The Best Man Plan, стр. 68
“I think she had sex with Jason, out in the vineyard.” Brenna looked to Honor.
Honor nodded. “Definitely sex with Jason. But I think it was in his truck.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a game of Clue, you know.”
Brenna looked smug. “Which means one of us is right.”
“Clue sounds fun,” Honor said. “We haven’t played that game in years.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “Both of you. Out.”
Brenna laughed and grabbed Honor’s arm. “She’s just pissed because she got caught in the act.”
Still staring at her phone, Erin said, “If you’d caught me in the act, you wouldn’t be trying to guess when and where, would you?”
“Aha!” Brenna wagged a finger. “So you did have sex with Jason somewhere outside.”
She smiled sweetly at her sister. “I admit to nothing.”
Honor laughed. “Come on, Brenna. We don’t want to ruin Erin’s afterglow.”
Her sisters left and closed the door. Erin put her phone to the side and lay back on the bed, replaying the hot moments she’d shared with Jason in his truck. She had no idea where her sisters had been, but they hadn’t been in the house when she’d dashed upstairs to get the condom and make a quick change of clothes. Maybe they’d all been out and had come in the back door.
She shrugged. Either way, she’d had a great time.
Her phone pinged and she picked it up.
The text was from Owen.
Can we talk?
She bolted to a sitting position, those three words on her phone making her stomach churn.
She stared at her phone until her eyes burned, until tears formed, trying to find meaning behind those innocuous three words.
How dare he ruin her perfect night like he’d already ruined her perfectly planned wedding? She’d been doing so well. She’d tried so hard to move on, had hardly been thinking about him at all. And now this?
Why now, after all this time?
Then again, why had he bailed instead of talking to her face-to-face?
She stared at the text message, her fingers hovering on the keys.
She ended up tossing her phone to the end of the bed.
“Dammit, Owen. Why are you suddenly back in my life?”
She knew how she was going to handle this.
She . . . wasn’t.
She got up and went into the bathroom, getting as far away from her phone—and from Owen—as she could.
CHAPTER
• • • • • •
twenty-eight
WITH ERIN’S HELP, Jason now had a completed bedroom, furniture and everything. The bathroom looked shipshape, too, with a rug and stuff on the counter, but not too much stuff, because according to Erin, he wouldn’t like too much clutter.
She was right. He’d put a vanity in with drawers, which meant he had a place for all his things. So the counter was mostly clear and he liked it that way, plus it made it easier to clean. She’d put a basic, non-floral-smelling candle and a cute blue ceramic dog on the counter to match the dark blue rug on the floor, and then they’d hung one picture of a foggy lake on the wall that he’d really liked. He’d had to agree that the bathroom had needed something, and Erin had known just what that “something” had been. She had a good eye. Not that he was surprised.
Erin had also helped him choose his bedroom furniture. Not too dark, she’d told him, because it would make the room appear smaller. He’d gone with a gray tufted headboard and awesome gray antique nightstands, and a silver dresser that went well with the off-white walls. Fortunately, he had the French doors that led out to the backyard along with a couple of windows that let in a lot of light, so the room was bright.
He’d let Erin run with choosing sheets and blankets, because that wasn’t in his area of expertise, and since he wanted her comfortable in his bed, he figured whatever she liked was fine with him.
She’d chosen a dark gray duvet cover and some soft-as-hell sheets. And hey, as long as they weren’t rough and scratchy, he didn’t care. Plus, everything looked good. He knew Erin would get it right.
Tonight they were having a housewarming party, which Erin had talked him into because the house was mostly finished, and mainly because he rarely had people over. She told him he should celebrate all the work he had put into the house.
Maybe she was right.
Besides, he had the weekend off, so why not have people over and do a little partying?
Erin had told him the vineyard had an afternoon wedding today, so she’d have plenty of time to come over and help him set up for the party.
He’d gotten up early this morning to clean the house. Once that was finished, he went to the grocery store to get all the stuff they’d need. He made a couple of snacks that would need to chill, and when he was putting those in the fridge, the doorbell rang.
He frowned and looked at his phone. Way too early for Erin to be here, so he went to the door and opened it, shocked to see Owen standing there.
He just stared, not knowing what to say. He hadn’t expected to see him.
“What are you doing here?” Jason asked.
“Can we talk?”
“I don’t know that I have anything to say to you.”
Owen tilted his head to the side. “Come on, man. We’re friends.”
“Are we?”
“It’s hot as fuck out here, Jason. Can I come in?”
Jason thought about closing the door in Owen’s face, but the guy looked like he was about to pass out. Sweat ran down his temple and he looked pale, so he stood to the side and Owen walked in.
Jason shut the door and led Owen into the kitchen.
“You want some ice water?”
“That’d be great, thanks.”
Owen climbed onto one of the barstools and took a seat while Jason fixed them both something to drink. He handed Owen the water and waited while he took several gulps. While Owen drank, Jason noticed how pale Owen looked. He’d lost