Page 26 of Texas-Sized Scandal

Angela laughed. “It might. I’d only do it if he accepted Ryder and I really can’t see that happening anytime soon.”

“To be honest, I’m surprised he likes Slade as much as he does. I was worried our relationship might have a negative effect on his legal issues, but the truth is, Slade is so transparent, I think it’s actually helping Dad.”

“I agree. I mean, his family is shady, but I’ve been hard-pressed to find anyone who actually believes that Slade is in the business with them.”

“Me too,” she admitted. “And the Contis are above reproach.”

“They are. I think that’s what makes him palatable. What does he say about his father’s business?” Angela asked.

Nothing. But she didn’t want her sister to realize there were things that she hadn’t been able to talk to her fiancé about. If Angela told her that Ryder kept things from her, she would caution her sister to push for answers. This was a mess. She put her head down, staring at the red lipstick stain on the lid of her to-go coffee cup.

“What is it?” Angela asked.

What is it?There was so much she wanted to share with Angela, but could she? Could she tell her everything and still carry on doing what she needed to? Absently, she toyed with the heirloom engagement ring on her left hand.

Melinda lifted her head and glanced around. They were still waiting for the party planner to come in and talk to them about Saturday’s big party. They were alone in the conference room with the party books spread out in front of them.

“I’m afraid once I tell you, you’re going to realize that I’m in over my head.”

“What are you talking about?” Angela asked. “What’s going on?”

“Well... I’m pregnant,” she said.

“Oh, yay! I’m going to be an auntie! You said you wanted to be a mom and now you’re going to be,” Angela said, hugging her. “I love this. I was starting to think our family was cursed but this baby seems like a blessing.”

“It does,” Melinda agreed. She could never think of her child as anything but a blessing. “Slade suggested marriage to keep the society bloggers from guessing that it was unplanned.”

“That’s not what I was expecting, but he’s standing by you as he should. How do you feel about that?”

“I want to marry him and have that whole white-picket-fence life, you know me, but I want him to love me too. And Slade has some baggage that makes him think he can’t do that.”

“I thought he asked you to marry him. He is your fiancé, right?”

Melinda rubbed her thumb over the lipstick mark on the cup. Angela might as well know the entire truth. “Temporarily. He won’t marry me or be a father to our child.”

Angela knew a lot of things about her twin and the most important was that she’d never agree to a temporary engagement without a plan to make it permanent. Melinda was just doubting herself and since Angela was so happy and in love, she knew she could help Melinda see what she needed to do.

“What are we going to do? Can you change his mind?”

“I don’t know. But I said yes because I hope so.”

Angela shifted around in the chair and turned Melinda’s to face her as well. She was going to be an auntie. She hugged her sister. “Congrats on the baby. Are you excited about it?”

“I am. I mean, there’s so much other stuff that I’m dealing with but when I have a quiet moment, I just think about it. I had pretty much written off being a mom. I was in denial at first. I mean, how could I be pregnant at this age?”

“Forty is the new thirty. I read that someplace, so you know you can believe it.”

“Ha. It doesn’t feel like the new thirty,” she said. When she’d been twenty-nine, she’d felt like she had total control over her life and at this moment, she felt like she was rolling and spinning in a million different directions. She had no idea how to control anything.

“I agree some days it’s harder than others to believe that this might be the new thirty, but to be honest, I think I like the attitude it gives me. I mean, Dad and Ryder aren’t exactly best buddies, and Dad is still convinced somehow Ryder had something to do with the investigation into him and these murder rumors that are swirling, but I keep hoping both of them will come around eventually. Remember how you had said that no man that we like is inappropriate?”

“I guess I was...I don’t know what,” Melinda said with a laugh. When she’d been starting to fall for Slade and saw Angela falling for Ryder, she had felt like they could have everything they desired. But it had gotten complicated for both of them.

Angela hugged her close, understanding that Melinda was trying to use humor to mask her fears. “Something drew you to Slade and him to you. And right now, he’s saying that he doesn’t want to raise a family—why did he ask you to marry him, then?”

Her sister flushed and then bit her lower lip, blinking several times. What the heck was going on with Melinda?

“He did it to protect me from the media. But he made it clear it’s only temporary. We’re going to distract them with the engagement and then reassess before Christmas.”

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