Page 51 of Close to My Heart

“I was just happy to get out of there. Everything was white. The floor, the couch, even the mirror frames.” Ryder shuddered.

“Sounds awful.” Otto shoved his head under Teddy’s hand.

“Did you get to see her try anything on?” I moved to the small fridge to grab beers. I had the fireplace and the heaters on to battle the cold.

“I got out of there as soon as I could. If you want me to bring my daughter to a dress shop, you should be there first. The woman who worked there asked if I wanted to stay and see my bride in her dress.”

Teddy snorted. “What did you say?”

Ryder tipped his beer back. “That she wasn’t my bride. I already had my day and wasn’t looking to go through another.”

I exchanged a concerned look with Teddy. “Are things okay with Stacy?”

“Things haven’t been great for a while, and with the transfer, I’m worried about what’s going to happen.”

“Is Stacy moving with you?” I asked, thinking that would be the obvious thing to do.

Ryder let out a breath. “She doesn’t want to.”

“What are you going to do?” Teddy asked.

“I don’t know. I have to take the transfer in order to get promoted. That’s how it works. It means more money.”

“Sounds like you have to take it.” I took a long pull of beer, wondering what Sutton was doing now.

“After six months here, I can move back to Virginia. She wants me to commute during that time.”

Teddy lowered his bottle. “She wants you to drive from Baltimore to Virginia every day.”

“Not exactly. She said something about renting a place, then coming home on the weekends.”

Jameson frowned. “Is that what you want to do?”

“I don’t want to be away from Faith.”

“That’s a tough situation.” I couldn’t imagine having to live away from the person I loved. I’d never had to be far from Sutton. Even during college, we managed to visit each other often and kept in touch.

Ryder rested his elbows on his thighs. “Your wedding is giving me an excuse to bring Faith with me while I visit to take care of finding a place. But once I relocate here, I don’t know if I’ll be able to see her unless I drive back and forth.”

“Have you asked Faith what she wants?” Teddy asked.

Ryder shook his head. “Not yet. I don’t want to put her in the middle.”

“We’re happy to have you close by but not at the expense of your marriage,” I said.

“Could Faith live with you?” Jameson asked.

Ryder grimaced. “Not if Stacy has her way.”

“Are you willing to be away from your daughter for six month?” I asked him.

“I’ll be putting a lot of miles on the truck because I’m not a fan of being away from her.”

I had a feeling this situation was going to test their marriage, but I didn’t say anything. Ryder had enough on his mind.

Ryder’s phone buzzed. “They’re trying on flower girl dresses.”

He showed me the screen of his phone. Faith wore a simple white dress with an eyelet design. I knew that much from the girls talking about the wedding plans. On her head, they’d placed a little crown. “I’m not ready for my baby to be wearing white.”

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