Cassie
A day at the spa should have been relaxing, right? Wrong. A whole day of my mom and Mrs. Preston talking about the wedding and how happy they were, and how many more grandkids they wanted. I pretended to fall asleep during my pedicure after they asked me when I next ovulated.
All I wanted to do was love on my little boy and go to bed. Tomorrow was going to be tough. I loved Declan, and I wanted him. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. But he wasn’t there yet, and I didn’t know if he’d ever be. And if he’d ever be able to forgive me for what I’d done. Because even though he said he was ready to move past it, I knew he wasn’t.
“Hey. You’re home.”
I stopped short when I walked into the kitchen and saw Declan drinking a beer at the counter. The house had been so quiet I just figured I was alone. “Yeah. Um, is Wyllie back?”
“He’s at my parents’ house.” He took a step toward me. “Is that okay? I mean, my dad asked and I guess I should have checked with you first. I’m sorry, I’m still new at this.”
New at this because of me. Because I’d lied to him. “Of course that’s okay, Dec.”
“Cassie, look I really wanted to—”
“All right, kiddos. Time to separate.” Mrs. Preston came into the kitchen with my mother following close behind her. “It’s tradition.”
Declan stood his ground when his mom tried to pull him toward the door. “Mom, that’s a little silly, don’t you think?”
His mom smacked his arm. “It’s tradition. And since the two of you have broken every other one, we’re doing this.” She tried pushing this time. “Now let’s go. You’re having a sleepover with Brice at our house.”
He didn’t move. “I want to spend the night with my fiancée, not Brice.” Mrs. Preston put her back against his, using her whole body to try to get him out the door.
Why was he doing this? Why was he acting like he loved me, like he wanted to be with me. Was he doing this to apologize for hurting my feelings? Was he once again pitying me? Well, I didn’t need his sympathy.
“Declan, sweetheart, do what your mom says. Stop being a pill.” I walked over to him and kissed his cheek lightly. “Keep Wyllie with you too. It’ll be a fun boys’ night.”
Declan smiled. “Really?”
I knew that would get him out of here. “Yes. Give him a kiss for me.” And with that I left.
I couldn’t stand there and pretend like everything was fine for another minute.
The past few days, all the shit I’d piled on myself had caught up with me. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted.
And to make matters worse, tomorrow I got to fake-marry the real man of my dreams.