His Temporary Wife (The Brides of Sunflower Falls #2)

Chapter 6

six

Melody stared at the bag of coffee she’d used this morning. Which felt like a lifetime ago. She opened it and smelled the grounds. They smelled fine.

She scooped out enough to make a pot and turned on the coffeemaker. Libby sat at the little dining table in her kitchen, but didn’t say anything. Since her bombshell of a question, she hadn’t said anything more.

At least to Melody.

The first thing Melody had done when she’d come into the house was head to her bedroom to clean up. She’d heard Libby on the phone with someone then.

But the emotional curtain that had fallen the moment she’d realized the words Tony had been saying was still in place. When she’d returned downstairs, Libby had opened her mouth to say something, but Melody had just shaken her head and went into the kitchen.

By the time the coffee had finished brewing, Ana walked in the front door carrying a plastic bag.

Melody grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured a half-cup .

“You had better appreciate the grilling I’m going to get from my mother about this.” Ana tossed the bag onto the counter.

Melody ignored her and focused on the dark liquid. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ana look over at Libby who shook her head.

Drawing in a deep breath, Melody lifted the mug to her lips and inhaled the deep roasted scent of the coffee. Smiling, she drank.

And immediately spat it back out into the sink. The wretched metallic taste hadn’t changed since this morning.

She rinsed out her mouth, but the taste sat on the back of her tongue. If coffee was ruined for her for the next nine months, she was going to be pissed.

Ana had crossed her arms over her chest and was tapping a foot on the floor when she finally met her best friend’s eyes. “Hey.”

“Hey? What the hell is going on, Melody? Libby texted me and told me to get over here as quickly as possible with a pregnancy test. I would have raided Bethie’s stash, but Libby said ASAP and the store was closer.”

Melody closed her eyes. Of course Ana would first think to raid her sister Bethie’s stash. Bethie at least would keep her mouth shut about someone needing a pregnancy test. She wanted to be mad at both of them for making more of this than was necessary, but even she knew something was off. They’d used condoms every single time, and she was on the pill, but nothing was foolproof.

“I’ll explain everything later. I’ll be back.”

She grabbed the bag and headed up to her bathroom. She wouldn’t put it past Ana to follow her, but as she headed up the stairs, she heard Libby say something and Ana reply .

Grateful to Libby for giving her the space she needed, Melody closed the bathroom door behind her. And locked it.

She read the directions first because she didn’t want to fuck this up and have to take a second one. This was a one and done deal. Yes or no. And if it was yes, no way in hell was she telling Tony.

Fifteen minutes later, thanks to Ana buying the Rolls Royce of tests, the word “Pregnant” was clear as fucking day.

Her knees went weak, and she had to grab hold of her vanity to stay upright. Of course, that sent the test flying into the gods damned toilet. “Mother…”

Someone started banging on the bathroom door, making Melody jump.

“Open up. What happened? Am I going to be an auntie?”

Melody reached over and opened the door. “Grab it out of the toilet if you want the answer.”

She tried to push past her best friend in the world, but despite Ana barely reaching Melody’s chin, her friend could—and had—held her own. Melody blamed it on Ana being the youngest of four, but Ana always said that the mightiest came in the smallest packages.

Ana pushed her back into the bathroom. “It’s your test. You get it.”

“Ugh. Fine.” She tried not to hork when she reached into the toilet even though she’d flushed and had cleaned the toilet only yesterday. She held it out to Ana.

“Ew, Melody. No. Just hold it up.”

Melody caught sight of Libby standing outside the door. “Want to see my humiliation, too? ”

Ana started screeching, causing Melody to nearly drop the test again.

Libby’s eyes crinkled. “I’m good. I can guess the result.”

Melody pursed her lips. “No telling Eric.”

Ana clapped her hands. “That’s so romantic. Tony should totally be the first to know.”

“Excuse me? Why would I tell Tony I’m pregnant?” Melody hadn’t told a soul that she’d been seeing him. Anger punched through the curtain of muffled emotions. Let alone fucking married him.

Ana rolled her eyes. “Come on, Melody. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers. I know when you’re getting some. Since you’ve given up on dating anyone from here, the only new person who’s been around long enough for you to give them a shot is Tony.”

Melody placed the test on the vanity counter and washed her hands again. “It could have been Zach. He’s been away long enough.”

“Nope. I’ve seen Zach at Geraghty’s some of the same nights you’ve come in later, glowing like you just had sex.”

“It could have been a quickie. He could have come over after eating.”

Ana shook her head with the smuggest grin on her face. “The fact you’re trying so hard to convince me of the possibility means it’s totally not Zach.”

“Plus the face you make whenever you catch Tony’s eye.”

Melody looked over at Libby. “What are you talking about?”

“The face you make. You’ll glance over at him, he’s already looking at you, and you get…I don’t know. Soft, I guess? Not hard. Like you are when you catch other guys around town giving you the eye. ”

Melody ground her teeth together. How in the hell had she become so transparent that even Libby picked up on something she thought she’d been hiding?

Ana squealed again and damn near tackled Melody to the ground with her body hug. “I’m going to be an auntie. I’m going to be an auntie!”

Melody turned her head to look down at her only to see Ana doing a happy dance even while hugging her. “You’re already an auntie. All of Bethie’s kids and Hank’s.”

“But you’re my sister from another mother, and I’m never going to have to hear my mother’s criticisms about how I’m interacting with your kid.”

Melody met Libby’s gaze and rolled her eyes. Libby had her hand over her mouth trying, and failing, to contain her giggles. She looked back down at Ana. “Who says I’m keeping it?”

Ana paused in her dancing, and Libby straightened. Libby reached out and pulled them into the hall. “Okay, this discussion should happen with our drinks of choice in the living room, not the bathroom.”

They filed back down the stairs, and all opted for ice water. Once they were settled onto the couches, Melody took a deep drink of her water. “I mean, this wasn’t planned. It’s… Not… Gods, I don’t know.”

Ana reached out and squeezed Melody’s hand. “Whatever you want to do, you know we’ll support you, right?”

Melody squeezed her hand back. “Yeah. I know. Thanks. This is not what I was expecting today. None of this was what I was expecting today.”

Libby shifted in her seat. “Speaking of that. What happened? One minute you were looking for Tony, and the next, you were storming through the bar with tears streaming down your face. ”

Ana straightened up. “What? What happened? Damn it. I wish I hadn’t had to work at the library today.”

Melody stared into her glass, wishing it had the answers waiting for her like one of those crystal balls fake fortune tellers liked to use. She drained what remained and then got up to refill it. She needed the space to process everything that had happened. Once in the kitchen, she checked the clock. Jesus. The last hour. All of this had happened in a little over an hour.

How could one’s life change so drastically in that span of time?

She filled her glass and went back into the living room. Both Ana and Libby were staring at her. Melody took a deep breath. “When I left town last month, it wasn’t to celebrate finishing the Sullivan project. Well, it was, but it wasn’t down to the city like I said. I went to Niagara Falls. With Tony.”

“You never answered my question about marriage after you sent me that photo. Since it was Niagara Falls and all. You would have told me when you got back if you had. Plus, I knew it was Tony because Zach thought he was being all smart and staying out of sight in town, but I spotted him at Target. He didn’t see me. If he had, I think he would have hid from me.” Ana had the smuggest look on her face before it morphed to shock. “Oh. My. God. Tell me you didn’t get married! You got married, didn’t you? And you didn’t tell me!”

Melody winced. This was not how she’d seen the conversation going down. If it ever went down. She didn’t enjoy having her hand forced like this.

Libby’s head whipped around. “What? You got married? Did you tell your mom? Did you tell Eric, and he didn’t tell me? ”

Melody pinched the bridge of her nose. “I didn’t tell anyone. And I told him not to tell anyone. Turns out for good reason. Tony Caputo apparently isn’t his real name. That’s what happened. I overheard him telling someone that he needed to have the marriage filed under his legal name. So I’m probably not married. Especially as I’m pretty sure he didn’t file the license. I told him I just wanted to try out the idea of it before we made it official official.”

Ana’s mouth opened and closed a few times before she paused. Drew in a deep breath. “But you’re still pregnant.”

Melody plopped down onto the couch. “Yeah. Pregnant.”

“Okay. We can handle this. When are you going to tell Tony?”

Melody stared at her friend. Ana was so optimistic and positive about life. An outlook Melody had never mastered. “Nothing. I’m telling him nothing. This is a man who somehow tracked down a DVD copy of one of my favorite movies ever after I mentioned it once, but then tried to marry me under a fake name. Even if I decide to have the baby, he doesn’t deserve to know after lying to me like that. I’m not subjecting my kid to a father who wouldn’t be able to tell the truth from a swift kick in the ass. I had enough of that growing up, and no kid of mine deserves that.”

Ana’s mouth gaped open a couple times and then a look of pure fury came over her face. She pointed at Melody, her finger damn near inches from Melody’s nose. “This is not a romance novel. There will be no secret babies.”

Melody blinked. “The hell, Ana?”

“I had enough teasing from Hank when he tried to convince me while we were growing up that I wasn’t Mom and Dad’s kid, even if I sometimes wished that was the case with Mom. All because Bethie and I are so close in age. This kid deserves to know who both of their parents are.”

“Hank’s an ass. Always has been. And you know my dad. How could I knowingly subject my kid to a father who’s just as bad?”

Libby raised her hand like she was back in school. “Can I say something?”

Melody slumped back into the couch cushions. “Sure. I mean Ana’s got all the thoughts.”

“Only on being honest with the father of your child. Not on anything else.”

Melody shot her a glare, but Libby cleared her throat. “I still haven’t met your dad, but I know the stories Eric’s shared with me. And you both know that my father is the epitome of shitty.”

Melody nodded because Libby’s dad had actually made national news over what a shitty father he was. He’d not only stolen much of the money that Libby’s grandparents had left in trust for her, but he’d also tried to have Libby put into a conservatorship so she couldn’t legally make any decisions on her own behalf. He’d also screwed over countless of his law firm’s clients, and the authorities were still trying to untangle everything.

“I’ve also hung out with Tony over the last few months, and being a through and through liar is not the vibe I get from him. Did he explain why he said what he said?”

Melody’s whole body flinched at the question. “Are you questioning me over what I heard?”

“Not at all. I saw your face when you came out of the kitchen. I’m just saying that if he lied about his name, there might be a reason. Whether that reason is understandable is still questionable, but if you don’t know the reason, then you can’t do the evaluation. ”

Melody shook her head. “You are such a lawyer.”

Libby beamed. “Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“But I choose to take it as such. For now, the first thing you have to do is finish your water. Then maybe take a nap. Ana and I can get Button from your mom’s, come back, and make you dinner. How does that sound?”

“Fine. I guess. I had planned on eating at Geraghty’s, so I don’t know what I have to eat.”

“That’s fine. We’ll go to the store first and pick some things up.” Ana leaned over from where she was sitting and gave Melody one of her patented bear hugs. “We’ve got your back no matter what. I still think you need to tell Tony. Give him a chance to explain. You don’t need to take him back or anything. But I agree with Libby. He’s never struck me as someone like your dad. And I do know your dad and all the shit he pulled that you told me about.”

“I’ll think about it. That’s the best I can do.”

Ana grinned at her. “You know I love your grumpy ass, right?”

Melody blew her a raspberry like she’d done when they were kids. “I’ll get the kitchen cleaned up while you get Button.” The urge to cry smacked her, and she swallowed down the emotion. She could do that after they left. “Thank you. Both of you.”

They stood up, and Libby gave her a hug, too, before they headed out.

Melody began cleaning the kitchen. The coffee pot sat on the counter, and she mournfully poured what remained down the sink. After rinsing out the pot and placing it in the dishwasher, she patted her stomach.

“You weren’t in the plans, Peanut.” This time she let the tears flow. “And I don’t know what the deal is with your dad, but I’m glad you’re here.” She drew in a deep breath. “It may just be you and me, but I’ll find a way to make it. If nothing else, we’ve got your Uncle Eric, Aunt Libby, and Aunt Ana. Plus Grandma Nina and Great-Uncle Stef. We’ll always have your back. Even if your dad doesn’t.”

Melody slid down the cabinets to the floor and bawled. She thought of all the times he’d made her laugh. How he’d been so kind to Button and the other puppies when he’d been around them. The ways he’d done small things for her like massaging her shoulders after a long day when she’d let him. She’d felt like she was becoming a better version of herself by letting him into her life. But now? How could she trust him? Not only with her heart again, but her kid’s? Liars never changed their stripes. Her dad never had. Tony, or whatever his real name was, likely never would either.