Page 51 of Best Laid Plans

Chapter 20

Nova

"Then Reverend Peterman says that when God said thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, he didn't just mean Cheyenne who lives next door, but all the women in Sentinel who weren't his wife." Maureen kneaded dough as she gave me the latest low down on all things Sentinel, Georgia.

I drank coffee as I sat in the diner. It was familiar and yet I felt tremendously out of place. My life had changed. A part of me would always be from this small town that had such an impact on my life—but it was not my future or even my present in any real way.

"And looks like Alma is gonna be able to set a wedding date," she continued. "Tyler has finally given up and is marryin' her. Hasn't proposed to her yet…but he's goin' to soon enough. The rumor is that the girl he's seein' on the side will remain on his side, if you know what I mean."

"Why's he proposing to Alma if he loves someone else?" I pondered.

"That's 'cause his daddy won't give him the keys to his trust fund. That's the money from Tyler's granddaddy. So, what I hear," Maureen paused and lowered her voice for effect, "once he has the money, he's gonna divorce Alma so fast, it'll make her head spin."

Since Maureen and everyone on God's green earth knew this, I assumed Alma knew what she was walking into.

"Oh and," Maureen added as she put the dough in a bowl, and covered it with a towel, "Pete and Anson had a fallin' out. According to Maria, they were at the mansion for dinner, and Pete punched Anson…he had a bruise on his jaw. Now, Anson won't talk to Pete, and you know that ass wipe, he's on his knees beggin' for forgiveness."

I sat up. "Forgiveness for what?"

"No one knows." Maureen looked shocked when she said that because it was unheard of to not know everything about everyone's life. "Even Maria has no clue. Says it's all hush-hush…but I think it's about Bailey."

I quirked an eyebrow.

"You know she's been fuckin' Pete on and off over the years." Maureen washed her hands, and wiped them on a towel.

"I didn't know that," I confessed, and felt something unpleasant slither up my spine.

Did Bailey encourage Pete to get me out of the way? I knew I'd been framed, and I thought it was Alma and Bailey. I'd never thought the Sheriff was involved beyond being cruel, but now….

"We all thought it would stop now that he's…you know, got that, what do you kids call it, a dad bod," Maureen laughed. "But Cynthia, who owns the bakery, says she saw them outside Atlanta, and they were comin' out of one of those motels."

"She's engaged to Anson, and she's sleeping with Pete? Why?" Anson was handsome and wealthy, and I knew he was sex on two tightly muscled legs. Bailey shouldn't need to fuck on the side.

"That girl is trash," Maureen declared. "Now, I'm going to make some biscuits, and you're goin' to eat them with gravy, so you're fortified for your meetin'."

And have clogged arteries. "Yes, ma'am."

I was in Sentinel for a meeting with Diego, Anson, and, sigh, Bailey. After her performance three weeks ago when they were in Savannah Lace, I'd thought she, for sure, would be off the project. But it looked like she had her claws into Anson. I wondered how he'd react if he found out that Bailey was cheating on him. I knew Anson, and that kind of deceit—hell, any kind of deceit would be the first and last straw with him.

I didn't doubt Maureen's intel because she always knew what was going on. I felt bad for Anson. He'd get hurt. He got engaged to Bailey, and knowing him, that meant that he loved her. I didn't know what about her appealed to him, but maybe there was more to her than I could see.

Case and point was me finding Bailey and Anson hot and heavy when I got to Larue Homes.

I'd been asked to wait for Anson outside his office, where his assistant sat. I'd been there for over fifteen minutes when Bailey emerged from the office, flushed. Her blouse buttons were mismatched.

Charmaine pointedly looked at Bailey, her face the epitome of disappointment.

"Oh, Nova…ah…he'll see you in, like, a bit," Bailey said smugly. It was apparent what she and Anson had been doing in his office.

My heart squeezed in pain. I told it to get over it; the man wasn't available. He wasn't mine. He'd never been. For all that talk about professionalism, he was fucking his fiancée in his office while I was waiting to meet with him.

The prize for biggest fucking hypocrite in the world goes to Mr. Anson Larue! And the prize for biggest gullible fool to Miss Nova King!

"Well, git gone, Bailey, 'cause Diego will be here in five, and he doesn't need to see you like this," Charmaine admonished.

"Mind your own business and know your place, Charmaine," she snapped.

"Honey, Anson is my business. Now make sure your blouse doesn't look like you buttoned it back in a mighty hurry." Charmaine pushed her office chair back and stood up. She sashayed into Anson's office.

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