants.

She’d just scooped out the peanut butter to put on the first stick of celery when Miss Z walked in. Chelsea looked up, caught her gaze, and was sure Miss Z knew they’d been overheard.

“It’s impolite to eavesdrop.”

Chelsea laughed, because the alternative was to cry. Miss Z stared at her like she’d grown a second head and then left.

“Kaden, I just remembered I have something I need to take care of.”

“What about the ants?”

“I’ll find the ants.” Mrs. Stanton entered. Chelsea hurried from the kitchen and rushed to her room. Or actually Jagger’s room. It didn’t matter how much he’d done to make her feel at home, it hadn’t worked, and now more than ever, she needed out. She took a quick shower to wash off the horse dust and threw on shorts, a tank top, and flip-flops, her own special “suck it Miss Z” outfit, and then made her way to the foyer. She grabbed her purse from the hall closet, which was where it always ended up no matter where she left it.

“Where should I tell Mr. Talbot you’re going?” Grayson’s monotone voice echoed through the room.

Her mind wasn’t nimble enough to come up with an answer, so she simply walked out the front door.

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