Expecting a fortune, p.6
Expecting a Fortune, page 6
But Bea’s mind kept wandering back to her off-the-charts sexual encounter with Devin a little over a week ago...and how it had ended.
If her cycle wasn’t so irregular, she might have been able to count days to get an idea if she’d been in the pregnancy window. But with the added stress of opening the restaurant, her cycle had been even more erratic than usual. And based on her history, there was more than just a good chance she wasn’t pregnant. Maybe she should have told that to him. He’d looked so concerned before he’d left to meet his daughter.
The next day, he’d sent a text checking in to see how she was doing, and again a few days later. Both times she’d texted back that she was fine. They hadn’t communicated since then. But why would Devin reach out again? He was probably waiting to hear news from her. After all, their intent had been a one-night stand.
“The key is to not focus on what didn’t work but concentrate on what did,” Freya said.
The comment brought Bea back into the conversation. That was a good point. Focusing on what hadn’t worked would only lead to worry. Why not just remember how good things had been between her and Devin before the moment had gone sideways?
But her hookup with Devin wasn’t what Freya was talking about.
“You’re right.” Bea slipped off the lightweight gray cardigan she’d paired with a blue shirt and black jeans. “We have to do all we can to promote this opening in a way that will encourage people to rebook their reservations.”
“And our plan of offering a free item to the first fifty who do will help with that,” Tanya added. “But maybe the options should just be a dozen biscuits to go or a dessert. I think the biscuits will be popular, and food-cost wise, they’re a lot cheaper than our appetizers.”
Freya smoothed a strand of ash-blond hair from her cheek. “I think either will work as long as we aren’t sabotaged again.” She frowned. “That’s such a terrible thing that happened. I couldn’t imagine even conceiving something like that. Could you?” She looked between Bea and Tanya.
“None of us could,” Bea replied. “But like you said, we should focus on the positives. And that means we probably shouldn’t use the word sabotage to describe what happened.” Earlier, she’d heard Freya using the word liberally while booking reservations on the phone. “We’ve come up with a good plan. That’s our focus, and now we just have to implement it.”
“True.” Freya tapped on her tablet. “Lily’s idea to have everyone share their photos of Esme and Ryder’s wedding has really paid off. She’s uploaded them to a site. I know we’re supposed to be talking about business, but you have to take a peek.”
The wedding was definitely a bright spot. And from Esme’s text message a few days ago, she and Ryder were enjoying their extended honeymoon at a resort in the Maldives. And they were looking forward to the nanny bringing Chase and Noah to join them.
Bea accepted the tablet from Freya. Many of the photos showed the couple gazing lovingly at each other, even the candid ones when they weren’t aware someone was watching them. And there were several cute pics of their baby boys as well.
Freya pointed. “This one of you and Devin is really nice.”
The person taking the photo had captured Devin as he was about to spin Bea around. They were smiling at each other. Memories of happiness along with remembered desire curled through her.
She’d told Devin that she didn’t have time for a relationship of any kind. But honestly, if things had ended differently after their night together, she would have been tempted to see him again.
A knock sounded at the front door.
Tanya stood. “That’s probably Mrs. Lansing. I’ll let her in.”
“I’ll do it.” Freya gathered up her things. “I’m on my way out anyway. I have errands to run.”
“Okay, thanks.” Tanya turned to Bea. “There’s a delivery coming in. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
Moments later, Bea sat at the table with the thirty-something brunette dressed casually in blue active wear. She’d spoken to Esme a few weeks ago about the possibility of booking the café for a private event.
“Please, call me Sophia.” The woman’s cheeks flushed pink as she became the equivalent of an octopus, giving her baby a pacifier and setting up her five-year-old son, Easton, with a coloring book all while wrangling her daughter, a toddler named Amelia. “Apologies for bringing the kiddos along. My sitter woke up sick this morning and couldn’t look after them. I just didn’t want to cancel our meeting.”
“That’s perfectly okay. Can I get you anything?”
“No, I’m good. Thank you.” After settling Amelia on her lap, Sophia snagged an adult water bottle for herself and a matching kiddie water bottle for the toddler. “So, I’m planning a fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration for my in-laws...”
They chatted about several ideas for the Sunday late-morning event.
Bea drew out a rough sketch of the room layout for the party on her tablet. “Not going with a plated meal actually opens quite a few options. We can set up a buffet line, and we can also set up separate omelet and Belgian waffle stations here and here. And even a dessert station if you like.” She looked up from her tablet to smile at her client. “You mentioned all the grandkids would be attending. Make-your-own ice cream sundaes could be fun.”
“We get to have ice cream?” Five-year-old Easton flashed a grin, revealing a missing front tooth.
Amelia squealed at him.
“Maybe.” Sophia smiled. “Ice cream sundaes are actually a great choice. My mother-in-law used to work at an ice cream shop in high school. My father-in-law was the stud quarterback, and he used to stop by to flirt with her. All these years later, they still act like teenage sweethearts.”
“Aww. That’s wonderful.”
“It is.” Sophia leaned away as Amelia waved her arms, spraying drops of water from the attached straw on her bottle. “And they had six kids.” Giving in to Amelia squirming around, she let the child slide from her lap. “Honestly, I don’t know how Joan did it. My husband and I barely had a handle on things with two kids when Corbin snuck up on us.”
“Snuck up?” Bea smiled brightly at the toddler who came over and grasped on to her fingers.
The weight of Amelia’s hand in hers was almost nothing, but the light in the little girl’s hazel eyes declared, I’m here. I know you see me. I see you.
“Snuck up is probably the wrong choice of words.” Sophia laughed. “Hubby and I went to Acapulco for a long weekend to celebrate our anniversary, and the result was Corbin.” She glanced at the baby sleeping in the stroller. “He was absolutely unexpected. A word from the wise—even the best protection fails.”
A short time later, they wrapped up their meeting and Bea walked Sophia and her children to the door. But Sophia’s warning about her Acapulco trip remained on Bea’s mind.
Her morning with Devin couldn’t have resulted in the unexpected? Could it?
The question haunted her the rest of the day. On the way home, she gave in to the impulse and drove to GreatStore. The big-box retailer sold everything from groceries to clothes to home goods and personal items...including pregnancy tests.
Inside the store, she grabbed a handheld shopping basket and headed for the personal-care section.
She perused the myriad of test boxes. The packaging on some of them had changed from years ago, but they were still familiar. Rapid results, countdown clocks, pregnancy test strips, a triple-check test proclaiming it offered even more reassurance about the result.
A fleeting recollection played through her mind of buying multiple tests years ago. At times, when she’d used them, it had almost felt as if she was playing the pregnancy lottery, hoping for the winning result. But it had never happened.
A customer passing by jostled Bea from her thoughts. She didn’t recognize the woman curiously staring at her, but what if she had? Or what if Freya or Asa and Lily or one of the staff at the café walked by and saw her looking at pregnancy tests? What would she tell them?
Heart thumping from a sudden surge of anxiety, she grabbed a “six days or sooner” test kit along with another kind as a backup and quickly left the aisle. On a reflex, she snagged two pairs of neon-colored moisturizing socks and piled them on top of the tests along with packages of deodorant and a large value-size bodywash from the next aisle.
Moments later, she stood in the “twenty items or less” self-checkout line, praying she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew.
After what felt like forever, she finally reached the register. Nervousness made her hands a tad unsteady as she dug out the tests first and scanned them on the reader.
If Esme were around, Bea would have called her for support. She didn’t know Lily well enough to tell her, but she wouldn’t want to burden her with keeping this type of a secret from Asa. If he found out, he’d leap into big-brother protective mode and maybe even call Devin, demanding to know his intentions.
Farther down, a familiar-looking guy entered the store. The bodywash she was scanning almost slipped out of her hands. Had thinking of her one-night stand conjured up his presence? No, of course not. It was just a small town.
Devin paused in the main aisle and glanced at his phone.
Whatever happens next, I’m here...
Recalling what he’d said brought a sense of comfort. If she told him how nervous she was about taking the test, would he empathize with her? Or maybe even be there when she took it? A large part of her believed he would. But she couldn’t just walk up to him in the store and ask. But she did have his number. She could call him from the parking lot.
As Bea hurried to pay for her things, a teenage girl joined Devin. He smiled at the girl as they walked in the opposite direction.
Was that Carly?
A sense of isolation hit Bea. Devin had other important priorities. She would have to face this next step on her own.
Chapter Eight
Devin inched his black truck forward in the trailing line of cars headed to the front of the middle school. As he flipped down the visor, blocking out most of the morning sun, he stifled a yawn.
Carly sat beside him in the front passenger seat of the crew cab, munching on cinnamon French toast sticks while texting on her phone.
Yesterday she’d stayed after school for a club meeting. Lauren had had to work late and couldn’t pick her up, so he’d taken his daughter to his place for the night. At GreatStore, while they’d been shopping for the items to make spaghetti for dinner, she’d put the box of toast sticks into the basket.
Lauren was a health nut and wouldn’t approve of Carly eating what she deemed the equivalent of junk food first thing in the morning. But from the way the thirteen-year-old was gobbling the toast sticks, she’d needed a break from the choices of muesli, quinoa, raisin bran, or Greek yogurt with fruit for breakfast.
But he had fed her a balanced meal last night. Spaghetti with meat sauce and a salad. Carly had sliced up the vegetables for the salad, and he’d made everything else. While they’d prepared the meal, she’d talked to him about her homework. One of her last assignments of the school year was to write an essay on a social issue affecting teens. She hadn’t chosen a topic yet.
The impact of social media on mental health, peer pressure, bullying, addiction... While he was proud of her knowledge on those subjects, their conversation had made him acutely aware of the things she was facing at her young age.
Despite questioning his and Lauren’s parental wisdom at almost every turn, Carly was staying on the right path, choosing independence and responsibility instead of caving to the wrong influences. He was proud of her.
It was hard to believe that soon she would finish eighth grade. And that coming fall, when he drove her to school, he would have to drop her off on the other end of the campus at the high school entrance.
Carly caught him looking at her, and teen wariness reflected on her face. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Like what?” he said.
“Like you’re wondering about me.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
Carly’s silent raised brow before she turned her attention back to her phone conveyed her answer.
Moments later, they were at the designated drop-off zone.
She grabbed her backpack from the floor. “Bye, Dad.”
Not wanting to embarrass her by making a “big deal” about the quick kiss she gave him on the cheek before she got out, he held back a grin until after he’d driven off.
Next stop was the Saddle & Spur Roadhouse to pick up the pastries and sandwiches he’d ordered from the restaurant. He and his staff were putting together the Sunday edition that was due to the printer, and they would be tied to the office until the late afternoon. An endless supply of food and coffee was a must.
As he exited the school’s campus, he turned up the radio. The last song he and Bea had danced to under the gazebo played through the speakers.
Maybe he should reach out to her again? But when he had, she’d said she was okay, and hearing from him now could be an unwanted distraction. After all, Bea was in the midst of preparing for the rescheduled grand opening.
He’d been debating whether he should show up for it as the anonymous critic. Giving an unbiased review of the café would be a challenge for him now. Especially since he felt guilty about her not knowing he’d written the review. In hindsight, he should have insisted on telling Bea up front, but letting go of everything and spending one carefree night together had been too hard to walk away from...and so had the morning after.
But if he’d left like he’d intended right after his shower, things would have ended with the two of them remembering how much they’d enjoyed being together, instead of worrying about possible life-altering changes.
His phone rang through the car’s speaker system. But it wasn’t Bea. He answered the call.
“Hey, Lauren.”
“Hi, Devin. Are you on your way to work?”
“Not yet. I just dropped Carly off at school. I have to pick up some takeout before I head to the office. But before I forget—Carly and I went shopping last night, and she picked out some clothes. The bags are in the car with me. Do you mind if I let myself into the garage so I can drop them off before I head to the Saddle and Spur?”
“Actually, I’m still at home. I was hoping you might be able to stop by this morning so we could talk. Do you have a few minutes?”
Lauren sounded a little off. Was something going on with Carly?
Devin headed for the busy four-lane road just outside of town. “Be there in twenty minutes.”
He arrived at Lauren and Carly’s house a short time later and backed into the driveway.
When they’d all moved to Texas, the three-bedroom house with wood floors, high ceilings, and a loft over the garage had been their perfect dream home. And Carly loved her space. Over the years, she’d helped paint the walls in her new favorite color of the moment ever since she’d been able to use a paint brush and not make too much of a mess. After the divorce, it had made sense for him to move into a smaller place and his ex-wife and daughter remain there.
As he walked up the stone path carrying the shopping bags with Carly’s new things, Lauren opened the front door. She was dressed for work in a gray blouse, slacks and heels.
He left the bags in the entryway, then followed her to the kitchen. Devin sat on a stool on the living room side of the beige granite island.
Lauren selected two glasses from an upper cabinet. “Orange juice good?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
She took a container out of the refrigerator, poured him a glass, then spooned up some quinoa from a pot on the stove into a bowl. She set both in front of him.
He wasn’t into quinoa, and Lauren knew that. Yeah, something was definitely off. Devin nudged the bowl aside. “So what’s up?”
Lauren took her time pouring a glass of orange juice for herself. “Last night at work, there was a conference call with the higher-ups in the company. They announced that they’re downsizing.”
Was she at risk of losing her job? As a claims-department supervisor at an insurance company, she’d been climbing the ranks to a management position. He could only imagine how Lauren felt after receiving the bad news.
But her company, located in the next town over, wasn’t the only one making big changes. In fact, the paper was publishing an article in the upcoming edition about the economic impact caused by the unexpected exodus of businesses from the area.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know this is something you hadn’t anticipated.”
“No.” She released a dry chuckle. “It definitely came out of the blue.”
Luckily the house was already paid off and so was Lauren’s car. As far as he knew, food, utilities, and incidentals were her main concerns.
“If you’re worried about paying the bills, don’t be. If you lose your job, I can cover expenses here until you find another one. Just let me know how much you need.”
“Actually, they offered me a lateral promotion with a raise.” Lauren carefully put down her still-full glass. “I can stay here in my new position...or I can go to Dallas or Corpus Christi.”
She’d mentioned all three opportunities. That meant she was weighing all the options. “What did you decide?”
“I chose Corpus Christi. I start there in three months.”
She was moving? This was sudden, but it wasn’t an unmanageable situation.
Devin took a sip of orange juice and a moment to collect his thoughts. “Okay. Not a problem. Carly has volleyball camp and some volunteer activities lined up for the summer. I can adjust my schedule. I guess the big question is what do you want to do with the house? If it comes down to it, I could sell my place, and that way Carly could stay put.”
