ARROGANT PLAYBOY by Winter Renshaw Page B

    ODESSA

 
    “I’m glad you’re back early.”
Carly plops down on my sofa, mindlessly flipping through the pages of one of
Jeremiah’s old cooking magazines. “So your boss had a baby?”
    “He’s not technically my boss.
And I don’t know. He didn’t want to talk about it. I’m not sure he even knew
what was going on.” I collapse next to her, pulling a throw over my feet and
curling into the overstuffed cushions behind me. “It was so weird, Carly. It
all happened so fast. I guess if you want to scare the hell out of a playboy
you tell him he’s going to be a father.”
    “Serves him right.” She
chuckles. “You talk to Jeremiah lately?”
    “We texted a little this
morning.”
    Carly sits up, reaching for one
of my old bridal magazines. “Oh, yeah? What’d he say?”
    “You told him I was in Utah
with a guy,” I say.
    “Was it a secret?”
    “No.” I swat her arm. “You
didn’t tell him it was for work. I think he thought it was a romantic thing. He
was acting kind of jealous, asking a ton of questions about Beckham.”
    “Interesting.” Carly’s
shoulders fall and she nibbles on a fingernail between her front teeth.
    “I don’t know if you were
intentionally trying to make him jealous,” I say. Carly is a mastermind at
relationship manipulation. I could see her thinking she was doing me a favor.
“I don’t want him thinking I’m running off with other guys when I’m doing all I
can to prove that I still want to marry him.”
    “Right.” Carly’s hands fall in
her lap. It’s not like her to be this mum.
    “Have you talked to him lately?
Has he said anything about me? About the wedding?”
    My fingers cross. My toes too.
If Jeremiah’s opening up to anyone, it’s her.
    “I mean, we talk sometimes, but
he’s so busy shooting the show,” she says. “We don’t really talk about the engagement.
I figure that’s between the two of you. And besides, if he did confide in me,
you know I couldn’t repeat it. Just like anything that you say to me stays
between us.”
    “I appreciate that,” I say. “As
much as I’m dying to know what he’s thinking. I told you he came over last Friday,
right?”
    Her brows meet. “No. You
didn’t. Last Friday, you said?”
    “Yeah, he showed up here.
Cooked me dinner. Stayed the night.”
    “Stayed the night?”
    “Yeah,” I laughed. “Is that
shocking or something?”
    Her head cocks to the side, and
she grabs a second magazine, flipping to the middle. I’m not convinced that
she’s reading the words on the page.
    “Carly.” My stomach drops. “You
know something about him, don’t you?”
    She nods no, curling a magazine
page between her fingers and concentrating on an ad for engagement rings.
    “Is there someone else? Oh.
God. You have to tell me.” I sit forward, my hand grasping her arm. “I don’t
want to sit around like some clueless idiot if he’s stringing me along.”
    It’s all starting to make
sense. All along, I was convinced I was
the problem, when maybe someone else came into the picture when I wasn’t paying
attention. I’ve been so focused on planning the wedding. Maybe something got
past me?
    “He’s testing the waters, isn’t
he?” I ask. “Seeing what else is out there before he settles down with me. And,
God, I’m waiting around like a moron.”
    “I don’t know what the hell
he’s doing, to be honest,” Carly sighs. “He’s lost his damn mind. He should be
with you. You guys belong together.”
    “I mean, he’s allowed to screw
other women. He’s technically single. I just need to know if I’m being strung
along.” I don’t hear her. My mind is going a million miles a minute.
    I pull out my phone, hands
shaking.
    “What are you doing, Sam?” she
asks.
    “Calling him.” I’m sunk. Carly
can deny it all she wants, but I feel it in my bones. I need to hear his voice.
Ask him to come over.
    And then I’ll ask the hard
questions. If he’s lying, I’ll know.
    Carly grabs my phone