Page 126 of Forgot to Tell You Something

She reaches across the desk, squeezing my arm. “Youknowhe’s a wonderful man. I had a little chat with Owen when he arrived.”

I groan, sinking my head into my hands. “Beth, tell me you didn’t.”

“I did. I needed to know why he broke my dear friend’s heart. But the story I heard was different from your take.”

Wonderful. Now he’s spinninganothertale. What a tangled web this man weaves.

“His ex-fiancée followed him across the country in hopes of reconciliation. There are only so many ways to spin that story, Beth.”

“He doesn’t want her back.”

“That’s not what she says,” I grumble as I fiddle with my hands. I’m a nervous wreck today.

“It’s what Owen says. He loves you. You love him. And you’re having a baby together.”

My head shoots up, my eyes wide as saucers. “How did you know?”

“I’m a mother, and a mother always knows. Owen knows too, dear.”

“He said that?”

Beth shakes her head, shooting me a soft smile. “He didn’t have to, but he intimated the fact.”

My heart sinks to my stomach, both flipping and flopping at the realization that the jig is up. “Ugh. I know that Owen knows, but I haven’t been able to tell him. I have this ray of hope that exists until then. After he hears about the baby, it’s just me and a lifetime of single motherhood.”

“Or a lifetime with the man of your dreams. Why are you so certain he doesn’t want this child?”

I throw my hands up. There are a million reasons. Where do I begin? “We barely know each other—”

“You knew each other well enough to have unprotected sex,” Beth retorts, her brows raised.

I hate my friend sometimes.

“I’m aware of that fact, Beth,” I grumble. “His ex-fiancée wants to reconcile, and she’s beautiful and important. I have a healthy self-esteem, but it’s like competing against the Queen of England when she wasn’t ninety.”

Beth chuckles, staying my hands that continue to fiddle with anything in their way. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Tears back up in my eyes, spilling down my cheeks. The truth—the hard truth—is something I don’t want to admit. “I know he’ll do the right thing, Beth. That’s what Owen does. But how am I supposed to have this man in my life forever, knowing he’ll never be mine?”

Beth passes me a tissue, stroking my hair. She really is such a mom. “My dear girl, sometimes you have to give people the opportunity to screw up. Owen just might surprise you.”

“Or he might break my heart.”

“Then,” she states, pushing herself to a standing position, “you’ll be on even ground. You’ve already broken his heart by leaving.”

29

Owen

Ihoist the five steaming-hot pizzas from the trunk of my car and head into the shelter. Things are tense between Tally and me at the moment, but I’m hoping a delicious hunk of bread and cheese might soothe her nerves.

I hate the distance between us, and I know it’s because of Charlotte’s reappearance in my life. Hell, I don’t blame Tally for being angry. I know how bad it looks.

I also know that my tiny vixen has little to no faith in me or my motives.

In other words? I’m beyond screwed.

But I’m not giving up. Tally is the greatest woman I’ve ever known, and I’ll fight until the end to bring her back to me.

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