Page 13 of Rejected Pretend Mate

He shrugged. "Sorta. They had mentioned that they saw a nice house that was for sale. I just figured it meant they were thinking about it. I didn't know they were intending to buy something so soon. But it doesn't surprise me. Most of the guys did that when the girls got a little further along. It's part of wanting to set roots."

I turned, looking back, watching Riley stand by the car. Her bump was prominent, and when Cayden looked at her, he smiled ear to ear. They were so madly in love.

My stomach twisted up, knowing that I had complicated their life. They had opened their home to me, and Riley held me countless times when I cried. Within a month, they had helped try and get me a life. And I couldn't seem to figure the rest out.

"Do you think they will find a house pretty fast?"

"I don't know. It could take a while, or they might find something they fall in love with right away."

"Have you seen this one they are making an offer on?"

He shook his head. "Nope, I didn't even know about the offer until now. But I hope they get it. Babies require a lot of space."

Which means I would be alone. It curled my stomach slightly, and I suddenly felt like my life was slipping further apart. I thought I would have a little time to get things figured out with them upstairs.

The following morning, I sat working on a cup of coffee when there was a knock at the door. I stiffened up, feeling my mind travel to Ivan. But I knew his knock, which would have been much louder. My wolf would have also sensed his presence, and the hair on my body would have stood up.

I got off the couch and unlocked the door. I pulled it open, shocked to find it was Weslie. His hair was a tousled mess, and he looked like he was just going to work.

"Hey, what brings you here?" I leaned on the door frame and looked around the hallway, expecting my brother to be with him.

"Cayden's truck broke down. I'm giving him a ride, but he's not ready."

I scowled. "How do you know that he's not ready?"

Cayden smirked. "Riley is a few months pregnant, and they didn't answer when I knocked, so I'm guessing they are busy fucking."

I scrunched my nose up, not needing to imagine it. "Ew. Thank you for that mental image."

"I imagine that they still have about twenty minutes before he's going to be ready, so I thought I'd just hang out with you while I wait."

"I just made some coffee if you want some." I pulled the door further open, and Weslie stepped in. He took in my space, and I suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Excuse the emptiness. I haven't shopped much."

He raised an eyebrow at me as he looked around. "Haven't you been here almost two months now?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but still adjusting to being here. I imagine it took you a while when you got here."

He nodded as he took a seat at my island. "I did. But you figure things out eventually. I had your brother."

I had questions. Had he known my brother was here? Had he reached out looking to leave before he left? How long had he known before he decided to disappear? "Did you know you were coming here?"

"Yes and no. I knew I needed to go somewhere. It was honestly a blur, the travel down here. I don't remember much."

I frowned. Had he planned it? Had he known he was leaving the last night we hung out?

"How are you handling the news?" he asked, pulling my attention back to him.

I shrugged, having tried not to think about it. I'd been sleeping like shit because of the worry. It was starting to become an even bigger problem because I was scared. I was falling apart at the seams and trying everything to keep it together.

"April, have you thought about the offer? I don't want to overstep, but this isn't what normal looks like."

I looked at him, confused. "What?"

He waved a hand. "You aren't settling, and it looks like you haven't been sleeping. I imagine that it's not just us that are worried about Ivan. I think you're worried about him as well, and you're just putting a wall up."

I chewed on my cheek. "And you think a fake marriage will fix that?"

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