Page 145 of Full Mountie

Another nod. “Uh huh.”

“All right. We can stop talking about this now.” He stops and looks at the door, where Hugh is, I’m sure, standing very stiffly on the other side. “Is Hugh coming to the baby shower, too?”

My eyes go wide. “Yes. Maybe.”

He nods. “Okay. Good. They should both be there. That’s…good. If you’re happy.”

“I’m happy.”

“Excellent.” He points to the copier. “When that’s done, I’d like to read it.”

“Definitely.”

We bobble our heads in nervous nods at each other, and then he leaves.

Hugh steps back inside and closes the door. “Well?”

“Oh my God. I think he knows about us. All of us. And I think it’s fine.”

He swears under his breath. “It’s not going to be fine for Lachlan.”

“But…”

He shakes his head. “We need to think about how we’re going to tell him.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’m so over this emotional rollercoaster. I grab my photocopies of the Stats Can report. “Fine. Can you pick up something for dinner tonight?”

“Sure.”

“Great.” I stomp back to my desk. Domestic bliss, triangle-style, is some complicated shit.

52

Lachlan

Iwakeup at six in the evening to an empty house and a terrible mood.

I look at my phone, but there’s no message from Beth. Nothing from Hugh, either. And my mood is just weird enough that I don’t want to reach out to them, either.

I throw myself in the shower, hoping to steam the prickly feelings away, but they persist.

Doubts slam around in my head, and my fucked up sleep this week isn’t helping, either.

When Beth lets herself in, I’m surprised to see her. “Hey,” I say quietly, joining her in the front hall.

She gives me a tight hug. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Me too.” I take a deep breath. “But the thing is—”

She holds up her hand. “Hang on to that thought. Hugh’s on his way over and we can talk once he gets here. He’s picking up dinner.”

“Okay.”

She licks her lips, and I suddenly realize she’s nervous. “What’s going on?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

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