to allow me a moment to think.
I’ve stopped pretending that I didn’t leave a piece of my heart with him. But it doesn’t change the facts of our circumstances. I’ve got more baggage than he deserves to be saddled with. Once he’s here, if he’s even still interested in me, he’ll see how untenable a relationship between us would be.
Then, he’ll meet someone who can live out his globe-trotting adventures with him.
At least I hope so. If he settles here and I have to see him with another woman on his arm, I might have to consider moving.
I don’t know if this is what a schoolgirl crush feels like – I never had one of those. I’m having all of these feelings I used to find silly and fatalistic when I read them in romance novels. I’ve got it bad, right down to the whole “I know I’ll never feel this way about anyone again.”
Only it doesn’t feel silly, because it took me thirty-six years to find him. Those aren’t good odds.
“Regan?” Confidence’s slightly raised, concerned voice startles me out of my daydream.
I flush and pull my hand back from her belly. “Sorry, nostalgia got me.”
“Are you okay?” She’s watching me with a furrowed brow, and I wonder if I spoke some of my thoughts aloud.
“I’m fine, why?”
“It’s just…you looked so sad.” Her frown deepens.
“I’m fine. I just got lost in my memories for a minute.” I muster a smile and sit back in my chair, crossing my legs and forcing my shoulders to relax. “You really popped since the wedding, haven’t you?” I nod at her belly.
Her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes, but she lets me change the subject and nods. “More like exploded. People keep asking if I’m having twins. I just tell them um, no, his daddy’s a giant.” She rolls her eyes. But she can’t stop the smile that breaks over her face when she mentions Hayes.
“So, how are you doing? Is it hard with Marcel being gone all the time?” she asks.
My stock answer, “I miss him, but it’s best for our kids.”, is on the tip of my tongue. But I like Confidence and if we’re going to be friends, she’ll learn the truth sooner or later.
“Not at all. It’s actually easier this way,” I answer and instantly feel lighter, even when her smile falters.
She leans forward to grasp my hand, her eyes full of sympathy. “I’m so sorry.”
I shake my head to dissuade her. “Don’t be. I’m fine.”
“But—”
“Confidence?” A woman’s voice I don’t recognize calls out to her and she sits up straight, and rests a hand on her forehead, her eyes widen with guilt. “I’m a knucklehead, I forgot Gigi was waiting for me in the car,” she grabs her purse and struggles to her feet just as a dark haired, willow beauty in silk light grey dress walks into the consultation room.
“There you are, I was—” The woman stops mid-sentence when she sees me. Her mouth falls open, her eyes go round like saucers. She looks like she’s seen a ghost.
“Hey, Gigi, I don’t think you’ve met Regan Wilde - Landel.” Confidence walks over to her. Her use of my maiden name surprises me. But, it, clearly, surprises Gigi more. The paper cup she’s holding slips from her hand and lands with a splatter at her feet. Confidence yelps and hops back. I stand to help, but Gigi stays frozen, not taking her eyes off me.
“Is she okay?” I ask.
Confidence glances at me and nods with a reassuring smile. “Noé?” she calls out to Tanaka’s assistant, and slides a protective arm around Gigi’s waist before she leads her from the room, without either of them saying another word.
I sit, barely registering when Noe comes in to mop up the spill. Gigi’s behavior just now was bizarre. I know very little about her. She’s Hayes’ aunt, but was disowned, when she ran with a man her father didn’t approve of. When her brother died, leaving Hayes an orphan, he went to live with her, and she raised him.
But I’ve been very curious about her lately. She was shot when a disgruntled employee went ballistic outside of the Rivers’ business headquarter. And, as far as I know, the last thing Remi did, before he hauled ass out of town, was visit her in the hospital.
She’s rebuffed all of our efforts to talk to her about his visit. And I felt bad harassing an old lady, who was recovering from a gunshot wound,