Page 43 of Truth or More Truth
“You’re thinking verrrry hard,” Wendy says as we get in the car.
“I know. It’s not an easy question to answer.”
“At least give me your thoughts.”
“First, tell me this: does Bobby have a girlfriend? Or even more than one girlfriend?”
Wendy turns to look at me before we take off. “You really think that man would share a bed with you two nights in a row if he has a girlfriend?”
I feel my face heating. “No.” It’s the truth. I’ve known it since yesterday, I just didn’t want to admit it to myself, because that would mean he’s free for me to date. And potentially dating that man scares me—in several ways.
“Good. And to be perfectly clear with my answer to your question, Bobby does not have any girlfriends at the moment. And I doubt he has ever dated more than one woman at a time—at least not seriously dated. He’s not that kind of guy.”
I nod. “What does it say about me that I thought he might be?”
“It says you’re realistic and cautious, especially after what happened with Jeremy. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Bobby’s not an easy one to get to know. Now, tell me what you’re thinking about both him and Shannon.”
I explain my feelings about the two men while we head down the road toward Oakville.
“You deserve to be treated well,” Wendy says. “But you also deserve flutters and sparks. You know Shannon doesn’t provide that for you. And you don’t know that Bobby wouldn’t treat you well. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’d treat you like the queen you are. So I think you have your answer.”
She’s right.
I think we’re done with the topic, but Wendy asks, “Have you told him about Jeremy?”
I sigh. “No. I had the perfect opening yesterday, but I didn’t take it.”
“Secret keeping seems to be the name of the game around here. You two need to do some serious talking. Today probably isn’t the best time, but you’ll be trapped in a car together all day tomorrow, so you’ll have more than enough time to spill your guts to each other then.”
As we get ready at Leslie’s parents’ house for the late-afternoon wedding, I try to push thoughts of Bobby from my head.
I’m not successful.
First of all, I can’t get the feel of my hand on his bare chest out of my mind. Second, I really want to know what happened to him last night—what memories or trauma our near-accident brought back for him. Because that’s undoubtedly what happened. There’s a car accident in his past, and it was bad enough to cause a man as strong and determined as Bobby to shut down. Though I’m wondering why last night’s incident sent him into panic mode but driving through a blizzard didn’t.
A finger pokes into my side.
“Earth to Melissa,” Leslie says in a robotic voice.
“Oh! Sorry. I was in my own little world. What did I miss?”
Leslie points to her auburn-haired cousin, who’s been helping us get ready even though she’s not in the wedding party. “Beckett mentioned she saw a shirtless man do the walk of shame from onehotel room to another this morning, and both rooms are on the wing we reserved for the wedding party and guests. Then Wendy tried to stifle a laugh and glanced your way.” She cocks her head to the side. “What’s that about? You have an overnight visitor?”
I could kill Wendy right about now. When I look at her, though, she shakes her head, letting me know she didn’t say anything.
“I don’t know anything about a walk of shame,” I state confidently. It’s not a lie. Nothing shameful happened in my hotel room last night. And even if she were right about what she thinks happened, I wouldn’t find any shame in that, either.
“You sure?” Leslie asks. “Beckett’s description of the man sounded a lot like a particular sports agent we all know and love. Well, we might not all love him, but we know him. And now I kinda want to see him with his shirt off.” She pauses. “Don’t tell my almost-husband I said that.”
We all laugh.
“There’s nothing to tell,” I say. “Why are we talking about this anyway? This is your day! You’re getting married! Wooooo!” I stand and shake my arms and hips.
The other ladies laugh and then all join in on the celebration, shouting and dancing and hip-bumping each other.
When we settle down again, Beckett asks Leslie, “What happened with Shannon and Christi? I didn’t know they broke up until last night. I thought maybe Shannon had finally found the one.”
“I don’t know,” Leslie says. “He hasn’t told me what happened. He doesn’t seem all that broken up about it, which I find weird, since they were together longer than he’s ever dated anyone else. Granted, that was only about five months.” She shrugs. “I’m worried about him, but there’s nothing I can do about it if he won’t talk to me.”
