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“I’ll say,” Laurel agreed. “This should last your entire pregnancy.”
“And beyond,” Savannah said with a laugh. “Tell me, how are things with you and the hunk?”
Laurel smiled. “He is a hunk, isn’t he?”
“Yes, indeed.” She patted her heart. “So?”
“Good. They’re good. Cody and Katrina adore him.”
“Why do you look worried when you say that?”
“Oh, I’m not. Not really. It’s just…I don’t want them to get hurt. You know, if we break up.”
“Wait a minute. You just got together and you’re already planning a breakup?”
“I’m not planning it. But things happen. People aren’t… They aren’t always who you think they are.”
“Like your ex.”
“Yes, like him.”
“I don’t know anything about your ex beyond what Harlan and Travis say. The nicest thing they call him is a son of a bitch. But you can’t judge every man by what your ex did. I know. I have an ex-husband too.”
“That’s not what I’m doing.” Not exactly, anyway. After all, she didn’t believe Zack would become a drug addict like Stan had. “Can I ask you something personal?”
“How personal?” Savannah laughed at Laurel’s expression. “Just kidding. Of course you can.”
“I know you and Harlan had to work out what happened in your past. But how did you trust him again after what he did? After he left you like he did?”
“Well, first of all, Harlan didn’t leave me by choice. I’d forgiven him, but when I found out what my father had done to keep us apart, I understood why Harlan had felt that he had no other choice but to call things off.” She looked at Laurel for a moment. “Has Zack done something wrong?”
“No. No, he’s been great. But my ex-husband was a good guy too. At first.”
“You’re afraid Zack will change.”
“Maybe a little. I don’t know why I’m worrying about it. We’ve only been together a few weeks and neither of us is serious.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“We’re just having fun,” Laurel said firmly. That’s what she told herself, anyway. Because thinking about more was entirely too scary. And she had to admit, Zack was a whole lot of fun. Not that sex was all she appreciated about him. He was good with her kids, and they loved him. He was good to her. He did things like bring her flowers for no reason. Or bring her cookies from Cookies and S’more(s), the ones she’d mentioned only once were her favorite. Or he’d watch a chick flick she knew he wouldn’t like and hardly complain, she thought, remembering that he’d fallen asleep during the last one. And while he’d offered the airport accounting job to her, he trusted her to do her job without micro-managing her.
In fact, he was almost too good to be true. And that’s what worried her. Stan had been good to her. He’d loved her—she knew he had. At first. Before the drugs had ruled him.
Zack wasn’t Stan. She knew that and she’d known him too long to think he would change like Stan had. She trusted him. But there was still a fear, buried deep inside, that one day something would happen and she’d be on her own again with no one but herself to rely on and no other choice but to take her brothers’ charity in order to survive.
And having that happen again would destroy her.
*
Laurel returned homeafter dropping off her kids. Zack wanted to go to Baron’s Steakhouse and had said he’d come over around six and they could go from there. By six thirty, there was still no sign of him. Which was totally unlike him. He was almost never late and the few times he had been, he’d called to tell her. He finally showed up at six forty-five.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, after kissing her hello.
“That’s okay.”
“I would have called but I was hung up on the phone with a new client.”
“Oh, is someone new keeping their plane at the airport?”
