Page 32 of The Logic of Loyalty

“Krista, it’s Paige. I need to talk to Trevor⁠—”

“Oh. Sorry, hun. He’s busy right now. Can I take a message?” Her voice doesn’t change in any discernible way, but it feels edgier.

“I think that he will want to hear what I have to say.”

She taps her fingers against the receiver. “Then leave a message with me, and he will call you back.” There’s the edge.

“Let him know that his wife was just in a terrible accident and would like for him to come be with her.”

“Sure, sure⁠—”

“Who is that?”

“Oh, hey, Trev, it’s your—” Click.

My eyes fill with tears because I just know that he’s not going to get the message. I stand and stare at the screen, blinking back the moisture.

“Paige. Honey, are you alright? Is everything okay?” The big man starts talking while moving swiftly to my side, concern etched on his handsome, bearded features.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Let’s get to the doctor, please.”

A couple of hours later, I learn that the baby is fine through a monitor. They were going to let me see my baby, but an emergency came in, and it was all hands on deck. I felt good knowing my baby was safe. Billy tried calling the office multiple times, but never could reach Trevor. He was able to call Bethany and ask her to pick up Jacob from his classes, though. Which I was thankful for.

Once everything is confirmed, Billy agrees to drop me off at the Whitakers’ place since the only message on my phone from Trevor—or Krista. I haven’t saved her contact, but the photo remains—came in while I was driving earlier.

Unknown

Sorry, Love. I’ll have to meet you there. Richard needs me to finish a few things and I’ll be running too late to swing by to get you.

God forbid you’re late to dinner with your amazing parents.

Billy backs into the driveway of the massive home and puts his vehicle in park. “You look shockingly good for what you’ve gone through today.” His dark eyes bore into mine, and I get the distinct impression that he is referencing beyond my car accident.

“I’d appreciate it if you keep the pregnancy to yourself. It’s early, and—” I tilt my head when I realize his gaze is locked on something out the window behind me. When his eyes narrow, I follow them to see my husband pulling up in front of us. Trevor looks up at me with a hint of confusion, but I dismiss him, too busy looking at his passenger seat. The place where Krista sits, smiling at me.

Chapter Eleven

PAIGE

Iwatch, frozen, as Trevor’s mother, along with her best friend and neighbor, Krista’s mother, Monica, march out to his car, their expressions unsurprised at the fact that Trevor and Krista have arrived together.

Kennedy flounces up and directs her son to help Krista from the car like some period drama while Monica practically bounces with glee. Trevor hesitates at her instructions. It’s almost too small to notice, but he glances at me, his head shaking just slightly. And even from where I am sitting in the cab of Billy’s truck, I can see the way Kennedy’s shoulders go tight. But good ol’ Bobby jogs down the front steps, smirking. “I’ll get her.”

Then, Billy calls my name, prompting me to look his way. My dark eyes catch his. “You sure you want to do this? I can take you right now. Save you from it all.”

I pull my lip into my mouth to think. Do I? “No, no, it’s fine. Jacob is in the house, and I …” My voice trails off because I don’t have words for the situation I’m walking into. He shrugs his wide shoulders and reaches out to me, cupping my face just under my chin and tilting it up so he can look into my eyes again.

“Two things, honey. One, I can hit him if you want me to. It won’t hurt my feelings.” A hiccup that sounds a lot like a sob slips out at his words. He squeezes his fingers minutely, just a couple of times. Eyes softening further, he continues. “I’ve never met a man more in love with his woman than that man is in love with you, but that doesn’t give him the right to fuck it all up.” He releases my face and pats it once—gently, for such a massive man. His expectant look confuses me for only a second.

“Oh! Oh, no. No, you don’t have to hit him, Billy.” I offer a wobbly smile before dropping my gaze to my hands, which are strangling the discharge papers from our earlier visit. I rummage around the cab and find my bag, slip my papers into it, and look back up to my knight in shining mechanic coveralls. His eyes are once again focused over my shoulder, and I know before I hear the sound of the door unlatching that Trevor is waiting for me.

I let my husband help me out of the truck, flinching slightly at the pressure he unwittingly puts on my bruised side. He says nothing about the accident, asks nothing about the baby. The moment my feet are safely on the concrete, I step away and pull my bag into my arms—a clear boundary between our bodies. I wave at Billy, then enter the house. Everyone else—who, only a moment ago, crowded the entryway—is already seated inside by the time we make it to the dining room. Laughter nearly bursts from me when I take in the seating arrangement; a clear division of us versus them.

On one end of the table, Krista, Monica, Kennedy, Bobby, and Trevor are seated with Dickwhit at the head. Then, on the other end—the lesser end—Bethany, Jacob, and I are placed together, wholly ignored yet perfectly comfortable in each other’s company.

“It’s something truly special to see our kids working so closely together, isn’t it, Monica?” Kennedy gestures to Krista and Trevor while speaking to her best friend, the glass of wine gripped in her hand barely shifting at the move.

I hide a wince as I grab my elegant glass of water, foregoing the wine. When I told Kennedy that I preferred water with dinner, my mother-in-law had coldly asked her chef to “stop what you’re doing and bring out a carafe of ice water.” Then, with a sharp smile, she returned to her discussion.