Page 76 of Say it Ain’t So

Vinny continued as if what was going on inside me didn’t matter at all. “He got married in Vegas almost four years ago. To someone named Joslyn Ward.” He shrugged, glancing toward the fish in their tank. “Even more interesting is that Joslyn Ward moved to Chicago and changed her name a few years ago. She now goes by Joslyn Monroe.”

“Please don’t tell.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I slapped my hands over my lips, as if I could somehow stuff them back in.

“That you and Rylan are married?” Vinny asked.

“Any of it. Please, we… Oh God.” I curled around myself, fear at losing him lining my insides. “I left him, okay? Nobody knows.”

A tear ran down my cheek. I pressed a hand to my chest to try to stem the pain that had popped up. Jen was looking at me like I’d gone insane. I squeezed my eyes shut, if for no other reason than to not have to see that look on her face.

My voice was pitched too high when I tried to explain. “I was seeing someone else and broke up with him right before I met Rylan. We spent the most amazing day together and we both got swept up in each other, and we got married. But I left him to try to deal with my ex and… and…” I looked at the two of them. “I didn’t get his number. I didn’t know how to contact him.”

“How’d you find him again?” Vinny asked. “Zoë couldn’t find any record of the two of you having any contact until you started working here.”

I heard Rylan’s voice in my ear as if he was sitting right next to me. You’re my lucky charm.

My shoulders lifted toward my ears, and I curled in on myself. “I don’t know? Pure luck, I guess.”

Jen beamed, and for the first time since I opened the door, it didn’t feel off. “That’s amazing! I can’t believe you started working for the same company he worked for.”

“Must be fate,” Vinny murmured, and my chest clenched.

“You know,” Jen said, sobering a little before reaching for my blessedly dry hand once more, “Rylan’s going to need help when he gets out of the hospital. Lee’s mentioned his family isn’t around?”

I shook my head. Rylan rarely talked about his parents, but I knew he was unlikely to get help from them.

“Vinny hated it when he left the hospital, and I kept having to do things for him.”

“But I couldn’t have done it without her,” Vinny said, fingering a lock of Jen’s long brown hair.

“What happened?” I asked, as much out of curiosity as to get the spotlight turned away from me.

Jen turned her eyes toward the ceiling as she tilted her head. “He caught pneumonia after jumping into Lake Michigan in the middle of winter to try to save me.”

Vinny grimaced. “She ended up saving me, in more ways than one.”

“He was so weak,” Jen said, patting Vinny’s hand on her shoulder. “He needed help with everything, even eating and going to the bathroom.”

“I had no energy. Lost half my strength to that hospital bed.”

“And Rylan’s going to need help too.” Jen looked at me expectantly. When I didn’t respond, she said, “He’s going to need you, Joss.”

I need him too.

“I don’t know what to do,” I whispered.

“Why haven’t you told anyone about your marriage?” Vinny asked quietly. “I mean, we know you’re married, but we all thought your husband wasn’t in the picture. And when I found out it was Rylan…”

I shrugged. “We weren’t exactly on good terms when I started here. And even though we are now, we just… I don’t know, we haven’t talked about it. And I don’t want anyone to know until we have a chance to figure it out together.”

“That’s going to make it harder⁠—”

Jen covered his hand on her shoulder again. “But we’ll make it work.” She smiled. “I’ll do what I can to help you, Joss. I’ll cover the front desk when you need me. Maybe you can take some time off to help him for a while.”

“We’ll both do whatever we can. But”—I cringed, waiting for the ball to drop—“if Lee asks me, I can’t lie to him.”

My eyes welled with tears again. “Thank you. Thank you both.”

“The doctor said Rylan will likely be in the hospital for a few days,” Vinny said. “The wound is going to require surgery and he’s not going to be able to walk on it for a while. The hospital advised he shouldn’t be moved until after surgery, so he’s going to be stuck in Kansas until they release him.”