Page 75 of Aisle Be The Groom
“Okay.”
We drove the rest of the way in silence. When we got to the ranch, the place was already buzzing with activity. I parked in front of the house, then placed a hand on Ozzie’s thigh. Maybe I should tell him about the inheritance.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Actually, I wanted to ask if you get the feeling that Carter doesn’t really—” The front door opened, and a medium-height, slender woman with a short blond bob stepped out. She was wearing a short dress with a flirty hemline and heels that echoed on the wooden porch. Sunlight gleamed off her expensive diamond earrings.
“Gray, isn’t that your…wife?”
“Yes. What the hell is she doing here? I told her I would meet her on the weekend.”
“We should probably get out of the truck.”
“Yeah, right.”
Ozzie jumped out of the truck before I could go around and open the door for him. Instead of walking by my side, he hung back, which felt wrong.
I stepped onto the porch, steeling my nerves. “Emma, what a surprise. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
She fanned off my concern with a wave of her hand. “It was a last-minute decision, and Matty came for me. He explained Ozzie had never gone camping, so you both spent the night out in the wild. Not that I’d ever figured out what was so great about nature. Look, the poor boy’s red from the insect bites.”
Ozzie’s face turned a deeper shade of crimson under her scrutiny, and the tips of his ears glowed brightly. I was the giant sucker who had left him with love bites, but I wasn’t going to correct her.
Wait, did she say that Matty covered for us? Maybe there was hope yet.
“Mrs. Magnuson.” Ozzie forced a smile to his lips. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
“Well, dear, Carter had some concerns about the wedding preparations, so I promised him I would help you.”
“Oh no, you don’t have to go through all that trouble.” In seconds, Ozzie’s face had turned pale, and worry lines popped up in a furrow between his brows.
“I’m happy to do it, dear. Only the best ceremony for my son.”
“Emma, we can talk about weddings later. Why don’t you let Ozzie take a shower and change? Then you can talk about weddings.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I didn’t want to say anything”—she sniffed, pulling a face—“but it smells like you two have been swimming in that disgusting lake.”
“I’ll go take a shower, then.” Ozzie dashed into the house and mouthed over his shoulder, “Thank you.”
“Emma, what are you really doing here?” I asked.
She lifted one delicate shoulder. “I thought this was also my home.”
“You know what I mean. You hate it here.”
“I do, but my son intends to get married here, plus you wanted to talk. Seems like an excellent opportunity for us to do just that.”
“Can I at least take a shower too?”
“Of course. I’m not going anywhere, and it’ll give me a chance to refamiliarize myself with this place. I’d forgotten how huge the ranch was.”
“I’ll meet you in my office in half an hour.”
My head was swimming as I climbed the stairs. As much as I wanted to go after Ozzie and check on him, I forced myself to go to my bedroom. With Emma around, we had to be extra careful. Carter should be the first to know about us. There was nothing worse than him finding out last. That would crush him.
I stripped off my clothes and entered the shower. The hot water was a welcome relief to clear my head. I stood under the spray, letting the water sluice down my body. What could I donext? With Emma keen to organize a wedding that neither of us wanted, it felt like time was running out.
I turned off the shower, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around my waist tightly. When my teeth were clean, I walked back into the bedroom. What the fuck? Emma sat on my bed, one leg over the other. “You really haven’t changed much over the years, have you?”
