David crouched, welcoming Parker into his arms with a hug. “Hey, Sport.”
Saylor plodded to join them. “What are you doing here?” she demanded again. Unwittingly, she thought of Cole. She couldn’t fathom what he must think of her.
David released Parker, rumpled his hair, and handed Saylor an envelope in answer to her question. “I would’ve just mailed yours, but I wanted to talk to you about the day of the wedding.”
“The day of the—what? She tore the envelope and perused its contents. It was a professional exhibition of Amanda and David’s faces blaring superficially white teeth and over-tweezed brows, utterly and thoroughly posed in magazine-like perfection on the five by seven inch card. It was a nice picture, she thought grudgingly.
She took in the date. January eighth. “One week? I thought your wedding was this coming summer.”
David shuffled uncomfortably. “It was. Amanda changed her mind. She decided we should move things up to avoid questions.”
Saylor’s brow knitted. “Avoid questions about what?”
David cleared his throat and went on. “Since you weren’t at home, and you didn’t answer your phone—”
“You thought you could just barge in over here.” Saylor folded her arms, letting the invite crumple. She wished she had one of those lighters so she could hold it up and burn it right in front of him. Let it singe to a crisp in the snow.
David shrugged. “Anyway, I need you to come pick up Parker beforehand and get him ready for us.”
A semi-truck could have hit her and it would have been less of a surprise. “You need me to get our son ready for your wedding? It’s your weekend with him.”
“Like you have something better to do.” David’s tone was nothing short of snarky.
Defensiveness rippled through her. She wanted to run and hide. She wanted to smack him. She bolstered her courage, thinking of the only thing her mind would allow right then.
“I have plans that night.”
David’s smile was incredulous. “You’re talking about the guy I saw you with at Rock Creek?”
Why did he have to sound so condescending? Was it really that impossible to believe she could find someone else too? Assuming Cole still wanted anything to do with her after her confession. She couldn’t fathom what he must think of her now he knew the truth. She couldn’t say she hadn’t tried warning him.
“He seems like a real catch.” David’s words dripped with sarcasm.
He is, she wanted to scream. Or was. He was a gentleman, respected by his coworkers; thoughtful, sweet, good with kids and he knew exactly what was wrong with her car after one quick glance. He listened to her with tenderness and attempts at understanding. He was more of a catch than David ever was.
A catch who may not give her a second chance, now that she’d treated him like a hotel busboy and unloaded all her baggage on him.
“You delivered your invite. Go home.”
“You still haven’t given me an answer.”
“Go, David.”
He smiled, upsetting her all the more. “Six o’clock Saturday,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll tell the dry cleaners you’ll be picking up Parker’s suit. Make sure he’s ready in time so we aren’t late. We need him there in time for pictures.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Saylor’s legs were weak. Her ears were ringing. Her entire frame shook from the injustice of it. With mental numbness, she took Parker’s hand and made her way inside. She kicked the snow from her shoes and sank onto her parents’ couch.
The warmth of their home enveloped her, as did the smell of banana muffins baking. A cheery fire snapped in the glass fireplace in the corner, but Saylor saw it for what it really was. A taunt, with its heat and ability to destroy if anything got too close. Was anything ever as it seemed?
Saylor sank her head into her hands.
The confrontation with Cole, the emotional whiplash from pouring her heartache to him. Reawakening those old emotions had been like enduring them all over again. Now David storming in and making demands was the proverbial straw on the camel’s back.
Saylor heard her mom. “Honey?”
She spoke without looking at her. “Why did he have to come here? Why did he meet her, why did any of this have to happen?”
Saylor wasn’t sure if her mom had a clue who she was talking about. Had she seen David’s approach outside? He may have knocked and waited outside when he realized Saylor wasn’t there.
She lifted her head to find her mom sitting on the coffee table across from her, face crinkled in pity or sorrow. Or both. Her mom gnawed her bottom lip, her silence being welcome company.
Greg shuffled out of the kitchen, a plate of cookies in hand this time. For whatever reason, the real question of the evening scoured through her, hotter than the mug of chocolate her mother offered her.
Why did everyone in her life leave her? Was she so unloveable?
Back in high school, Saylor had been certain she and Caleb would be together. Then he’d chosen a different path, gone on to serve in the military, and had later died in his service. Their breakup had crushed her so much so that she’d overdosed on Greg’s pills in his bag at the party that night.
Then David. That was a different level of rejection all on its own, seeming to hit repeatedly every time she saw him. She knew Cole had to be upset too. He hadn’t shown it, but why else would he claim he needed time or that they needed to see other people?
She’d had to tell him the truth, though. It needed to be out in the open.
“I’m a nice person, aren’t I?” Saylor said to the room, voicing her heartbreak. “Sure, I make mistakes, just like anyone. But I’m trying.”
“I think you’re nice,” Parker said, his innocent, sweet face melting some of her pain and winning a smile. Greg offered her a cookie, setting
