Page 70 of Third Wheel

Men.

He hesitated, and she got the strangest impression that he wanted to lean down and kiss her. Even though they weren’t at the club or in the middle of a scene.

Or maybe her wishful thinking was getting out of control again.

“I’m going to go make breakfast,” he said and hurried out the bedroom door, leaving her there with the still-sleeping Zach.

Well. That was… awkward.

Or maybe it was all in her head, like thinking he’d had the urge to kiss her.

With a groan, she flopped back down next to Zach, who didn’t budge an inch. Her feelings were getting way more complicated than she’d expected. Was this what a rebound was like?

She didn’t have much time to think about it because her phone started vibrating. Someone was calling her. Thankful for the distraction, she leaned over to check the screen, not even thinking for a moment that it might be Jeremy until her stomach did a weird swooping thing in memory of how he’d called her last weekend. Thankfully, it wasn’t him.

It was her mom.

Amy scooted to the side of the bed, glancing over her shoulder. Zach was still fast asleep. Still. Better take it out to the hall.

Hurrying out the bedroom door, she stayed at the end of the hall rather than going down to the main room. Yeah, her parents knew she was staying with Zach and Kincaid, but since things had changed between them, she felt the need to… well, hide.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Good morning, sweetheart. How are you?” Her mom’s voice was filled with sympathy, making Amy’s stomach flip, worried that something terrible had happened and she had missed it.

Then she realized—the terrible thing had happened to her. Her parents hadn’t been able to do much more than email and occasionally text while on their trip. Her mom had no idea that Amy wasn’t in mourning. That she didn’t miss Jeremyat all.And that she was actually way happier than she’d been in years.

“I’m fine,” she said automatically because saying ‘I’m the best I’ve ever been’ after she’d been a total wreck the last time her mom had seen her felt wrong. “How was your trip?”

“Oh, we had a great time, but I couldn’t help but worry about you the whole time. I felt so guilty taking off like that.” The guilt was evident in her mom’s voice, making Amy feel bad.

Maybe sheshouldtell her mom she was the best she’d ever been.

“Don’t feel guilty. I would have felt way worse if you hadn’t gone. I’m glad you guys had a great time. That’s exactly what I wanted. And, really, I… this is going to sound terrible, but I don’t think I was heartbroken as much as I was humiliated.” She shrugged one shoulder, even though her mom couldn’t see her. “The longer I’ve been away from Jeremy, the more I’ve realized what a terrible boyfriend and fiancé he was.”

“About time,” her dad muttered.

“Am I on speakerphone?”

“Yes, honey, we’re both here,” her mom said, and her dad grunted, as if her mom had just elbowed him or something. She probably had.

“Hi, honey,” he said.

“Hi, Dad.” She couldn’t help but smile. Wanting a relationship like her parents might have been part of the reason she’d been so invested in getting married, but just being married didn’t make the relationship. That’s what she was waking up to now. If she had married Jeremy, it wasn’t like things would have changed. She would have still been unhappy and unfulfilled; she just would have been even more trapped than before. “Well, seriously, don’t worry about me. I did my crying, and I’ve moved on to the anger phase. My friends and I are getting together tonight to burn my dress.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun!” her mom said brightly, just as her dad asked, “Why?” Amy didn’t need to answer because her mother immediately did it for her. “Because it’s cathartic.”

“But we spent so much money on it,” he complained.

Oh, shoot. They had.

“I don’t have to burn it. I can…” Amy’s voice trailed off.

“You can what? We don’t need to resell it. We basically had to rip it off you. The repairs wouldn’t be worth it, and no one is going to buy a dress that’s that damaged, not at a price that would be worth selling it for. Burn it, sweetie.” Her mom sounded very sure of herself. “Burn all that bad juju away.”

Amy couldn’t help but laugh, even as her dad huffed. He didn’t argue, though. And her mom was right. She’d forgotten about the damage Kincaid had done getting the thing off her. She doubted she could even give it away. The repairs would cost enough that someone might as well buy a new dress rather than take her severely damaged one.

Catching up with her parents was really nice and being able to truthfully reassure them that she was doing just fine. She relaxed enough that, rather than standing in the hallway and talking, she wandered down to the main rooms. Kincaid looked up from where he was standing at the stove, flashing her a quick smile before turning back to his tasks.

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