by E. L. Todd
“I don’t know…I even think this guy is good-looking.”
It was the first time I smiled in weeks. “Keep it in your pants.”
“Shut the hell up.”
We approached the table and greeted him.
“Yo, I’m Slade.” He shook his hand. “You’re the entourage guy, right?”
“That’s me. I’m Rhett.” After he shook his hand he turned to me. “Wow, you’re glowing.” He eyed my stomach then turned his eyes back to me. “You must be Skye.” He shook my hand.
“Yes, and thank you.”
Rhett sat down and so did we. “How far along are you?”
“About seven months.” My hand moved to my stomach. “It’s getting pretty cramped in there…”
“Well, you look beautiful.” Sincerity was in his eyes but he didn’t come off sleazy. “How can I help you?”
“It’s a long story…” Slade rolled his eyes.
“A really long story,” I added.
“Well, my time is yours,” Rhett said. “I’m all ears.”
Slade told him the story from beginning to end. I didn’t have the heart to say it myself so I didn’t say anything. “So, now Cayson is being a stupid bitch-face and won’t let it go. I know he loves Skye and wants to be with her but…he needs a push.”
“And that’s where I come in?” Rhett asked.
“Bingo.” Slade snapped his fingers. “But don’t come anywhere near my wife.”
Rhett raised an eyebrow then leaned forward like he didn’t understand what he said. “Sorry, what?”
“My wife.” Slade pulled out his phone and found a picture. “She’s mine and off limits.” He displayed the phone to him.
I rolled my eyes in embarrassment. “Slade, Trinity is beautiful but I’m sure Rhett can keep his hands to himself.”
Rhett tried not to laugh. “She’s beautiful. But I prefer brunettes.”
Slade shoved the phone into his pocket, a little more relaxed.
“I’m not trying to talk you out of giving me your money but there’s something I should say before we do this.” Rhett kept his fingers around his coffee but he didn’t take a drink. “I mean, if he’s already moved out and he’s asking for a divorce…I don’t think there’s anything you can do.”
That’s the last thing I wanted to hear.
“No, they have a chance,” Slade said.
“What makes you say that?” Rhett asked. “I’m not prying or sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, but if you want me to help you I need all the facts. That’s the only way we have any shot of getting this right.”
Slade absentmindedly touched the tattoo on his ring finger. “He still wears his wedding ring—never takes it off.”
Rhett nodded.
“He does?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” Slade answered. “I see him all the time and he’s always got it on. If things were really over, he would take it off.”
Hope surged in my heart.
“Maybe we do have a chance,” Rhett said.
“We do,” Slade said. “I know we do.”
Rhett crossed his arms over his chest. “But if Skye moves on to me that quickly that will only make him more upset.”
“We thought about that,” Slade said. “This is what we want instead…” He explained the same plan to him that he did to me. “Basically, you just have to be into her. And we have to do this slowly otherwise it won’t make any sense. Why would any guy be attracted to a pregnant woman?” He turned to me. “No offense.”
“None taken,” I whispered.
“I think this could work,” Rhett said. “If we work together we could make it happen.”
Emotion welled up inside me and it came out of nowhere. “Please help me get my husband back…”
His eyes immediately filled with pity and compassion. “I’ll do everything I possibly can.”
Slade put his arm around my shoulders. “It’ll be alright, Skye. We have a plan and it’s going to work.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder, not to show affection but to lean on him as a crutch.
“We’ll need to work out the specifics,” Rhett said. “I think I should meet Cayson before he sees me with Skye. He needs to know I’m a good guy so he won’t immediately hate me when he sees me with Skye.”
“Good idea,” Slade said. “We’ll play basketball or something. I’ll tell him you work at the shop.”
“No, that won’t work,” Rhett said. “Tell him we met through mutual friends or something. I need to have a job that would impress him.”
Slade nodded. “You’re right. Good call.”
They continued to exchange ideas while I leaned against Slade, not having the energy or the drive to sit up straight on my own. My existence was empty and hollow. A life without Cayson was terrible and depressing. Why didn’t I just believe him? Why did I have to screw this up?
Why?
Chapter Three
Slade
I walked passed Jessica’s desk. “I need to see Cayson.”
His secretary absolutely loathed me. Fire was in her eyes and she hated the fact I tarnished her authority by walking in there whenever I felt like it. “Hold on. You don’t have an—”
I entered the office and approached Cayson’s desk. “Yo, your favorite person in the world is here.”
He chuckled. “Jessica hates your guts.”
“She’s never seen my guts.” I plopped down into the chair.
Cayson gave me a guarded look like he suspected I would launch into another attack about Skye.
That wasn’t my plan. “I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor?” He wouldn’t walk blindly into any trap.
“It’s my year anniversary this weekend.”
“Wow…” He leaned back in his chair. “I can’t believe it’s been a year already.”
“Yep. We made it.”
“And you’ll make it for another forty years.”
“Forty?” I asked. “Try seventy. Trinity and I are going to live for a hundred years.”
“I’m sure you will. So, what’s the favor?”
“I’m not sure what to get her. I want it to be perfect.”
“Well, you know her best.”
“My first thought was getting a tattoo…maybe on my thigh or something. I could put our wedding date there or something else.”
Cayson shook his head. “You already have one on your chest. If you get another it dilutes the meaning of that one.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“How about a song? She’d love that.”
“But all my songs are already about her. I do that on a daily basis.”
“Hmm…” Cayson held a pen against his lips.
“Flowers?” I asked. I never did the flower thing so I wasn’t sure.
“Flowers are nice.”
“But that’s not very personal…and she doesn’t like chocolate.”
“Jewelry,” Cayson said. “Girls love jewelry.”
“But I already gave her that bracelet when we went to Florida. And I bought her that ridiculous ring that I’m still paying off…she’s got enough jewelry.”
“This is a tough one…”
“I’ve been thinking about it for three days but haven’t come up with anything.”
“You know, you could just take her to dinner and to a play or something,” Cayson said. “As long as you remember the anniversary and make an effort, she’ll be very happy.”
“But I don’t want it to be ordinary…I want it to be nice.”
“You’re going to have to put your thinking cap on for this one,” he said with a chuckle.
“You’re the smart one. That’s why I came to you.”
“Honestly, you’ve already used up all your good ones before you got married…now you don’t have many ideas left.”
“I guess I worked hard to land her…”
“She’s really into fashion. Maybe you should get her some clothes.”
&
nbsp; That was a stupid idea. “The only thing I can pick out is slutty lingerie.”
“At least it’s personal,” he said with a shrug.
“Ugh, why are girls so hard to shop for?”
“Cook dinner for her.”
I gave him an incredulous look. “The only thing I know how to do is make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And she hates peanut butter so that doesn’t work.”
“What doesn’t she hate?” he asked. “First chocolate and now peanut butter?”
“She’s a picky eater…”
“I guess that’s why she’s so skinny.”
“And perfect,” I added.
Cayson smiled. “It’s been a year and you guys have been nothing but happy. Congratulations.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure how I pulled it off,” I said. “I guess I’m doing something right.” I promised her I would be the best husband I possibly could. She seemed happy all the time so I guess I was doing my job right.
“You’re doing everything right, Slade. Don’t doubt yourself so much.”
“I guess I could take her somewhere…maybe to a bed and breakfast or something. They have stuff like that in Vermont. There’s deers and crap right outside the window.”
“That’s thoughtful. Do that.”
“But Trinity is always on the go. I think she would go crazy being in the mountains like that.”
“That might be the best thing for her,” he reasoned. “To get away and stop thinking about work.”
I rubbed my chin. “And if there’s nothing to do that means there will be a lot of sex.”
He chuckled. “There you go.”
“I like that idea.”
“Me too,” he said. “And you did it on your own. You didn’t need me after all.”
“Maybe I am a pretty awesome husband.”
“I think so, man.”
“Sick.” I put my hands behind my head and stared out his enormous window. “So, what’s new with you?”
His voice immediately turned melancholy. “Just work…”
“Hitting the gym?”
“I try to go everyday.”
I didn’t bring up Skye. All that did was push him further away. “A friend of mine are playing ball today. You want to come?”
“Is that friend Skye?” His voice was ice-cold.
“No…why would I ask my pregnant cousin to play ball with us?”
“Because we aren’t going to play ball at all and you’re just tricking me.”
Geez, he was paranoid. “Uh, no. I’ve tried getting you back together and nothing has worked. I still think you guys should be together and you’ll find each other one way or another. But I need to stay out of it. You never listen to me anyway.”
Cayson still had his guard up.
“You think I’m lying?”
“It’s just completely out of character for you to give up on anything.”
“I never said I gave up. I just think you need to figure this out on your own. Now, you want to play ball or what?”
“Who is this friend of yours?”
“A friend from the gym. His name is Rhett. He’s really cool.”
Cayson finally dropped his suspicion even though he was dead-on about it. “Sure. But should we have a fourth person?”
“I guess I could ask Arsen.” But then I thought about everything he was going through. “But I don’t know if I should leave him alone…or maybe he wants the distraction. I’m not sure.”
“Don’t ask him,” Cayson asked. “Let’s give him space. That’s what he needs right now.”
“I can ask Conrad.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty good.”
“Better than you,” I teased.
“You want me to play with you or not?” he threatened.
“Not if you suck.”
He threw the pen at me.
I ducked and avoided the hit. “You missed so—”
He threw a sticky pad at me and hit me right in the face. “Asshole.”
“Whiny bitch.”
***
We arrived at the court and met Rhett. He wore running shorts and a t-shirt and he dribbled the ball and made a few shots as he waited. The plan was set in motion and I just hoped Cayson fell for it.
“Yo, Rhett.” I walked to him then fist-pounded him. “Ready to get creamed?”
“Am I the only one who took that the wrong way?” He tucked the ball under his arm then turned to Cayson. “What’s up? I’m Rhett.” He shook his hand.
Cayson took the bait. “Cayson. Nice to meet you.”
“Slade wasn’t kidding,” he said with a laugh. “He does have other friends.”
“Shut the hell up.” Rhett was doing a good job blending in. He teased me like the other guys. He infiltrated the group like a pro.
“I’m Conrad.” Conrad shook his hand next. “I’m glad Slade has friends outside the group…I was a bit worried there.”
“Slade is pretty cool,” Rhett said. “When he doesn’t talk, at least.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s get this game started. Or would you rather sit around and talk like a bunch of girls?”
***
When the game was finished we headed to Mega Shake.
“You can really drain them,” Conrad said as he sat beside Cayson in the booth. “Been playing a long time?”
“I played in high school and college,” Rhett answered. “What about you?”
“Just high school,” Conrad said. “But then again, I’m good at everything.”
Rhett ate half his food then nodded like it agreed with him. “This place is good. I’ve never been here before.”
“Now you’ll be here all the time,” I said. “Just watch.”
“So…” Conrad took a long sip of his soda. “You got any single girlfriends?”
Rhett chuckled. “All my girl friends are married.”
“Lame,” Conrad said. “Do you have a girlfriend with cute friends?”
“No,” Rhett answered. “I’m divorced.”
Whoa, that was a good answer.
Cayson’s eyes turned to him in interest.
“Oh, sorry,” Conrad said.
“It’s okay,” Rhett said. “I’ve been divorced for about a year. It gets easier as things go along.”
“Have you been hitting the town?” Conrad asked.
“Not really,” Rhett answered. “I tried dating a while ago but it didn’t go anywhere. As odd as it sounds, I really miss being in a relationship like I had with my wife. It’s much easier and fulfilling. I haven’t found anyone I like so it’s been pretty hollow…sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble.”
“No, you’re good,” I said. “Conrad asked.”
“Being back on the market sucks,” Rhett said with a sigh. “My marriage fell apart for a lot of stupid reasons…but we never stopped loving each other.”
“If she let you go she’s stupid,” Conrad said.
“Why do you say that?” Rhett asked like he was amused.
“Because you’re good at basketball,” Conrad said. He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“The number one quality women look for…” Cayson said under his breath. Cayson didn’t seem to mind Rhett but he wasn’t interested in him either. He was in his own world, harboring the depression that ate at him every day.
“Where do you work?” Conrad asked.
“I’m a financial advisor for an investment company that I opened a few years ago.” Rhett said all of this like it wasn’t a big deal.
“An investment company?” Conrad asked.
Rhett was a smooth talker. He could dish out lies with a flick of a wrist. “Yeah. We basically research portfolios for clients, but it’s up to them if they want to use them. We do all the dirty work but they make the final decision. But they pay big bucks for that kind of intelligence.”
I lost my train of thought because that was too much information. I had a few questions, but then I remembered I was already supposed to k
now that and I shouldn’t act surprised.
“Whoa, that’s pretty cool.” Conrad kept eating his fries as he said it.
“Thanks,” Rhett said. “A lot more people are investing in the stock market than ever before. Our major clients are big companies with retirement policies for their workers.”
Cayson sipped his soda but didn’t ask any questions. He was usually quiet when he was around other people besides me. Perhaps he feared it would spark a conversation about Skye.
“Badass,” Conrad said. “You must get laid all the time.”
Rhett chuckled but didn’t answer the question, being humble but confident at the same time.
Damn, he was a great actor.
“Why are you friends with Slade?” Conrad asked bluntly. “It’s Slade.”
“What do you mean?” Rhett asked. “Slade is a pretty cool guy.”
Conrad turned to me. “Did you pay him to say that?”
Panic burst in my heart. “No. Absolutely not. Why the hell would I do that? I told you, Rhett and I go to the same gym.”
Everyone looked at me while I had my mini panic attack.
“Dude, chill,” Conrad said. “I was kidding.”
“I know…” I shoved a handful of fries into my mouth.
Rhett piled his garbage onto the tray. “I’ll be right back.” He dumped his stuff into the garbage can then headed to the bathroom.
Conrad watched him go before he turned back to me. “I think I found someone to pick up chicks with. He’s good-looking, rich, and he’s not annoying. It’s perfect.”
“I don’t think he’s looking to pick up chicks.” I just wanted Conrad to steer clear of him. Too much time together would reveal my secret.
“He’s definitely not gay,” Conrad countered.
“I didn’t say he was,” I said. “I just think he’s looking for a meaningful relationship, not a pick up.”
Conrad rolled his eyes. “You’d think he’d learn from his first divorce…” Conrad seemed to realize what he said because he turned to Cayson. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Cayson didn’t make eye contact with him.
It became tense.
“So…you like Rhett?” I asked.
“He’s cool.” Cayson kept eating.
“He’s pretty good at ball, huh?” I asked.
“I guess,” Cayson said with a shrug.
He was giving me nothing to work with.