Page 40 of When Love Is Unexpected

"I don't even know how to respond to that," I say, "so I'm going to walk away now."

I turn around and head towards the tailor's front door. Thankfully, he doesn't follow me.

Half an hour later, I'm done with the tux measurements, so I go back to the house. As soon as I walk in, my phone rings.

"I'm texting you the measurements right now," I tell Emma.

"Your hair better be short," she says.

"Yes," I say. "My hair has been short for six months."

"Clean-shaven?"

"Yes, no facial hair."

"Good," she says. "See you Saturday."

I return to Loren's, and the whole gang is here. I greet all the ladies, including Sharon and Katherine, who just arrived.

"How was your doctor's appointment?" I ask Loren.

"Baby's doing well," she says.

Laila, her mom, and her sister are helping Loren unpack. When I walk in to say hello, I can hear the kids playing in the den. The men are in the garage working on the changing table.

"I just ran into Eric," I say, shutting the door behind me once inside the garage to make sure no one can hear us.

They all stop what they're doing and look up at me.

"Don't worry," I say. “Nothing happened.”

"Did he say anything?" asks Aaron.

"In a nutshell, he wants me gone."

"Even if you're gone," Adam says, "Laila is done with him."

"I don't know that he's fully convinced of that," I say.

"He stopped by the office yesterday," Adam continues. "He picked up the keys to his new house."

"I'll have a talk with him," says Jon.

"I don't think it'll help," I say. "Either way, I would rather Laila not know."

"If we don't tell her," Adam says, "she'll be pissed."

"Okay," I say. "Then let me tell her."

"I feel bad for him," says Aaron. "But it really is for the best. She never had strong feelings for him."

"How do you know?" I ask.

"She never walks him to the door," says Aaron.

"What?" I ask.

"Eric was always at Jon and Sharon's for Sunday dinner. When it was time for him to leave, he'd say goodbye and leave. Laila never walked him to the door to say goodbye."

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