Page 101 of Love on the Line

Chapter 35

The sun warmedAnne’s face as she popped the trunk. She’d picked up brie and chardonnay to take to the party, where she absolutely would stay no matter what disaster might happen. With a grin, she shook her head. Maybe that ring on her finger had short-circuited Wyatt’s brain.

Emily called, and Anne answered, placing the bags in the car. “What’s up?”

“I need to see you right away. Where are you?”

A wave of alarm rose from Anne’s belly. Something was wrong. “I’m at the store. What’s—”

“Which store?”

“The TJ’s near my house. You don’t sound right. What’s going on?” She got into the car and started the engine.

“I’m at an outside table of Grand Nachos. Can you come right over?”

Anne frowned, her heart picking up pace at Emily’s tone and urgency. “I guess. You’re scaring me. Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, but I need to talk to you in person. Hurry.”

The line went dead.

Jesus. Maybe someone died. Anne backed out and drove to the restaurant, ticking through a mental list of all their friends. There hadn’t been any texts or news of any accidents. When she reached the place, she parked and turned off the engine, hands clammy and dread compressing her lungs.

Emily sat rigid at a table, her mouth drawn in a tight line. Her chest rose and fell when she met Anne’s gaze. Okay, now she knew something was terribly wrong. She hurried over and sat opposite Emily.

“You’re freaking me out. What’s going on?” Anne leaned forward.

“Shit.” Emily leaned her head down, shielding her eyes. “This is even harder than I thought it would be.”

Anne’s throat thickened, making it hard to breathe. “Please, for God’s sake, talk to me. I’m picturing someone dead.”

“Okay. I’m sorry, but I think…” Emily raised her head and swallowed. “I think Wyatt might be cheating on you.”

What little breath Anne had taken sputtered out like the air in a released balloon. Her body froze, every muscle stiffening. No way. She must have heard wrong. “Why would you think that?”

Emily chewed on her lower lip and nodded to the empty table beside them. “Earlier, I overheard two women talking.” Her knuckles turned white in her squeezed hands. “I didn’t pay much attention until I heard one of them bragging about how she was back with Wyatt. She said whenever she came to town, they got together.”

“There’s a million Wyatts. Why would you think—”

“Because her friend said she’d heard that Pearson had gotten engaged.” Emily’s eyelids slitted. “I glanced at them and recognized the woman. She’s Victoria, the model he dated. When they broke up, the tabloids splashed pictures of her.”

Anne’s heart hardened under a protective shell. No. She wouldn’t believe it. Not Wyatt. “That woman had to be lying. I don’t care what she said.”

“There’s more.” Emily winced. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I have to tell you.”

Anne’s legs refused to push her up and out of the bench. That’s what she needed to do. Get up and go. But she sat there like a rubbernecker on the highway unable to stop looking at a wreck.

Emily’s cheeks puffed out, and she exhaled. “She said he was supposed to be out of town this weekend, but since she was here, he changed plans, and they were going to spend the night at his place.”

“I don’t believe any of it. Why would he do that?” Anne shook her head.

“God, I hate repeating this, but she bragged about their sex life, saying he liked things wilder than he was getting.” Emily reached for Anne’s hand, but she pulled away, crossing her arms over her chest.

“That woman is a crazy liar.”

“It’s fucked up, Anne. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, but I really don’t know Wyatt very well, and let’s face it, you guys haven’t dated long. Did he say or do anything to make you think this could be true?”

Anne’s temple throbbed as the memory of their last conversation flooded back. Wyatt’s intense insistence that Anne stay at Emily’s overnight. The ridiculous scenarios of pipes bursting and Ann getting cab rides home…and he’d made her promise to call if anything came up and she had to leave. God, was it because he didn’t want to chance her finding him with another woman?

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