Page 19 of The Complication with the Best Man

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I arrive at the cabin,and the moment I step through the door, the tension leaves my body.

This is exactly why I’m here. Something about this place is healing. I’m not someone who usually enjoys solitude or quiet. I don’t hang out on my own, preferring to be around other people. I’m shocked I haven’t brought my portable speaker or my laptop so I can watch TV by now. But something about this place lets me enjoy being with my own thoughts.

I flop down on the couch with a groan, and my mind instantly travels to the day I’ve had.

It was so awkward today with Finn and Tamra. And not just because watching him be lovey-dovey with someone else while I’m pregnant with his child and neither of them has any idea is messed up. But because I felt almost… jealous. Which is absurd. I barely know the man.

When she reached for his hand or he kissed her knuckles, I wanted to leap over my desk and rip them apart. The pregnancy hormones must be to blame. Something in my subconscious must see Finn as mine because his baby is growing in my belly. That’s the only explanation because I never get hung up on a guy. I have my fun with them and move on. End of story.

One thing is for sure, I have to tell him soon. I’m barely pregnant right now, but eventually I’m going to show, and then there will be no hiding our little surprise bundle.

Just the idea of telling him makes me sick to my stomach. How will he react? What will Tamra do? Fire me for sure. Meanwhile, Buzz Wheel will have a field day with me.

“What a mess.”

Thirsty, I get up off the couch to get a bottle of water from the fridge, but I stop when I spot an envelope on the table. I walk over and pick it up. My name is written in Great-Grandma Dori’s handwriting.

How did it even get in here?

Taking the envelope with me, I walk back to the couch and pull my phone from my purse, texting Palmer.

Did you leave me a letter at the cabin?

Her response comes in less than a minute.

Just open it.

Explain. I don’t need any more surprises in my life right now.

Great-Grandma left a letter for each of us. I got one too when I was staying at the cabin. Open it… please.

Tears prick my eyes at the thought of my beloved great-grandma leaving me a letter.

Abandoning my drink, I bring the letter to the couch and sit down. I set my phone on the worn coffee table and stare at the envelope in my hands. I’m afraid to open it. Afraid of what it might say. Where she might have thought I’d be at this stage of my life. Could I be a disappointment to her too?

It’s not that I think she’ll have said anything mean. Maybe it will be a harsh truth I’m not ready to face. So rather than opening the letter, I slide it into my purse until I’m ready. Ready to face myself.

eight

FINN

Tamra and I are only in Lake Starlight for another two days, so our schedule has been nonstop. Turns out there’re a lot of things to decide for a wedding. More than I ever could have imagined. More than there should be for a fake wedding for sure.

So today, Harper has arranged to take us around the few choices we have for the wedding and reception venue.

Lucky me, we’re starting with the Glacier Point Resort, which is the same hotel where Harper and I snuck into an elevator and up to my hotel room a little over a month ago. I was already plagued with flashbacks the minute Tamra and I checked in and took the elevator to our room. It was all I could do to get out of the confined space. This won’t be awkward at all.

“C’mon, we have to go meet Harper downstairs,” Tamra says, still putting on her makeup in the mirror.

“I’m ready,” I say, sitting on the chair set against the wall in our room. I’ve been aimlessly scrolling through my phone for twenty minutes, waiting for Tamra to be done.

“I’m ready too.”

I stand, pocket my phone, and watch her apply gloss to her lips. “I’m not sure you understand the meaning of ready.”

She straightens her back, giving herself a once-over in the mirror before leaving the bathroom. “Come on.”

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