found out about Brenda. It didn’t matter why. She was one of them, and they always help their own.
And it would’ve never happened in San Francisco.
I wipe my eyes discreetly for the third time, so embarrassed, my teeth ache from grinding. When I built up the nerve to apologize to Brenda, I burst into tears and she ended up comforting me.
My knees crick as I stand again, dumping another load of dust and glass into the trash can. Then a hand gently reaches out, touching mine. I look up into a pair of kind eyes—Brenda’s. She’s a middle-aged woman with graying, curly hair and a face that puts you at ease.
“How long have you been at it?”
I think. “Um—I don’t know. I came this morning with everyone else.”
“You should have something to drink. You shouldn’t work in your condition.”
Um. What? “My condition?”
“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” she says without batting an eye. “Congratulations, by the way!”
“Yeah—thanks,” I say in a tone that’s probably too dry. I glance in Gage’s direction, sending him a death glare I hope he can feel through the back of his head. He told people?
She notices my unhappy stare. “Oh, Gage didn’t say a word. I heard it from Angela.”
I don’t even know an Angela.
“She works at the pharmacy where you bought your pregnancy test. She noticed you coming back for more tests and put two and two together.” She winces as if she said too much information. “Angela’s a sweetheart, but a total gossip. I just wanted to tell you before you got angry with Gage. The whole town’s really rooting for him, you know?”
No, I don’t know, I want to tell her. I barely know him.
My skin crawls at this invasion of privacy, and my teeth grit as I notice other people nodding in my direction and giving me strange smiles. Does everybody know?
I get my answer when I step outside the store for ice tea. I grip the plastic glass with the lemons and try to disappear behind it as Trudy approaches me with a wide smile.
“Congratulations!”
There’s no point in playing dumb about it. “Thanks.”
She gently takes my elbow and leads me out of earshot of the others. “A couple of the ladies around town were wondering if you were going to have the baby shower within the next few months, and whether you wanted an alfresco party or something indoors. Gage’s house is all right, but if you wanted something a little more upscale, you should—”
I hold up a hand, stopping her flow of words as my heart beats abnormally fast against my ribs.
“Too much? I’m sorry. There’s just not a lot of people in town. It’s not like they're popping out babies left and right, so it’s just exciting. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, really. I just found out I’m pregnant. Honestly, I have no idea when I’ll have a shower, or whether I’ll even have one.”
Her face falls. “But honey, you need to. Everyone has one.”
“I was supposed to have a bridal shower, and I didn’t have that either.”
Gage takes my upper arm suddenly, pulling me into his side. “Sorry, Trudy, but I have to steal my wife for a moment.”
I pull my lips into a smile for her that she enthusiastically returns. “Let me know!”
He walks me to the side of the strip mall, which is away from everyone. I round on him. “Are we still going with that charade?”
His face twitches with an amused grin. “I don’t know why I have to keep repeating this, but we’re married. It doesn’t matter that we were both drunk off our asses. In their eyes we’re husband and wife. And now we’re having a baby.”
I see my panic reflected on Gage’s face.
“How the hell did everyone find out I was pregnant?”
“I told you it was going to be like this. It’s one of the pitfalls of living in a small town. People know shit about you before you’re even aware of it.”
My head buzzes as I digest the fact that I’m probably the center of all the gossip circles here. “Don’t people have anything better to do?”
A sly grin moves across his face. “You’re right. They should be writing naughty romance instead.”
“God, shut up about it.”
“Not until I get to read your work.”
“Never.”
“Fine. Go home and write your porn in secret.”
The last thing I feel like doing is making headway on my romance novel. “I have a pile of work to do anyway.”
I step around him and walk out of the bright sunshine and