They’re exactly what I need today. The smallest one, the puppy that was the most likely to die, sits on my lap. She’s jet-black with big brown eyes.
I would rescue her if Mum and Dad would allow a puppy in their house.
Maybe Brody would let me have one if I moved in with him. A puppy for a marriage.
Okay, I’m delirious. And he’s lost it.
Brody, the guy who fears nothing, is scared of being a divorcé. Not that I’m not either. Will I have to tell anyone? Will I be looked down upon for having a failed marriage? Why do I care? I don’t care very much what people think, but for some reason, I can’t shake the negative connotations associated with divorce.
Ugh, why couldn’t that bitch have just given us the damn annulment?
She probably has a quota to fill, and we’d have tipped her over.
Fuck her and fuck Brody.
The puppy on my lap nuzzles into my leg and closes her eyes. I really wish I could lie down and have a cuddle with someone. It would be far easier than having to adult. I’ve had a baptism of fire into adulthood, and I don’t particularly like it.
“Are you going home today?” Sandra asks.
I look up and see her standing outside the kennel with her lips curled and her hands on her hips.
“Erm, yeah, in a minute.”
“Everything all right?”
I shrug. “Sure. These guys are addictive.”
“They’re very cute, but they’ll also still be here when you’re back next week.”
Yeah, yeah. I carefully lift the puppy and put her on the bed. She glances at me with annoyance for a second but settles right back onto the fleece bed.
I open the door and do a mega ninja move to slip out before the rest of the puppies pull a great escape and run off.
Sandra smiles as I lock the kennel. “On your way out, pick up the application I left by your handbag. We’re recruiting.”
My eyes bulge. “Full-time?”
With a laugh, she nods. “We’re expanding, looking at different paid avenues to support the shelter. More dogs than ever need refuge.”
Sandra is awesome. She gives up so much of her time and money to help animals. I knew the shelter was doing well, and the local community is a massive support; I suspect that’s due to loving Sandra as well as wanting to help abandoned and abused dogs. But I didn’t expect to be able to apply so soon.
“This is awesome!” I bounce.
“Legally, we have to advertise, but we want you and all of those ideas you’ve got. I need someone with a business head. You know Brian and I are crap at that.”
“I don’t know; you’ve done pretty well.”
“Maybe. But you’re right, and we have to think of this as a business if we want to do more.”
“I’m all over it, Sandra.”
“That’s why I want you. Now, get yourself home and bring that application when you’re back in.”
Grinning like the fucking Joker, I nod. “I’ll drop it in tomorrow. I’m not working again until after the weekend. See you later.”
I make sure to pick up my application and hold it in a death grip as I walk to my car.
I’m about to have a full-time, paid job. I can’t wait to tell Mum and Dad. I bet Dad makes me write a letter of resignation for the few hours a week I work for him. I don’t care. I’ll do it because I have a job!
Unless someone better than me applies. But I’ve been there ages, so that has to count.
On my drive home, I almost tell Siri to call Brody. Half because I need to find out where his head is… and half because I want to tell him about my job. I want to talk to him first, tell him what’s been going on in my life.
You can tell your parents in ten minutes!
Brody doesn’t need to know about my new job.
I pull into the drive ten minutes later. Only Mum is home as she had a half-day in the salon.
“Mum?” I call as I let myself into the house.
“In the kitchen. Do you want a cup of coffee?”
“Please,” I say, heading into the kitchen. I put my application down on the table and take a pen from my bag.
“What’s that?” she asks.
“Sandra left it for me. It’s an application form. They’re hiring for a full-time position.”
Mum gasps. “They are? Honey, that’s fantastic.”
“Yeah. Sandra loved my ideas and really wants to get more money coming in so she can expand.”
“So, is it some sort of managerial position?”
“No, it’s basically what I am now, only I’ll be there every day and I’ll get paid.”
“Well, one step at a time.”
I nod. I’m over the moon. Besides, there isn’t anything for me to manage, and I don’t care about having an important-sounding title. I’m getting paid to help dogs. What better job could you have?
“I made a lemon cake today. Shall we have a slice now to celebrate?”
“I can always eat cake,” I tell her as I fill in my details.
Sandra already has all of this information, but if she wants it again, she can have it.
Mum puts two plates down and goes back for the coffees. She returns just as I finish.
“Thanks,” I say, digging my fork into the fluffy cake.
“So…”
I look up as her tone changes. This is going to be about we all freakin’ know who.
“No, I haven’t spoken to him today. I’ve tried, but he’s radio silent.”
She shakes her head. “I just don’t understand any of it.”
I’m about to say tequila but think better of it. Best not to draw any more attention to the fact that I was drinking underage prior to my accidental marriage.
“I know, Mum. We were stupid.”
“What I can’t believe is how easy it is to get married out there.”
“It’s easy to get married here, too. Same process.”
Only there aren’t as many chapels and bars along the same strip. Well, kind of.
“He’ll come around,” she says, but she sounds like she’s convincing herself.
“I just wish he would pick up the phone so we could try talking again. I really want to understand where he’s coming from. I mean, I don’t want to get divorced, but I know that we have to.”
“You don’t want to divorce Brody?”
“Anyone, I mean. I always thought that when I got married, it would be forever. It’s not like Brody and I were in love and tried. This whole thing is messed up and confusing.”
Mum puts her fork down. “What’s confusing about it?”
“Why do I feel like you’re going to try amateur counselling right now?”
“Answer my question, Wren, please.”
“It’s confusing because I’ve gotten to like Brody.” And that’s about as close to saying I like sex with him as I’m getting with my mum. “We never got on before. He would tease me when I was younger and pretty much ignore me as I got older. If we spoke, we’d bitch at each other. But since Vegas, we’ve gotten along.”
“You like him?”
I put down my fork and pick up my coffee. “Not like that. I mean, I care about him, and it feels weird, being desperate for a divorce from someone you’re getting on better with now than you ever have.”
I care about him a lot.
Yes, I like him.
Mum nods like she understands where I’m coming from. Though, she probably doesn’t.
“You can’t stay married to someone just because you’re now friends with them.”
“I don’t want to. I’m just saying, it’s complicated, and it doesn’t feel great.”
“Do you think this is how he’s feeling?”
I shrug. “Maybe. Probably, actually. Divorcing the old him would have been no issue. We went to the lawyer appointments with each other, and both our lawyers thought that was weird, even if neither of them actually said.”
Mum blows out a long breath like she’s having a hard time wr
apping her head around it. “I wish you had come to me.”
I look away. “I was scared.”
“Honey, you can trust me.”
“No. I was scared of disappointing you.”
Now, I have to disappoint Brody and force him to do something he’s not yet ready for.
Fifty-Two
Brody
The bar is a total dive. The faint smell of smoke lingers even though smoking has been banned in public spaces for years. It’s probably ingrained in the wallpaper because I doubt that’s been changed for the last thirty years.
I don’t care about the smell or the sticky floor. It’s close to my apartment, no one will try to talk to me, and I can get drunk without worrying how I’ll get home.
It’s perfect.
The bartender puts another whiskey down in front of me without a word and takes my cash from the bar. He walks off without a comment or judgment.
I down the double in one swallow and wince at the sting in my throat as it slides down.
I’ve had too many. I know that, but I can’t stop.
While I’m drinking, I’m doing something other than thinking about Wren. I don’t know what to say to her, though I know I’m on borrowed time. She won’t wait forever for an explanation. But maybe another day or two, and then I’ll know how to explain.
My phone rings on the bar. I’ve silenced it, but Wren’s name is flashing on the screen brighter than the lights of fucking Vegas.
Groaning, I rub my hand over my face and scowl at the phone.
She’s persistent, and she never gives up when she wants something, but right now, it’s her worst fucking quality.
“Avoiding someone, too?”
I look to my side for the owner of the soft voice.
A woman, probably around my age, with long pitch-black hair and dark brown eyes hops up onto the stool beside me.
“Somethin’ like that,” I mutter.
“I’m Lexie.”
“Brody.”
“So, who are you screening? An ex?”
“No, just my wife.”
She looks at my hand for evidence.
“We didn’t get rings. There was no time, and it wasn’t planned.”
Wren still has my casino chip. That fucking thing was worth a hundred dollars.
Lexie frowns like I’m speaking another language.
I shake my head. “Vegas. It’s easier to do than you’d think.”
“So… you’re with her or not?”
“Nope.”
Wren seems to have no interest in that.
Sitting up straighter, Lexie chirps, “Cool. What are you drinking? I can’t sit in a corner downing vodka alone anymore. It’s way too pathetic.”
Tonight, I have no problem with being pathetic.
I nod to the bartender, who steps up. “Double vodka and a double whiskey.”
“Coming up.”
“Who are you avoiding?” I ask her.
She scoffs and turns her pointed nose up. “My ex. He’s cheated one too many times.”
Here I was, thinking one time was too many.
“He sounds like a prick.”
“Massive prick. I don’t know why I kept going back to him.”
“It’s definitely over now?”
She waits a beat too long to reply, so they’ll probably be back together in a week. “I don’t want him back.”
“When did you find out he’d cheated?”
“Yesterday. I got hold of his phone and there were tons of messages from some slut called Rebecca.” She rolls her eyes. “They sent each other pictures.”
“Sorry,” I mutter.
Am I some sort of agony uncle now?
She waves her hand like she no longer gives a shit. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be downing vodka like water.
The bartender takes my money.
“What’s happening with you and your wife then?”
“Fuck all. We’re getting a divorce, apparently.”
I swallow an acidic sting in my throat. I want Wren to consider that this isn’t the right thing to do. All I want is for her to pause for a second. If she’s adamant that she wants to go through with it, I’ll sign. I have to. Now that I have her in some form, I can’t lose her.
And Luke will never forgive me.
What a fuckup.
I’ve lost my best friend and… whatever Wren is.
Luke and I have been friends for too long to throw it away. But this isn’t like I cracked onto a girl he liked.
I haven’t tried to contact him yet.
I’m not yet ready to hear him tell me to fuck off again. Besides, he’s not going to hear me out when he finds out I told Wren I don’t want a divorce.
We need to let everything settle first. I need a few more days before my life explodes again.
“Brody, what the fuck, man?”
I still at the sound of my brother’s voice.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Your car is at your apartment, and you’re not, so it wasn’t that hard. I went along the street and checked the pubs. Can’t say this would have been my first choice,” he tells me, looking around as if he were about to be mugged.
“Why are you stalking me?”
“You’re not answering your fucking phone. What the hell is going on?” He steps closer and looks at Lexie. “Who are you?”
“Mason!”
He does a double take and scowls. “Are you serious? What about Wren?”
“She’s pissed.”
He throws his hands up. “She’s more pissed now that you’re ignoring her.”
“I’ll call her back.”
“When?”
“It was nice to meet you,” Lexie says, slipping off the stool and taking her vodka with her.
Mase takes her seat. “When, Brody? She’s going crazy.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. You can leave now.”
“I’m not going anywhere. You need to tell someone what the fuck is going on. We’re all confused.”
“I don’t give a shit if you’re confused.”
He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be a dick.”
“I don’t know what to tell anyone. I have no idea where my head is at.”
He leans his elbow on the sticky bar. “You said you don’t want a divorce. Does that mean you want to be married to her?”
“It means I don’t want a divorce.”
Every time someone talks about it, I feel like I can’t breathe.
“You want to be with her?”
“I don’t fucking know, Mason!”
“That’s not good enough.”
“Well, I’m sorry I don’t have all the answers.”
“Do you love her?”
“No,” I say, grabbing my whiskey and downing it.
“Are you sure?”
No.
I glare at him.
It’s not been nearly long enough for me to love her. We’ve just started getting along and had sex a few times. Who falls in love that fast?
“I’ve liked her for two minutes and she’s always pissed me off before that.” She still pisses me off, to be fair.
“And you think you being constantly frustrated with her says nothing about how you feel?”
“What?”
“You’ve liked her for a long time.”
Frowning, I shake my head slowly. “I would know if I liked her.”
“You sure about that?”
“Can you do one, please?”
“Nope. Come on. You need to go home.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him. “Go away. I’m fine.”
He narrows his eyes. “You don’t look fine. You look like shit. Wren is wound up and stressed. You’re the only one who can fix this, so what are you waiting for?”
“You want me to sign the paperwork right now? I got it this morning.”
Sighing, Mase orders a beer and a whiskey. “I don’t want you to sign anything until you’re ready.�
��
“Wren does.”
“If you speak to her, I’m sure she’ll let you get your head around it all before signing. You have a year anyway. She’s not unreasonable.”
I twist the glass around on the bar. “I’m the one being unreasonable. She has every right to expect me to stick to the plan.”
“She does, but you have the right to change your mind. If you don’t want to be with Wren, why would you want to stay married to her?”
“I’ve never had a relationship.”
“Not what I asked.”
Why can’t he fuck off?
“I like her.”
“Duh. The one you need to be telling this to is Wren.”
“I tried, but we ended up arguing. Look, nothing is going to happen between us. We’re too different, and our attraction is skin deep. All I need is some time to get my head around the fact that I’m going to have an ex-wife.”
Mase blows out a breath. “Jesus, man.”
Yeah, I know. I down the next whiskey. “I need to sleep.”
“I’ll finish my drink and take you home.”
“How’s Kate?” I ask him, desperate to take the limelight off myself. I’m over talking about me and Wren.
Mase takes the bait. His face changes. He looks happy. “She’s good. We’ve been spending a lot of time together.”
“You’re settling down?”
He laughs. “It’s not as bad as we thought it would be. Sex with someone you care about is the best sex you’ll have.”
My throat goes dry. “What does she do?”
“She’s a hairdresser.”
“She’ll get along well with Rachel then.”
Wren’s mum owns her own salon in town.
He nods. “Yeah, she’s already offered Kate a job if she wants to move closer.” Reading my expression, he adds, “She’s about an hour away. Mum doesn’t want me to move away, closer to her, so Rachel offered to help Mum keep me close.”
“Mum wants grandchildren.”
His eyes widen. “Well, she’s going to have to wait! I’m all for a future with Kate, but no way am I ready for that.”
Waking up in Vegas Page 25