Page 30 of Texas-Sized Scandal

“I might. It’s like a name from a long time ago,” she said. “I’ll figure it out. I don’t think Daddy knows him but maybe he does.”

“I hope not because that would feed into my suspicions of corporate sabotage,” he replied. “But I’m sure you’ll figure out how you know the name.”

“I don’t know that I should be looking at any employee files. Can you give me some information about the complaints? Then I’ll go and see what kind of information I can dig up,” she said.

Mary handed her a copy of the formal complaint, which Angela read. “Okay, let me see what I can find out.”

“Thanks, babe,” Ryder said, walking her to his office door and stepping out into the hallway with her. It was clear and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her again. “I am sorry about earlier. You mean the world to me, and once I get this sorted, we can start planning the wedding of your dreams.”

“I want it to be the wedding ofourdreams,” she said, going up on tiptoe and kissing him before she turned and walked away.

All of his dreams were just to have the woman he loved by his side.

Melinda decided she’d had enough of everything and everyone and a trip to the Red Door Salon was what she needed to get herself back on track. She texted Angela to see if she wanted to meet her for an afternoon at the spa.

Angela had one more thing to do but she’d meet her around three o’clock.

Melinda decided to go early and get her hair trimmed.

Melinda’s assistant was waiting for her when she came into her office at the foundation she cofounded with her sorority sister. She handed Pixie to Alfie. “I booked her a grooming appointment. Do you mind running her over?”

“Not at all,” he replied. He handed her a stack of messages. “As you can see, we’ve had a few more media requests. Have you and Slade set a wedding date?” Alfie asked. “I’m thinking that would appease them for now.”

A wedding date? For their big day? No, they hadn’t set one and she knew they never would and that was kind of what pushed her over the edge. How was she supposed to do this? No one wanted to spend his or her entire life in one big lie...or rather, she didn’t. She was really upset that Slade had put her in this position. Sure, she understood... No, actually she didn’t understand why he couldn’t just marry her.

Other than the fact that no matter how he tried to frame it, he didn’t love her. And he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life with her.

“I don’t have a date, Alfie. But for now, tell them we’re planning a big engagement party for Saturday the twenty-first. We will be inviting a limited number of social bloggers and reporters,” she said. “And if you don’t mind, make a list of those bloggers who you think will treat us kindly and not like some kind of salacious episode of a reality TV show.”

“I’ll do that. Come on, Miss Pixie,” Alfie said, tapping his leg, and the dachshund followed him out of her office.

Alfie closed the door behind him, and Melinda walked over to her desk and sat on the edge of it. Right now, she had been running from fire to fire and trying to stay ahead of the blaze, but it wasn’t working. She needed to dig a trench like those firefighters did when a blaze was out of control...or call in reinforcements. The only problem was she had no reinforcements.

Angela had said she needed to listen to her own advice when it came to Slade, and Melinda realized that she was afraid to do that. Afraid to admit that after all these years of waiting for Mr. Right, she’d made Slade into something he wasn’t.

He had completely rocked her world and what they had together in bed was like nothing she’d ever imagined. She’d definitely believed sex was overrated until she’d done it with him. But there was more to relationships than sex.

Slade looked good in a tux and in a pair of faded jeans, but clothes didn’t always make the man. She knew that. So was she seeing something in Slade that wasn’t there?

Was she being naive because a part of her acknowledged that if she were ever going to settle down, this was definitely the time to do it?

Or was it that positive pregnancy test that had her convinced they had to be in love?

She’d had feelings for Slade for a while now. She’d been afraid to admit them because he clearly wasn’t looking for marriage with her or, to be fair, with any woman.

And the baby... She touched her stomach not because she felt maternal but because she felt like she might be sick. She wasn’t ready for a child. She still felt as lost and confused about her personal life now as she had at twenty-one.

She had no idea what she was going to do. She hated this feeling and she knew there was no list she could make or plans she could set in motion that would allay this fear. It stemmed from so deep inside of her that she knew it was time to just face it. Sometimes owning a fear would make it into something she could conquer. She’d done it one other time. When she’d turned thirty and realized that she was going to be on her own after she’d broken up with her boyfriend at the time, Wendall.

“This is the same thing,” she muttered to herself. “Just say it out loud. Own it.”

Own it.

“I’m not lovable. I have too many edges and rules that I surround myself with. No man can fit into the mold I’ve created. And Slade isn’t going to wake up and realize he loves me.”

Her voice cracked a little on the last note. “But I still love him.”

There.

---