Page 49 of Jilted
“I knew it.” Craig poked Brett in the chest. “You two are hooking up, aren’t you?”
Brett hushed him. “Keep your voice down. We don’t want Mom to know just yet.”
Craig whistled. “So, tell me, how long did it take you?”
With a smile of pure male satisfaction, Brett said, “Two days.”
“Well, it’s about damn time.” Craig laughed.
Brett shook his head. “I mean it, Craig. She’s off limits, and I swear to God if you tell Mom, I will kill you.”
“Whoa, easy. I’m not gonna tell Mom anything.” Craig patted Brett on the back. “Seriously though, I’m glad you pulled your head out of your ass. You and Amy are good together.”
Brett couldn’t contain his smile. “I know.”
Now that he was agitated, there was only one thing that could calm him down. Too bad for him, he couldn’t walk up to Amy, pull her into his arms, and devour her lips like he wanted to. This dinner couldn’t be over soon enough.
“So, when are you two getting married?” Craig asked.
“We haven’t even talked about it,” Brett said, keeping his gaze on the kitchen window and Amy. “We’re just enjoying being together right now.”
“Don’t fuck this up, Brett.” Craig patted Brett on the shoulder.
No, Brett had no intentions of fucking things up with Amy. He’d never be able to live with himself if he did.
Amy stood idly by and watched as Brett’s mom prepared dinner. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Ginny chopped some more onions and tossed them into the homemade spaghetti sauce that was cooking on the stove. “You can help by telling me how Brett’s doing. That boy has never liked to talk to me about these types of things.”
Amy knew this was coming. She took a calming breath. “I assure you he’s doing fine. He’s realized that marrying Vanessa would’ve been a mistake.”
“Well, thank heavens for that.” Ginny wiped her hands on her apron and set the knife in the sink. “And how are you doing?”
Okay, that question threw Amy for a loop. She’d expected Ginny to ask about Brett and how he was doing. She did not expect her to ask about Amy. “Uh, I’m okay. Tired. That jet lag is a real killer.” She laughed nervously.
“I remember the flight to Japan that Dean and I took. It took me weeks to recuperate from that. Lots of rest.” Ginny smiled.
Amy nodded. That was easier said than done. Now that Brett would be living with her, rest wasn’t high on her priority list. The sound of the doorbell prevented her from responding.
“Would you mind getting that?” Ginny asked Amy. “I have to get these noodles on the stove.”
“Sure.” Amy walked to the door and opened it. She came face to face with Vanessa. Amy’s stomach felt like it had dropped to the floor. “Uh, hi.”
“Oh, Amy, I didn’t realize...I was...is Brett here?”
Amy wanted to scream at Vanessa to go away, to shout at her that she had her chance and blew it, and that Brett had moved on. But she didn’t.
Instead, she nodded. “I’ll go get him for you.”
The walk from the front door to the back porch was the longest walk of her life. She was afraid that if she let Brett talk to Vanessa, he would change his mind about everything, that he would realize he still loved Vanessa and didn’t want to be with Amy. That thought had tears burning her eyes and throat. She should’ve known that this was inevitable, that Brett would have to talk to Vanessa sooner or later. She’d just hoped it would be later...much, much later.
“Brett, there’s someone here to see you,” Amy whispered, having trouble getting the words past her lips.
Brett stood and walked up to Amy. She was shocked when he put his hand on her waist and put his mouth to her ear, which he kissed softly. Amy closed her eyes and fought to hold back her tears. “It’s okay. Craig knows. He promised to keep it a secret. I’ll explain later.”
Amy nodded, not wanting to tell him who was outside waiting for him, not wanting him to let her go. But she had to. “Vanessa’s here to see you.”
He jerked away and looked at her, his eyes wide with shock.
