“Brooke!” Cole called, as he walked down the hallway toward her room, where she’d supposedly run in to take a ‘quick shower’ an hour ago. He should’ve known she would need more time. “We’re going to be late, if you don’t hurry.”
Gus was at his heels, excited to go toward Brooke’s room, where he usually wasn’t allowed. Cole felt sorry for him, since they were headed out to dinner and leaving him behind.
It was their one-month anniversary, and Cole had decided to take Brooke out to a nice restaurant to lift their spirits. They’d both been a little dejected when Dave couldn’t determine the baby’s gender, even though he’d told them not to get their hopes up. He’d already scheduled another ultrasound two weeks later, when she would be almost twenty weeks along.
Breaking the news about the pregnancy had gone as smooth as one could hope with both sets of parents. Both mothers were more excited about the fact that a baby was coming than concerned about his parentage. That would probably change once they heard about the pending divorce.
When Brooke didn’t answer his shouts, Cole wondered if she’d changed her mind about going out. Perhaps the idea of celebrating an anniversary was making the marriage feel too real for her. He understood her objections. She wanted to keep their relationship in the friend zone so she wouldn’t be hurt when it came to an end. In fact, she’d even suggested that they were almost like a brother and sister, and Cole had spoken his agreement. But the truth was he’d never had a sisterly thought about Brooke.
He knocked on her door. “Brooke? Are you almost ready?”
Her croaky voice answered, “I don’t feel up to going.”
At his side, Gus whined, his nose against the door.
As Cole suspected, she was backing out. He hid his disappointment. Her feelings were more important than a steak dinner. He was becoming accustomed to the rise and fall of her emotions, changing every few minutes. From everything he’d read, this was a normal occurrence during pregnancy.
“That’s okay. I’ll cook something for you. Or order in. What are you hungry for?”
“Nothing.” The noise that followed her choked word sounded like a sob.
His chest felt like someone was sitting on it. “Brooke? Are you okay?”
When she didn’t answer, he tried the door. Finding it unlocked, he pushed it open, and Gus dashed inside. “I’m coming in. Are you decent?”
The only answer was another sob. The sight of her tore at his heart.
Gus paced around her where she sat on the floor, wrapped in a white robe, her back against the wall, hugging her knees against her. Her face was turned away, but he knew she was crying. On the floor beside her was her cell phone.
He moved on silent feet and sat against the wall beside her, praying he wouldn’t say something idiotic and make things worse. Gus settled on her other side, nuzzling her arm until she relented, and moved her hand to rub his ears, her head still resting on her knees.
“What’s wrong?” Cole asked.
After a moment, her muffled voice responded, “Nothing.”
“This doesn’t look like nothing.”
She leaned her head back against the wall, exposing her tear-streaked face as she stared forward. “I’m overreacting. I shouldn’t care. It shouldn’t matter.”
“What shouldn’t matter? What happened?”
Her trembling hand reached for her phone. “Harper called. She can’t come next weekend.”
“I’m sorry. I know you miss her.” It seemed like an extreme reaction, but at least he could fix the situation. “I can fly you down to Baton Rouge, any time.”
“That’s not the problem,” she said, drawing a wobbly breath as her fingers punched at the phone screen. She handed it to him. “This is.”
He recognized the couple on the screen—Nathan and Wendy. They’d had one of those trendy pregnancy photos made. Both dressed in all-white, he was standing behind her with his hands around her swollen abdomen. He appeared to be whispering something in her ear, while she wore a radiant expression.
Cole had a sudden urge to throw the man onto the floor again. He’d never felt so much hatred for someone he barely knew. While it stung his ego that Brooke still seemed attached to Nathan after being married to Cole for a month, he should’ve realized their temporary marriage didn’t substitute for what she’d lost with her ex.
“I thought you blocked him,” Cole said. “Where did this come from?”
“Harper sent it to me.” She sniffed.
“Why did she do that? She had to know it would hurt you.”
“She still follows him, but only because I asked her to be my spy.” Brooke’s head dropped forward. “I know it’s petty, but I was kind of hoping Wendy would get some sort of pregnancy acne or her hair would fall out or something. So I asked Harper to send me a picture.”
“She doesn’t look as bad as you hoped?” Cole strained to keep a straight face.
“Look at her! She’s beautiful!” Brooke flung her hands in the air. “Both of them are. And they look so happy together. They’re practically glowing.”
What could he say? He felt so helpless.
“She might have acne,” he said. “This picture is photoshopped.”
With hopeful eyes, she turned to gaze up at him through wet lashes. “You really think so?”
He looked at the image again. “Absolutely! In fact, there’s one big zit they missed, right on the end of her nose. It’s huge.”
The corners of her mouth curved up. “You’re lying.”
“No, it’s not a zit.” He held the phone close to his face. “It’s actually a wart! And it has a long black hair sticking out of it.”
Her elbow jabbed weakly into his side. “Stop it.”
