Page 82 of Take My Name
“Okay, maybe not there.” My mom grimaces. “But the other one…with the Bingo Hall attached.”
“The nursin’ home?” Dad gapes.
“Well, that’s on the other side.”
“If you’re goin’, so am I,” Aunt JoJo says. “I won fifty bucks last time!”
Shaking my head, I grab my bag and walk backward out of the kitchen. “Thanks for the bread again. I’m gettin’ outta here before y’all make me late.”
“Have fun, sweetie!”
“Wait, hold up. I’ll walk ya out,” Dad says, grabbing something from his back pocket.
He rests his arm on my shoulder, then discreetly hands me a small box. “I figure it’s been a while since you’ve needed these and you don’t wanna use expired ones…”
I finally look and realize he gave me a three-pack of condoms.
Jesus fucking Christ.
“Better to be safe than sorry until you’re ready to have a baby, ya know?” Then he pats my chest and walks away.
chapter fourteen
Maisie
The best partof my job is that it keeps me busy and distracted when things in my personallife are going to shit.
The bad part of my job is that it keeps me busy and distracted when things in my personal life are going to shit.
And then I have to face reality.
I can easily drown out the thoughts when I’m reading manuscripts and contracts, replying to emails, video chatting with my assistant, or negotiating offers.
But as soon as I close out of my thirty-seven tabs, I’m forced to face reality and contemplate what the hell I’m doing.
After a perfect night with Warren and my mother scolding me to grow up, I need to do the right thing and confess to Hayes. He deserves to know the truth of why I came here, besides the baby shower, and that I have feelings for both of them.
Telling him while he’s on a deadline isn’t ideal, but the longer I wait, the more I’m hurting him by lying. Truthfully, I’m not sure how he’s going to react, but I’m also not sure how I want him to.
The decision between Warren and Hayes is more than deciding which future I want—it’s either going back to the placeI’ve called home for seven years or moving my whole life back to Willow Branch Mountain—and risk regretting making the wrong choice.
The worst part is having no one to talk to about this.
I’m not super close with my brother, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t a clue what’s going on. The only other person I trust is my friend Jessica, who happens to be Hayes’s agent and the one who introduced us. Before I flew here, I told her what I was doing and she promised to keep it between us, but considering she cares deeply for Hayes, I’m not sure she’d be on my side once I tell her I kissed another man.
My parents will be furious if I call off the wedding, but that can’t be why I go through with it. However, I’ve gone almost thirty years trying to please them, so the thought of disappointing them makes me sick.
I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done, paying my way through college and supporting me early on in my career. It’d kill me to lose them.
But I have to be able to look myself in the mirror every morning, which means I need to be honest with Hayes before this continues. I’m supposed to meet with our wedding coordinator in a couple hours, and I can’t do that without getting this off my chest.
“Hello, honey.” He picks up on the fourth ring.
“Hi, are you busy?”
“No more than usual, but I can take a short break for you. It’s nice to hear your voice. How are things going?”
My heart pounds harder, and I swallow down the vomit threatening to surface.
