Page 18 of Third Wheel

She laughed again, bringing the coffee cup up to her lips to hide her smile.

Kincaid grinned at her. For this moment, at least, he was pretty sure she actually was okay.

Zach

No one was in bed with him and the sound of laughter was trickling down the hall and into the bedroom as he hit his alarm. Zach frowned grumpily. Apparently, everyone was having a great time without him.

What was with both Amy and Kincaid being early morning risers?

He wanted as much sleep as he could get.

He was tempted to call out of work again today because he was a little worried about how Amy would be doing after last night, but since he could actually hear her laughing, maybe it wasn’t going to be a problem.

That or she was faking it again.

Which he thought was the far more likely scenario.

Amy was really damn good at compartmentalizing, so that even when she was enjoying herself, even when she was laughing and having fun, there could very easily be a part of her that was dying inside. Though she’d gotten some of that out yesterday, he knew it was too soon for her to be fully okay. She’d be even better at faking it, though, now that she wasn’t holding herself together by inches.

The urge to check on her was what propelled him out of bed and into some pajama pants. Normally, he’d spend his time getting ready for the day before heading into the kitchen, but today, he wanted to see what was going on with Amy before anything else. As he walked toward the kitchen, he recognized Mitch’s voice, and it only took him a moment to realize the man was on the phone and not in the kitchen with the other two. Kincaid gave him a knowing look when he walked into the room, as if he’d anticipated Zach’s change of routine.

The all-too-perceptive Dom probablyhadguessed how he’d react.

“Good morning,” Kincaid said, handing him a mug of coffee.

“Morning.” Zach did his best not to clutch at the mug in an obvious manner, but even the smell was helping him wake up. “Morning Amy. Hey, Mitch, what’s up?” As the words came out of his mouth, he realized he knew exactly what was up.

The gossip train was running full steam ahead, as usual.

“Morning, sunshine.” Mitch chuckled. “I was just calling to check in and see how everyone was doing.”

Uh-huh.

Well, hell, if he was the reason Amy was laughing this morning, Zach would take that. She probably needed a break from all the heavy emotions of the past two days, even if they were still lingering under her smile, and Mitch was definitely the guy to provide.

“We’re good,” Zach said easily, trying not to be too obvious about how he was looking Amy over. It had only taken him a moment to recognize the robe she was wearing—he wouldn’t be surprised if Kincaid had left it out for her, so she didn’t have to walk around in the tank top and underwear she’d fallen asleep in last night. She appeared tired, eyes still puffy and red, but the smile on her lips was sincere. At least for now. He didn’t know how long it would last, but he liked seeing her smile. “Just getting up and getting ready for work.”

Amy’s smile faltered.

Ah, shit. He inwardly cursed his unthinking response.

She wouldn’t be at work this week unless she was going to call in and tell them that she’d been left at the altar. The company she worked for was pretty large, and she worked in HR, which was why she hadn’t invited any of her co-workers to the wedding, though she’d told him they’d thrown her a bridal shower. That was the kind of thing her department did.

They’d all be very sympathetic, but he doubted she wanted to face having to actually tell people about the wedding right now.

“Well, let us know if you need anything,” Mitch replied. Since he couldn’t see Amy’s expression, he likely didn’t realize how Zach had just fumbled. Kincaid did, though, and was shooting Zach an entirely different kind of look now.

Zach lifted the coffee to his lips, partly to keep himself from saying anything else stupid. Partly because he hoped the caffeine would wake him up enough that he wouldn’t have to worry about what was coming out of his mouth because his brain would be working.

“Thank you,” Amy replied to Mitch, pushing the smile back onto her lips.

Zach could tell it wasn’t real this time, though. He’d managed to break the spell by reminding her of everything she was going to have to face.

Co-workers. Family. Returning gifts—she’d made them take all the gifts she and Jeremy had received yesterday because she didn’t trust him to do it in a timely manner. The list went on and on.

“We’ll talk to you later. Seriously, call me if any of you need anything.”

“Thanks, Mitch.” Kincaid leaned over the counter to where the phone was sitting in front of Amy and pressed the end call icon. It put him and Amy standing very close together, and an odd twinge went through Zach’s chest as he stood across from them.

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