Not Just Friends (Brookfield) by Lacey Wolfe Page B

meant he had to figure out what the heck to make. He
wasn’t much of a cook, so most likely he would find somewhere that delivered.
It had been a long time since he’d had a woman over just for the sake of
hanging out. Typically, he went to their place and left. It kept things less
personal. But what he was doing with Alyssa was personal.
    He
walked her back to the shop and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you
soon.”
    “Okay.
Text me your address.”
    “Will
do.”
    Alyssa
gave him a slight wave and disappeared into The Reading Corner. Connor headed
to his car and started the drive back to his house. When he got home, he needed
to make sure the place was clean and presentable to a woman. He wasn’t there
often enough with his job to make housework one of his top priorities.
    * * * *
    Alyssa
closed the shop. Tina stayed and helped the process move a little faster.
Thankfully, tomorrow was Monday and that meant a day off. She couldn’t wait to
spend the evening with Connor, but first, she had to take care of something
she’d been putting off.
    Earlier
when she had spoken to Cody, he said he didn’t know about Diane and Matt, and
she believed him. Diane was secretive, and it didn’t surprise her that she and
Matt were off playing house and no one knew. Cody offered to call Diane for
her, but Alyssa said she could handle it.
    Entering
her apartment, she kicked her shoes off. After her usual snuggle fest with Zoe,
Alyssa removed the cell phone from her back pocket. She couldn’t put off
calling Diane any longer, and she couldn’t bear to have it on her mind all
evening.
    She
scrolled through the list of recent calls until she came to her sister’s
number. She pressed the picture and put the phone to her ear.
    “Alyssa,”
her sister answered on the second ring.
    “Hi,
Diane, how are you?”
    “Not
well at all.”
    Alyssa
rolled her eyes. Diane was always dramatic. “What’s wrong?”
    “It’s
Matt.”
    “Am
I really the person to be talking to about this?”
    “You
dated him too. I thought you could help.”
    Alyssa
sighed. “I had no idea you were seeing him. But that’s beside the point, I
guess. What has he done?”
    “He’s
disappeared and I have a feeling he’s back in Brookfield. Have you seen him?”
     “Yes,
I have.”
    Diane
was quiet. “What did he want?”
    “He
wants me back.” For some reason being able to say this to her sister sent a
thrill of emotions through her. The guy her sister had apparently stolen from
her wanted her again.
    “What
did you say to him?”
    “No.
I’m with someone else.”
    “You
are?” Diane asked hesitantly.
    “Yes,
Diane, if you had anything to do with me, you’d know. I’ve rejected your
boyfriend. Why you want him beats me.”
    “I’m
pregnant.”
    What?
Had she just heard her sister right? “Pregnant?”
    “Yes,
and he left when he found out. Something about this was just fun and he never
wanted to settle down with me. He also doesn’t think the kid is his. Personally,
I think he was pissed at me.”
    A
new set of emotions raced through Alyssa. How could he just leave Diane and
crawl back to her? Perhaps she was wrong and she didn’t know Matt at all. “I’m
so sorry.”
    “I
told him I wanted to marry him.”
    “You
don’t have to, but he at least needs to be there.”
    “No,
he has to marry me. I’m not having a kid out of wedlock. And I
know it’s his.”
    Maybe
she should’ve thought about that before she lay down with a scumbag. “Give him
time.”
    “Time,
I don’t have. I need to be married before my stomach starts getting bigger.”
She huffed. “Just send him back. Make sure he knows you’ll never take him back
then I know he’ll come back.”
    “Why
do I matter so much in this?”
    “Don’t
be stupid. He still has feelings for you.”
    This
was way too much. “If I see him, I’ll make it clear.”
    “Thanks.
Well, it was good to talk to you.”
    “Yeah,
same here.”
    Her
sister ended the call first.