The Reality of Wright and Wrong

by Leddy Harper

I shrugged and glanced over his head, unable to hold the intensity of his stare. “Maybe somewhere in between?”

  “Can you at least tell me what you’re most concerned about?” He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek, drawing my attention back to his face. With one glance, the trepidation that had resided in my chest ever since reading that first article withered away. His eyes were like two lily pads relaxing beneath the sun’s rays. I wanted to feel their warmth and allow them to soothe away every last fear within me.

  “My parents. They called…and left a couple messages. I’m not sure what all they’ve heard. I haven’t gotten back with them, so there’s no telling how they feel about it. But I’d bet it’s not good.”

  Brogan hated the fact that I still hadn’t told my parents about us—or that he even existed. So the flicker of hurt across his face shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Yet it did. The only thing that kept me calm was how he never wavered. Not once did he flinch or make even the smallest attempt to back away. His eyes remained on mine. His hands never left my body.

  Regardless, I felt compelled to make the unintentional rejection go away.

  “I guess they had to find out sooner or later. Right?” Trying to lighten the mood would be easier if he’d smile, though it seemed it would take more than a rhetorical question to make that happen. I sighed and rested my hands on his shoulders, dropping my focus to his chest. “I would’ve preferred it if they had heard it from me, but I don’t really have anyone to blame for that. Had I been honest and just told them from the start rather than keep putting it off for fear they’d disown me, this wouldn’t be an issue.”

  “Babe…” He curled his finger beneath my chin and lifted my attention to his face once more. “Don’t do that. There will always be things we could’ve done to prevent something from happening, but there’s no point dwelling on them. It is what it is. You can’t change the past; the only thing you can do is focus on dealing with the here and now.”

  “Great advice. Got any suggestions for fixing it now?”

  A smile finally broke free across his arousal-inducing lips, though it was small. And a bit smug. “I’m not sure you can do much without returning their call. That would probably be step one. Then listen to what they have to say, and make sure you answer their questions honestly. You don’t have to divulge details if you don’t want to, but they deserve the truth.”

  “I really don’t care to listen to their lectures. And I can’t handle my dad’s disappointment.”

  “They’ll likely be upset, but that’s their right, Mercy. Above all else, you’re their daughter. And if I try to put myself in their shoes, I imagine I’d be more hurt by not knowing it’d happened to begin with. By not having the option to be there for my daughter on her wedding day.”

  The way his eyes glowed at the mention of a daughter practically made my ovaries explode. And that realization caused my lady parts to constrict—though I wasn’t sure if that was a result of being turned on, or if it was my body’s way of trying to close up shop to prevent anything from stretching it out. Nope, definitely not ready for babies.

  Luckily, he didn’t let me panic for long before he spoke again, silencing my mental freak-out. “I don’t know your parents, but I have a feeling that’s where they’re coming from—upset over the money spent on a wedding you’ll never have, but not as much as knowing they missed seeing their little girl get married.”

  I nodded, admitting he was right, even though it didn’t change anything. Either way, I’d have to listen to a lecture, sit quietly while they listed their concerns and all the ways my decision could blow up in my face. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter why they were upset, only that they were, and they weren’t the kind of people who kept their opinions to themselves. Especially when it came to me and my life. Regardless, there was no way out of it for me…unless I avoided them for the next few years until they got over it. Which, at this point, sounded rather appealing.

  But I couldn’t argue with him about my parents. There were more pressing issues to discuss. “Do you remember me telling you about my best friend, Stella?”

  He regarded me with narrowed eyes and nodded slowly. His confusion was obvious, probably due to the sudden change in topic. Then again, there was a good chance my own apprehension was palpable, increasing the worry between us.

  “Well, she took it upon herself to get a plane ticket, and she’s on her way here. As in…right now. She’ll be here in”—I glanced over his shoulder to the glowing digits on the microwave and huffed out a disheartened sigh—“three hours. I guess she panicked when she couldn’t get ahold of me last night and booked a flight. By the time I found out about it, she was already at the airport.”

  His rumbled laughter made me pause. “Good. That makes me happy to hear. I hate leaving you alone all the time while I go to work, and it’s only going to get worse once filming starts again. I’m glad you’ll have someone to keep you company—especially now that the crew knows about you. I don’t want you around that if you don’t have to be.”

  “You seriously don’t care that she invited herself to stay with us?”

  He grabbed our mugs, handed me mine, and then leaned against the counter to drink his as if absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had happened this morning. “Not in the slightest. How long will she be here?”

  A very large gulp of coffee seemed to be the perfect way to take a bit longer before answering without looking like that was what I was doing…until I ended up with a very large gulp of burning liquid in my mouth and down my throat. In the end, I succeeded in taking a while to respond. I also succeeded in singeing my entire esophagus and more than likely searing every last taste bud I had.

  After coughing and whining like a puppy who’d accidentally been stepped on, I wiped the tears from my lashes and spoke, too worried about the damage to my mouth than the answer I offered. “I have no idea. She didn’t tell me.”

  That seemed to amuse him and, after the morning I’d walked into, hearing him laugh and seeing his smile was worth the pain and humiliation. It was enough to promise me that everything would be all right, regardless of what lecture my parents gave or how long my best friend decided to hang around. Hell, at this point, I probably could’ve finished clearing out my notifications without feeling an ounce of anxiety—though I wasn’t willing to take that chance.

  “Well, she’s welcome to stay as long as she’d like. Just keep in mind the cameras are coming to town in ten days. Obviously, I don’t know your friend, other than what you’ve told me, but in the event she’ll still be here while they’re filming, I don’t care for her to drag you down to the shop just to get on TV.” His smile faded, though it was still detectable in his eyes. “I don’t want you to get caught up in that if I can stop it.”

  It was yet another aspect of his life I hadn’t contemplated.

  And it made me wonder how many others would pop up unexpectedly.

  Or how many more I’d be able to handle.

  “I doubt she’ll be here longer than a week. And at the risk of sounding like a heartless bitch, I kind of hope it won’t be that long. I miss her. Don’t get me wrong. But I woke up this morning to a lot of fires that need to be put out, and I’m not sure how I’ll do that with her in town.”

  Brogan wrapped his fingers around the back of my neck and pulled my forehead to his lips. “Don’t worry, babe. The news will die down, and everyone will go back to their own lives. I’ll field as much of this as I can, but just know that you aren’t alone. This will blow over. And despite the hoopla that’s being made about it…it’s really not that big of a deal. Everyone’s talking about it because it’s shocking.”

  “I know, but thanks, baby. Once my own shock settles, I won’t be as jittery.”

  “I’m sure a lot of those nerves come from the dread of talking to your parents. And I’m confident that once you do, you’ll feel a lot better. Think of it as a bandage and rip it off.” His hand, which had been idly placed on my thigh, b
egan to move higher, and the gleam in his eyes brightened. “But that can wait. We still have a little time before I have to leave for work and you have to pick up Stella. I can’t think of a better way to spend that time than in the shower. Can you?”

  After one night together, we’d managed to fall right back into the same routine we had before Savannah. However, much like that week, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was temporary. Not because I wanted it to be.

  But because things as good as this never last.

  14

  Brogan

  When I first woke up, I contemplated staying home. Staying in bed with Mercy. All day. And after seeing her reaction to our relationship being plastered all over the internet, there was no way I’d leave her for work. Then she told me that her best friend was on her way to town, and I felt better about heading to the shop—just for a little while.

  As much as I wanted to be everything she needed, I knew that wasn’t—and never would be—the case. Stella could offer her things I couldn’t, and I was okay with that. Which was why I felt confident giving them time to themselves to deal with whatever I couldn’t help with.

  Not to mention, I had my own agenda to deal with. Someone had tipped somebody off about our relationship, and for their sakes, it better not have been anyone from my shop. I’d spoken to everyone who worked for me about the need to keep it private. I hadn’t explained why that was important—Mercy still had a lot to deal with as a result of our getting married—but the reason shouldn’t have mattered.

  And if anyone from the shop did open their mouth, there’d be hell to pay.

  As I walked in, I glanced at Indi, and without exchanging a single word, she followed me to the storage room in the back. Out of everyone here, she was my right hand. I wouldn’t be able to keep up with this place if it weren’t for her. Which meant I really hoped she hadn’t been the one who’d leaked anything to the press. I didn’t think she was, but that didn’t stop the nagging voice in the back of my head—which sounded a lot like a jealous Mercy—that told me she might’ve been in love with me, and this was her way of reacting to the heartbreak.

  It was a ridiculous thought; nevertheless, I had to confront it before I could dismiss it.

  “I realize marriages are a matter of public record, so before I ask this, I understand that I don’t necessarily have a reason to be upset. But someone leaked my relationship to the media last night.” I leaned back in the chair and regarded Indi as she perched herself on the edge of the desk a few feet away. “The only people who knew about it are her best friend and you guys here at the shop. I’m just trying to find out who spoke out, so I figured I’d come to you and see what you thought.”

  The shock across her face was genuine. I felt confident about that. It was enough to assure me that she hadn’t been the one who’d done this. But there was still hope she’d know who had, or at the very least, help me go through the possibilities before confronting anyone else.

  “Well, you said yourself that it’s public record. Are you sure someone called it in versus a reporter finding out on their own?”

  That had been a possibility at first, though I’d had enough time between the alert this morning and getting here to think it through, and I decided that couldn’t have been the case. “It would be an impressive coincidence for so many sites to have all discovered it on their own at the same time.”

  This wasn’t my first rodeo with having my personal information smeared all over the internet. The one thing I’d learned throughout this process was that when multiple websites break news at the same time, it’s because someone called around with the intention of spreading the word—or seeking the highest bidder. If it’d been an accidental discovery of information, then one site would report it, and the others would follow within a couple of hours. Last night, three main entertainment media pages had published the news within fifteen minutes. It took less than an hour for the rest to have their own articles posted.

  “So you think it’s someone from the shop?” Concern darkened her eyes, likely at the thought of one of our brothers being capable of betraying either of us. Because, realistically speaking, if they were willing to stab me in the back—their boss, the one who paid them, who’d given them the chance to be on a television show—then they’d have no issue doing the same to her. “Who could it be?”

  Feeling slightly more hopeless than when I first sat down, I shrugged with a huff. “I don’t know, Indi. I was hoping you could tell me. Whoever it was said some really horrible things about Mercy, though. If it’d only been about me, I’d let it go. Maybe speak to him and let him know I won’t stand for it again. But it’s about her. Anyone who could spread this kind of filth about Mercy deserves much worse.”

  “Honestly, Wrong…this is the first I’ve heard of it. I don’t even know what was said.”

  I pulled up the Google search page filled with all the articles from last night and this morning and handed her my phone. There was too much to read, so while she skimmed and scrolled, I filled her in on the main points that were given. “They’ve accused her of being with me for the fame and fortune. Said she married me while still engaged to her ex, and that this happened while they were in the middle of planning their dream wedding.”

  “Who here even knows that, though? You’ve told me, but who else have you talked to about that part of it? I don’t think you even told them how you met her in the first place. Just that you did and then married her. End of story.” She wasn’t entirely wrong about that, which only confused me more as to who it could’ve been.

  The longer this went on, the more frustrated I became. There was a chance I’d never find out who’d done this. And it was the not knowing that made it worse. All it did was leave me with more questions and a nagging doubt that there might’ve been someone working for me who was capable of hurting Mercy. That was a thought that didn’t sit well with me, and one I didn’t care to let carry on longer than needed if I could do anything about it.

  “Like, here… It says she used her ex to get closer to you, going as far as getting a job in town to increase her odds of running into you. And has even come to see you for a tattoo on a few occasions.” She glanced up from the phone, meeting my stare with a furrowed brow. “I thought she lived in another state, so if I didn’t even know she had a job here, then how the hell would any of the other guys? Maybe I don’t give them enough credit, but I just can’t imagine they’d pay that much attention to her to have this kind of information.”

  I scrubbed my hands over my face and dropped my head back. “A lot of what was written is nothing but lies—or extreme stretches of the truth to make it sound worse than it is. Which is what makes this so hard. Clearly, anyone can make something up and sell it to a drama-hungry media site. But there are aspects that hold some truth, and other parts that are completely authentic.”

  “So she doesn’t have a job in town?”

  “She does, but she hasn’t started yet. And she got it because her ex lives here. They decided to wait until she graduated college to get married, and since he already has a job in town, the plan was for her to move here to be with him. She didn’t even know I existed until the night we met, so her moving here to get closer to me is absolute bullshit. And that part about her coming in several times for ink? She has one tattoo—the one I gave her that week she stayed with me. It’s like someone knew just enough to make the story legit, and then added a bunch of shit to make it worse. And that’s what enrages me.”

  “How’s she doing? I take it she knows about this?” Indi asked while returning my cell.

  “She’s acting fine for the most part, except I think that’s a front. There’s no way she’s this calm about it. I mean, I know she’s freaking out about her parents because, until last night, they didn’t know anything. She hadn’t told them about me at all, and now she has to explain not only how she ended up married to someone other than her fiancé, but also why she’s kept it from them. I’m pretty sure if it were up to
her, she’d just avoid her parents for the rest of her life.”

  “Well, that’s understandable—being nervous to talk to your parents about that sort of thing. But if she’s acting fine, then maybe you should do the same. I get that you’re pissed, and I wholeheartedly agree that, if you find out one of the guys was responsible for leaking the news, they should get their ass kicked. However, if she can sense you’re bothered by it, then she’ll think there’s something to be bothered by, and therefore, no longer be okay. And in the event she’s only acting fine, seeing your nonchalant reaction might calm her down.”

  I exhaled, though it came out as much more of an exhausted sigh. Indi was right…again. Nevertheless, I wasn’t about to tell her that. Instead, I chose a more genuine approach. “You really are a good friend. I’ve been twisted up all morning over this, and after a few minutes with you, I’m already feeling better. Thank you, Indi.”

  A small smile curled her lips, but I only got a glimpse of it before she tucked her chin to her chest. When she glanced up again, it was like she’d pulled a mask over her face. Hidden her emotions from me. There was a reason she fit in so well with the guys. And that was because she could protect her feelings better than any woman I’d ever met.

  “If I find out anything, I’ll let you know.” She slid off the desk and turned toward the door. “Oh, and before I forget…is it okay if Kickstand closes up tonight? Johnny’s on the schedule, but he has strep throat, so he won’t be in. I’ve been here since this morning, Craig has plans, Lenny won’t answer the phone, and Brent’s wife could go into labor at any minute. Which leaves you and Kickstand. Your call.”

  I groaned inwardly and shook my head. Shit like this didn’t happen often; when it did, I’d rather be in charge of locking up at night. To me, that level of trust needed to be earned, and while I trusted my guys—for now, at least—a few of them had a little more to prove before I handed them the keys to my shop. Since Stella was coming into town today, and after this morning’s surprise, not to mention the fact that I’d finally gotten Mercy back, this was not the night to stay late.