brought it to her. “Oh … wow. You must be pregnant, huh?”
“What?” Amie said.
Kael held up the phone so we could see her screen and my message. “My … my … Mrs. Smith. How ungodly of you to recommend your friend get an abortion.” He added his own dramatic flair. He had his own way of turning heads and starting a terrible rumor.
She snatched it from his hand.
He smirked. “I would never tell a woman what to do with her body, but you really should consider adoption.”
Amie inspected the screen, and then she shifted her gaze to me, maintaining a firm wrinkle of confusion along her forehead. I gave her a dead stare, trying to hide any sort of tell. But Kael knew. Even if no one else understood, he didn’t miss the true meaning. Amid the new round of chatter bleeding out of his store into the square, the most viral gossip ever, we hung our heads in shame and wormed our way to my store and the long line of customers we’d just inherited because I was an asshole.
Craig would have been friends with Kael. I had no doubt about that. He would have sat next to him at the sports bar, drinking beer and placing bets on sports and business. My husband was competitive to a fault. He would have fought dirty, but not that dirty. All in good fun and friendly competition. He would have exploited all our longtime customers who were in their eighties and nineties and given credit to Smith’s sausages and popcorn for their longevity.
He wouldn’t have done what Amie and I did. Even my competitive husband had boundaries.
If Jeremy could blame Craig’s death for his affair, I could blame Craig’s death for my temporary lapse in sanity and moral judgment.
Right?
Chapter Seventeen
He’d come into the house while I’d be in the middle of a TV show—stand directly between me and the TV— to tell me about a carburetor he was working on in the garage or why it took him so long to replace the brakes on the neighbor’s vehicle.
* * *
Finn and Chase made sure Amie and her car got home safely since she was still feeling the effects of whatever herb she took to make her vomit. Bella, Linc, and I scurried around the shop the rest of the afternoon, dealing with the onslaught of customers. It ended up being one of our best Black Fridays (sales wise) ever.
“Coming?” Bella asked as I shut off the lights and grabbed my purse. “You go ahead. I have a few errands to run.”
“Checking in on Amie?”
I nodded.
“That’s terrible. And so bad for Kael. I mean … clearly I feel for Amie, but I kind of feel bad for him too. What if it wasn’t his fault? You know? What if it was the manufacturer’s fault? There could end up being a recall on whatever made her sick, but in the meantime, nobody will go back to Kael’s store. That’s sad.”
“Yes. It is. I’m sure he’ll rebound. He’s young and charismatic. Everyone loves him.”
“Except you.”
As I opened the door and stuck my key in the outside lock, I frowned at her. “What do you mean?”
She gave me a head tilt as if my question was ridiculous. “I see the way you look at him. And you’re so tense and standoffish around him. You don’t like him—either because he’s Smith’s competition or because you’re jealous of his store and the fact that everyone does love him. It’s not like you, but I see it. You can’t stand him. And I don’t really get it. You’re a lot like him. I mean … I’d think you’d like the products at his store. And you've always been someone to go out of your way to help other people.”
“You’re right. It’s not like me. But you’re also wrong … I’m not jealous of him.”
“Good. Because Amber is having a get-together at her house tonight, and he’ll be there. I’m going, and I just don’t want you to be pissed off if I don’t act all douchey toward him.” She stepped outside.
I pulled the door shut and turned the lock. “You know for a fact that he’s going?”
“That’s what she said.”
Turning toward her, I deposited my keys into my purse and hiked it up onto my shoulder. “Have fun. No need to be douchey on my account.”
Bella smirked before leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Sorry. That was a little douchey of me to say that. Thanks. I will