Page 36 of Travis

I try to break it to him gently, worrying that I may wound his ego, since he seemed pretty broken up about their affair, and the fact that in his mind they had great sex when they were together. “She was actually concerned about her sister. She’s just found out that she’s pregnant, and evidently not being nice about it. I don’t think she’s worried about something that happened between you three years ago, Greg. It’s safe to say that you’re off the hook.”

“Really?” he’s shocked but markedly relieved.

I nod. “Yeah. So, I think we’re in the clear with this issue, for now, anyway.”

“You mean she didn’t even say anything about me?”

I shake my head. “Not a word. I thought she was going to puke over her sister, though.”

“You think she forgot?” he asks, almost in awe.

“Maybe. But I think that her mind is elsewhere, if I’m being honest.”

He nods dismissively. “Okay, well, that’s that.”

I pick up on the fact that he’s slightly deflated. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He nods, but he’s not looking at me, he’s focusing on opening his briefcase. “I just…it’s stupid.”

“What’s going on? Are you upset because she didn’t say anything? I thought that you were afraid she would?”

“I…I was.” He stammers. “I guess…I guess I’m still not convinced that this isn’t going to blow up in my face somehow.”

“Well, don’t put the cart before the horse, Greg. Everything is going to be okay, you’ll see.” I feel like I’m convincing both of us here.

He sighs, pulling out a sheaf of paper with pencil markings on it. It looks like more drawings of plans. “Yeah.” He nods unconvincingly.

I soon learn that he wasn’t far off the mark.

Hanna

Liam is sitting on the living room floor, in a veritable sea of wedding stuff, helping me organize. “Isn’t this why we hired that girl?” he asks.

“Yes, but, we can’t give her all this to do, Liam. She’s a planner. She’s not here to do little shit like this. Besides, we’re on a tight deadline, and there isn’t time.”

“Then we need to delegate, Hanna. This is ridiculous. I don’t know why we’re rushing so hard on this shit, anyway. We can do a Christmas themed wedding anytime. We don’t need to actually get married at Christmas time.”

This is the first time he’s ever refuted anything to do with the wedding. Liam is usually a very amicable person. Level-headed and calm, and even though his tone is neutral, his words speak volumes. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“Not about marrying you, babe, just about rushing. I mean, even if you were pregnant, we wouldn’t be rushing. And you’re stressed to shit, babe. This isn’t good for you.”

“Do you like Becky?” I check. “Because you seemed fine with everything until she came into the picture.”

“Yeah, she’s fine, hon. I just think that us sitting in an ocean of wedding shit at ten o’clock at night, when we could be doing a dozen other things, is ridiculous.”

“But we’re just organizing things. We’re not actually doing anything. If you’re tired, I can finish up.”

“I’m not leaving you with this, Hanna. It’s our wedding, not just yours. Besides, we’ll get it done faster with both of us at it.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to scare you away with too much wedding crap. Do you think we’ve done too much?”

He tilts his head, giving me a knowing look. “I think our folks have done too much. We should never have agreed to all this. If it weren’t for them paying for the wedding, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. Just thank God that we refused to have a shower or a Stag and Doe.”

“Are you saying that we should tell them that we’ll pay for it? So that we have a say in all this?”

“I’m saying that we should tell them to get their asses over here and help us with this shit. Your mama bought the damn wedding favors, and mine bought these dang things to put at the place settings.” Liam comments with a playful scoff, pulling me into his lap, as we both sit on the floor, amongst all the crap. I’d kidnap him and marry in goddamn Alaska if that’s what he wanted. He’s the sweetest, kindest man I’ve ever met, and I’m so lucky to be marrying him. “So, what’s on the agenda for tomorrow? Are we meeting with the photographer?”

I nod. “Yeah. Becky says that he may be able to squeeze us in for engagement pictures on Saturday in between weddings.”

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