Page 2 of My Fiancé's Brother
“I’ll come back.”
“Have a good night.”
I stoodoutside the store and scrubbed my face. Three months until the wedding. I had no idea how we would get everything planned in time. Matt was working late, but he needed to eat, right? I could go to his office, wait until his meeting was finished and then we could order take out. He worked long hours as a lawyer. He could afford to spend half an hour with me. With renewed determination, I walked towards his office building. I stood across the street and waited for the light to change. I saw him walk with purpose down the steps.
I raised my hand and waved. “Matt!”
The roar of the street drowned out my voice.
He walked towards a cab. I watched as a woman got out of the cab. I couldn’t see her face, but she had long beautiful brown hair. Hesmiled and kissed her on the cheek before they both climbed back into the cab.
I stood in complete shock. The light turned green, and people streamed around me. Had that really been Matt? Who was the woman?
I swallowed hard and crossed the street, feeling my heart beat in my chest. She was probably just a client. Matt was working a business dinner. My granny used to warn me not to borrow trouble with my imagination. She used to tell me that I needed to take life as it was and stop worrying about things I had no control over.
It took me 15 minutes before I managed to find a cab.
“Where to lady?”
I gave him my address and sank back into the worn seat and stared unseeing out the dirty window. How likely was it that he would kiss a female client on the cheek? If I confronted Matt about this, he would tell me that I was being insecure. I sighed.
“That’s quite the sigh,” the driver said, “Tough day?”
Our eyes met in the review mirror.
“I just saw my fiancé get into a cab with another woman.”
He gave me another glance. “What spooked you?”
“Pardon me?”
“What’s making you nervous?”
I toed a dirty Kleenex on the floor with my sneaker. “He kissed her on the cheek. He stood me up and said he was busy working and then I saw him smiling at her and he kissed her on the cheek.”
“What kind of kiss?”
I blinked. “Uh.”
“Was it a sexy kiss or more that French thing on both cheeks? Maybe he was trying to be sophisticated.”
My mind replayed what I saw. Matt had put his hand on her upper arm. He had smiled at her face. And when he leaned in and kissed her, he had lingered. It had felt intimate.
“He lingered.”
The cab driver shook his head. “You know, in my line of work,I’ve seen it all. Trust your gut. If you saw something you didn’t like, it’s probably ten times worse than you’re imagining.”
“Matt would never cheat on me.”
“That’s what they all say.” He eyeballed me in the mirror. “You look too young to get married. Are you even out of high school?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I’m 24.”
“Well, you look too young to be getting married. You should be out there, having fun,” he advised. “Trust me. After you get married, the kids come. And after they arrive, your whole world changes.”
“I guess.” Not wanting to admit that I couldn’t wait to have a baby. All my friends had important careers. I felt slightly ashamed that my only goal was to get married and start a family.
The cab driver spoke to me. I looked up and realized that he had pulled up in front of my loft. I dug through my bag to find some cash.
