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Samantha tied her scarf and pulled her hat down to cover her ears as they walked the path to the beach. As close as the ocean was, she and Bryce hadn’t taken any walks along the beach because it had been so cold. She wasn’t thrilled about being out in the cold now, but she wanted some fresh air and the chance to have a conversation in private.
“Bryce is working alongside the woman my husband was having an affair with,” Samantha blurted as soon as they reached the sand.
Rayelle stopped where she was and gaped at her. She knew the information would come as a shock, but she just couldn’t find it in her to dance around the subject. The information had been burning her from the inside out ever since she found out. She needed to talk about it. She wanted to talk about it. But she hadn’t found the courage until now.
“What?” Rayelle finally asked after a long silence.
“Lizzy. The property owner’s daughter.”
Rayelle studied her for a moment before leading her to a bench that overlooked the water. Cold was an understatement. The biting wind stung their faces as it carried remnants of ocean spray across the sand.
“Now. Start from the beginning, because I’m lost,” Rayelle requested as she sat by Samantha, holding her close.
Samantha took a deep breath before telling the story as quickly as possible. It was cold and she didn’t have time to beat around the bush. She explained the way Lizzy behaved at dinner the first night and then the conversation that caused the truth to come out. She even explained Bryce coming to find her after she ran off, sick.
“Oh my god,” Rayelle breathed. “Are you okay? Do we need to kill her?”
Samantha laughed even as they shivered in the cold. “No. She came back the next day. She didn’t know Brandon and I were still together. I feel sorry for her. I know how Brandon could be and I know how manipulative he was. I know the way he stomped all over people because he was the only person who mattered.”
“So how are you feeling now?” Rayelle asked. “Are you feeling better since all that is over with? It must be a weight off your shoulders now that you know the situation.”
Samantha huddled closer to her friend. She should have been feeling better, but all she was left with was a sense of dread. The knot in her stomach hadn’t let up and she even had a hard time finishing her breakfast. Stress was a bitch.
“I still feel like shit,” she admitted.
“I’m sorry hun,” Rayelle said, giving her a squeeze. “Let’s go inside and eat all the things. That always makes me feel better.”
“I wish! I haven’t been able to eat. Even when I’m hungry and fix my favorite snacks, I can’t seem to eat. Yesterday I fixed myself a nice plate of nachos. One bite and I almost puked.”
“Still? Weren’t you feeling sick the last time I talked to you? Before any of this shit went down?”
“Yeah,” Samantha answered slowly. “I guess I haven’t been feeling great for a while now. It’s no wonder I felt worse when I found out about Lizzy.”
“Hmm.” Rayelle hummed quietly as she stood and reached a hand out to Samantha. “Let’s get back inside. It’s too cold out here.”
Silently, Samantha took Rayelle’s outstretched hand before they made their way back toward the townhouse. She had a feeling Rayelle was getting at something, but it was too cold to figure it out there. They needed to get back before they exhausted themselves shivering.
“You sure you aren’t pregnant?”
Samantha stopped in her tracks and gaped at Rayelle as they approached the steps leading up to the front door. It couldn’t be a coincidence that two people had asked her that question in as many weeks. If she could get pregnant that easily, she would already have children. She and Brandon had tried and tried but short of the most drastic fertility treatments, kids weren’t in the cards for them.
“Yeah. I wish my uterus and ovaries worked well enough that I could get knocked up like that,” Samantha said with a self-deprecating laugh.
“So, you’ve taken a test?” Rayelle pressed.
“No. I don’t need a test. All that time wasted trying should be proof that I’m barren.”
“Barren?” Rayelle tipped her head back and howled with laughter. “You really need to take a test. Just to be sure.”
Samantha had clearly been reading too much regency romance. Who even said “barren” anymore? Giving her head a shake, she continued the walk in the direction of the door slowing only to say what was on her mind.
“I know I’m not pregnant, but I’ll take a test as soon as I get a chance to go to the store. Now, let’s get inside before we freeze to death.”
“No need to get to the store,” Rayelle said triumphantly. “I have a leftover test in my makeup bag. It’s yours. Now we can get inside.”
“Would you like to share why you have a pregnancy test on hand?” Samantha asked as they climbed the few stairs leading to the door.
“Nope. Follow me once we get inside and I’ll get it for you. You aren’t going to stall in hopes that I forget.”
