I get to work straightening up a display when I hear someone enter from the side, whistling a Patsy Cline tune. Latham gives me a wide grin and doesn’t even miss a beat of the song.
“Hey, Latham,” I say as he glances around, no doubt, looking for his wife. “Harper ran to the post office and café.”
He smiles the moment I say his wife’s name, and by some stroke of really bad luck, wetness seems to gather in my eyes once more. He’s so excited just by hearing her name and doesn’t even care he’s wearing the biggest, dopiest grin ever. “Damn, I was hoping to steal my afternoon kiss.”
“Well, you’re going to have to wait for her return. I don’t kiss married men,” I reply with a smile.
“And I don’t kiss a married woman besides my wife,” he adds, laughing.
My smile falters, and he notices instantly, standing up straight and tall. The casual man before me is replaced with something else, something edgier and more serious.
I try to brush off the concern I know is coming. “Anyway, I’ll send her over as soon as she gets back for that kiss.” I busy my hands again by straightening the stack of bras I’ve already tidied.
“Hey, Free? Is everything okay?” he asks, taking a step closer.
“Yeah, sure, fine. Why?” I ask, wishing I hadn’t asked that question.
He studies me for a few seconds before answering. “You just don’t look yourself, sweetie. You look…”
“Tired?” I ask with a snort. “I haven’t been sleeping well,” I add with a dismissive wave of my hand.
He takes another step closer, almost into my personal space. “Is everything okay with…you know?”
I blink several times. Is he referring to me and Samuel? I mean, I’m certain Harper told him about finding us in my hotel room, married, back in Vegas, but no one has ever really said anything about it.
When I don’t reply, he goes on. “Did you guys have a fight or something?”
I can’t stop my snort. “You could say that,” I mumble.
He shrugs and relaxes a little against one of the cabinets. “I’m sure you guys will figure it out.”
I glance down at my hand—at the rings on my finger. “I’m not so sure about that,” I whisper, grabbing the wedding band and spinning it around. “I’m sure Harper told you? About Vegas?”
He laughs. “No she didn’t.”
That gives me pause. When I look up I can tell he’s serious.
“Actually, Samuel told me.”
I gasp. “He did? When?”
“That night we had dinner at his mom’s place. I don’t think he really meant to tell us guys, but he just sort of blurted it out.”
“Wow,” I mumble, taking in this new revelation.
“Yeah, and when we got home that night, I might have mentioned it to Harper after swearing her to secrecy. Turns out, she already knew. At first, I was pissed she didn’t tell me, but when she explained it was because it was you and Samuel and you had a lot of stuff to figure out, I guess I understood. I mean, she wasn’t lying to me or intentionally keeping it from me. She was just protecting you.”
My eyes burn again. God, what the hell is up with all these tears?
“Anyway, he mentioned it when we were cleaning up, but didn’t give too many details.”
My mind wanders back to that evening, to dinner. When we left, he seemed to have a lot on his mind, but he usually does when his family is involved. “So you all know?”
“Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but I would assume Rhenn told Marissa and Jensen told Kathryn.”
“And Mary Ann?” I ask, my heart suddenly up in my throat.
Latham opens his mouth to respond and then shuts it quickly. “That doesn’t mean anything,” he insists when my face falls.
It means more than he thinks. He hasn’t told his mother because he knew it wouldn’t last. He knew about the divorce papers. Why would you tell your mom about getting married if you’d planned to have it taken care of as quick as possible? You wouldn’t.
My sandals are suddenly the most interesting thing ever, and my eyes are glued to them.
“Hey, don’t get upset about that, Free. He’s a different guy,” Latham insists, as if telling me something I don’t already know.
Not really knowing what to say, I reply with, “I know.” And I do. He’s different. He’s anal as hell, but while not everyone understands him, I do.
Or at least, I thought I did.
I smile when I see Harper coming out of the café across the street and heading our way. “Thanks for the talk,” I tell him, even though we really didn’t discuss anything we didn’t already know.
“Anytime, Free, and I mean that. We’re here for you,” he says before he goes to the front door and holds it open for his wife. Harper presses her lips to his the moment she steps over the threshold. “What did you bring me?” he asks, looking down, longingly, at the bag in her hand.
Grinning, she heads to where I’m now standing at the counter, and I can’t help but laugh when I see his eyes following her ass the entire way. She knows it, of course, and adds a little extra swing in her steps. “Here’s a peppermint tea and some vegetable soup,” she says, taking one of the two coffee cups from the holder and setting it down beside me. She reaches into the bag and pulls out a small bowl of soup and two small packages of crackers.
Latham looks over her shoulder, presses a kiss to her cheek and asks, “What’d ya get me?”
She takes a large cookie out of the bag and hands it to him. “S’more crunch,” she tells him, as he shovels half the treat into his mouth.
Before he’s even swallowed it, he presses a kiss to her cheek and waves goodbye. “See you at four thirty,” he mumbles with food in his mouth as he disappears into the hardware store.
“I forgot you’re leaving early,” I tell
