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“Dyllan,” Skylar scolded.
“I agreed to not talk about it; I didn’t agree to lie about it.” He steeled his gaze at her. It was infuriating how quickly her emotions changed with him. One moment he is sweet and loving, then he does this.
“Do you mind giving us a minute?” She glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I’ll meet you back at the house.” He placed the cardboard box on one of the tables before walking to her and kissing her on the forehead, then strode out of the barn.
“What was that?” Mandy asked. “And what does he mean you’re married?” Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she spoke.
“Come and sit. This might be a long one.” Skylar motioned for Mandy to follow her to a nearby table. Mandy remained quiet as they settled, giving Skylar time to organize her thoughts.
“It happened when we were in Vegas,” Skylar started.
“Oh!” Mandy replied, resting her chin on her hand and her elbow on the table.
“It was the night of the bachelor and bachelorette party. We’d both had quite a bit to drink. Everyone else went up to their rooms, but I wasn’t ready yet. They made Dyllan promise to stay with me, and we ended up at the bar in the hotel. The next thing I know, we wake up in his room with rings on our fingers,” she said in a rush, wiggling her left hand out in front of Mandy.
Mandy’s eyes darted to Skylar’s naked finger, then back up to her face. “Then what happened?”
“I wanted an annulment, he didn’t, so, we are ‘working it out.’ Whatever that means.” Skylar rolled her eyes.
“Okay, so why keep it a secret? You mean none of them figured it out while you were away?” Mandy asked, confusion written on her face.
“No. I couldn’t do that to Kade. We were there for her, and I didn’t need my drunken mistake ruining that for her,” she said sternly, looking at her friend.
“Are you sure that’s what it was?” Mandy asked, the corner of her mouth lifted in a smile.
“What?” Skylar asked.
“Are you sure getting married to Dyllan was a mistake? From what I saw, it didn’t look like a mistake to me.” Mandy didn’t try to hide her smile then.
Skylar’s mouth bobbed open and closed a few times as she looked at her new friend. Sure, she lusted after Dyllan, she could admit that, but a marriage needed more than that. It needed love, trust, and a sturdy foundation built on more than wanting to have wild, passionate nights together.
“Come on, Mandy. You can’t honestly think that Dyllan and I are a good fit. Not long term.” Skylar was surprised at Mandy’s comments. They weren’t that obvious, were they?
“Do you want to be?” Mandy’s eyebrow raised as she asked, a smirk on her face.
“I—uh…” Skylar stammered.
Mandy gasped, “You do!”
“Oh, Mandy, I don’t know what I want.” Skylar covered her face with her hands.
“What does your gut tell you?” Mandy asked, lowering Skylar’s hands.
Skylar huffed. “That I think I want long term with him.” She slumped as if confessing the truth took all the air out of her sails.
“So why do you look so sad?”
“Because this is all so surreal. I was only supposed to be in Logan Creek until just after the wedding. I have no direction, no home to return to, no business. Now, poof, I’m married to a hunky, but grumpy, mayor that I barely know and was all but thrown over his shoulder and brought to move in with him, and now here we are. He brought me dinner, Mandy.” Her voice rose as she spoke, her hands moving animatedly as she spoke.
“Was he not supposed to bring you dinner?” Mandy asked.
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” Skylar stood, throwing her hands up. She started to pace as she continued. “Is it normal? I mean, he came by to bring me dinner and got upset that I was here alone setting this up. He stayed to help, even though he had no idea how to decorate, but he helped.”
“Didn’t your fiancé ever do this sort of thing for you?” Mandy tracked Skylar’s movements as she paced.
“Adam?” Skylar chucked. “No. He was not the stop-by-and-help sort of guy. He was always too busy editing photos or researching for his own shoots.”
