Page 26 of Blessings in Disguise

“I guess Jackson’s on it. We’ll have to wait till we find him or maybe he’ll return our calls. Can we put that away, just for a few hours?”

“Yeah. A respite from the worry sounds good.”

“Cocktails?”

“Sure. A gin and tonic again.”

She made quick work of fixing the G&Ts, then they brought them out to the pool. He was seated in a chair and she dropped down into another one.

“Hmm, this is great,” he said when he sipped his drink.

She tasted it, too.

“Tell me about the speaker’s talk. You said it was on dealing with closed off teenagers.”

“He had some innovative ideas.”

The were in the midst of a discussion of the conference content when they heard from behind, “Well, isn’t this cozy?”

Gemma bolted up, spilling her drink. Caleb set his down and stood too. They both turned. A big, handsome guy dressed in designer clothes, stood behind them.

“How the hell did you get in here, Ryan?”

Caleb stared at the man, who said, “I still have my key.”

She crossed to him and lifted her chin. “I’ll take that now.”

Ryan slapped it in her palm. He angled his head to Caleb. “You didn’t waste much time.”

“Get out.”

When he didn’t move, Caleb took out his phone. Punched in two numbers. “I’m calling 911 to report a breaking and entering. I’ll finish the call unless you leave right now.”

Ryan glared at Caleb. Then said, “Be careful buddy. This one bed hops. She screwed me two weeks ago.” Ryan turned to Gemma, said “Fuck you,” and strode out.

Shaking, she reached for Caleb’s hand. He stepped back. “Were you sleeping with him at the same time as me?”

Chapter 4

“I can explain.”

“So it’s true?” Caleb swallowed hard. Once again, he was going to lose a woman he’d come to care about. Maybe even a woman he was falling in love with.

“I—”

“Answer my question, damn it.”

She raised her chin and looked at him, as if she was totally innocent. “All right, it’s true.”

He sank onto the chair. She did too. Now the night air felt smothering. “How long after being with him did you sleep with me?”

“It was early on, Caleb, right after we met at the Grill. You and I weren’t close yet.”

That sounded reasonable. But still, his throat clogged. What kind of woman slept with two different men two weeks apart? He took a deep breath and stood. “I need some time.”

She bolted up. “No, please, don’t go.”

“I need some time.”

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