My One and Only: Book 1 in the Love and Weddings Trilogy (18 page)

3 Days Later

              Asher sat on a bright red upholstered stool at Tai’s counter and stared unseeingly into his chocolate milkshake.

              “Come on, Ash. Drink it. You’ll feel better,” Tai said gently.

              Asher shook his head. “No I won’t. Nothing can help me.”

              Tai sighed and walked off to talk to a customer who had just walked in. Asher leaned his head in his hands and felt the heavy weight of misery sit on his shoulders, crushing the life out of him.

              “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

              Asher groaned and glanced up at Kam Matafeo. “Look, I don’t even care if you break my ribs now. Seriously, please put me in the hospital. Maybe you can knock me out and none of this will hurt anymore.”

              Kam closed his eyes and shook his head. “Bro, get a grip. I’m not here to pound on you. I’m here to help. Pule tells me you won’t eat or sleep anymore. Meredith still won’t talk to you?”

              Asher went back to resting his tired head in his hands. Now that he knew Kam wouldn’t beat him up, he’d lost all interest in the conversation.

              “Yeah.”

              Kam sat down next to him and motioned for Tai. “Hey, Tai, grab me whatever’s easiest. I want to have lunch with my buddy, Asher.”

              Tai walked by and smiled doubtfully before disappearing in the back. Asher snorted. “
Buddy?
Yeah, right. You’ve been looking for a reason to pound on me since the day you met me.”

              Kam nodded his head. “Well, I do get the urge to pound on spoiled brats. Sue me. But if it makes you feel any better, I don’t want to anymore. I actually think you’re a good guy and you need a break.”

              Asher looked up curiously. “You think I need a break?”

              Kam looked at him like he was stupid and smacked the back of his head lightly. “Pay attention. Do you want Meredith back?”

              Asher cleared his throat and took a sip of his shake. “Funny question. I never had her.”

              Kam rolled his eyes. “I heard from Tai that she does have feelings for you.
Deep
feelings. She’s just scared of them because she’s been burned so badly in the past.”

              Asher perked up and turned to stare at Kam. “You’re not saying that just to make me feel better? You’re serious?”

              Kam nodded his head. “Deadly. She’s not in love with me anymore. She’s in love with
you
. That’s why it hurt her so badly when she found out people were gossiping about her.”

              Asher glared at the wall over Kam’s head, feeling rage fill his chest. “And she thinks I’m the one who lied about her.”

              Kam nodded. “That’s right. She does. Now how are we going to convince her of the truth?”

              Asher shrugged. “
I can’t.
That’s the whole point. She won’t listen to me, or Pule or Cleo or anyone.”

              Kam frowned. “She’ll listen to me.”

              Asher frowned. “Just remember, you’re married.”

              Kam laughed. “I’m not likely to forget. Do you want my help or not? Rob promised to come with me and tell his side of things and how he
uh,
forced your silence on the matter.”

              Asher felt his heart start to beat again. “You mean it? You’ll fix this for me?”

              Kam nodded his head as Tai brought him out a large plate of chili fries covered in bacon, green onions and guacamole.

              “Bro, you are the king of food,” Kam said, his voice filled with joy.

              Tai laughed and stole a fry. “We each have our expertise.”

              Kam nodded eagerly as he dug in. “And I’m so grateful. Don’t tell Rob or Wren, but sometimes, I get a little sick of seafood.”

              Asher laughed at that and then looked at Tai in surprise.
He’d just laughed.
He grinned at Kam. “If Meredith and I get married, I want you at our wedding.”

              Kam nodded his head. “Of course. I was already planning on it.”

              Asher took another sip of the chocolate shake and moaned. “Dang, this is good.”

              Tai grinned. “That’s what I’ve been telling you. Eat a little comfort food and life looks better.”

              Asher smiled. “Let me come with you, Kam.”

              Kam frowned and shook his head quickly. “You crazy? Wait until I clear this up and then you make an appearance. Show up at the wrong time and everything’s ruined. You don’t want to send her into hiding again. Bailey says she saw her at the grocery store this morning and Taryn saw her down at Cleo’s yoga studio. She’s starting to come out of hiding. Let Rob and I hunt her down and clear all of this up. Until then, stay away.”

              Asher frowned but nodded his head. “Fine, but are you going to do it today?”

              Kam sighed. “So impatient. But yes. I don’t want her to be in more pain than she needs to be. I think she’s ready to listen now.”

              Asher sighed, feeling hope take the place of all the misery he’d been holding inside for days. “Thanks, Kam. You’re a good man.”

              Kam nodded readily. “The best. You’ll name your first child after me.”

              Asher shook his head. “Over my dead body.”

              Kam laughed. “I can arrange that.”

              Asher laughed too. “No you wouldn’t. Because Meredith loves me and you don’t want to make her sad.”

              Kam pointed a finger at him. “Ah, you got me figured out. Smart man. Don’t push your luck though.”

              Asher shook his head. “Remember, I’m smart.”

              Kam nodded his head and finished his lunch quickly before waving to Tai and leaving. Asher watched him go and sent a little prayer with him.
Please help Kam convince Meredith that she didn’t really hate him. Please bring Meredith back.

              Meredith glared at Brogan and Taryn and crossed her arms over her chest.

              “
You
plan the social mixer. I’m quitting. I told you that three days ago.”

              Taryn rolled her eyes. “Spare me from divas,” she muttered under her breath.

              Meredith hissed, fighting the urge to pull Taryn’s hair. She had never laid a hand on a pregnant woman before and she didn’t want to start now. Even she had lines she wouldn’t cross.

              “Look, this is all my fault. Now that I know Taryn is the one who is pregnant, can’t we all just go back to the way things were? There’s no reason to quit the business. The site is doing incredible. We’re up to three thousand profiles and we have almost a hundred matches. Come on, Meredith. The first lesson of business is think with your head, not your heart.”

              Meredith sighed and massaged her temples. “Just another reason why I’m not cut out for this.”

              Taryn held up her hand for a clerk at the counter. “One more cronut, please?” she called out as Brogan looked at her in surprise.

              “That’s your fourth,” he said under his breath as if she wasn’t fully aware of how many cronuts she’d eaten

              “
And
?” Taryn asked with a raised eyebrow.

              Brogan smiled and shook his head. “And nothing. So back to you, Meredith. Since I feel responsible for this mess, I’m going to give you a break. I’ll give you a couple more days to think about it. The problem is though, we really do need you. If you can’t come back to work and take over your position as social director, we’ll have to hire someone to do it and you’ll be out which would be a huge shame since this was all your idea.”

              Meredith glared at him and turned her chin away as she stared out the window. “I’ll think about it,” she finally said stiffly.

              Taryn sighed and stood up. “Thank heavens for small miracles,” she said and then stopped, turning back to look at her with a small frown on her face. “I wasn’t kidding about being friends, you know. That offer is still on the table too.”

              Meredith frowned and studied her nails. “
Why?
Why in the world would you ever want to be friends with me?”

              Taryn shrugged and took the bag from the clerk with a small smile. “Because we are a lot alike and I get you. Come by the restaurant tomorrow and have lunch. On me.”

              Meredith cleared her throat and glanced at Brogan who was smiling at her encouragingly. “You mean, like together at a table? Or just me by myself because you’re trying to buy me off with free seafood.”

              “Together with me, you dimwit. Come on, Brogan. My acid reflux is acting up,” she said and turned on her heel and walked out.

              Meredith smiled a little as Brogan grinned and followed his wife. She watched the beautiful couple walk out of the bakery and sighed, wondering what to do. What would be the right thing to do? Right now, she wasn’t sure.

              She heard the bell over the door and glanced over her shoulder. She quickly turned away and groaned as she caught sight of Kam Matafeo. Not a great time in her life to run into an ex. She wondered if she could sneak out while his back was turned at the counter. She turned around again and paled as she noted Rob Downing was with him and they weren’t looking at the trays of goodies. They were looking right at her.

              Meredith froze. She could either run out and not talk to them or she could lift her chin in the air and face life like a champion. She had nothing to be ashamed of. Just because the whole world was gossiping about her behind her back didn’t mean any of it had been true. She lifted her chin and waved as she grabbed her purse. She could walk by and say hi before making a nice, quick exit. Perfect compromise.

              She stood up as they walked purposefully toward her and she swallowed nervously. By the grim expressions on their faces something was up and she was starting to think it was her.

              “Hi, guys. I just finished a meeting with Brogan and I have to run,” she said with a polite smile as she tried to edge around them.

              Kam shook his head. “Can we talk to you, Mer? This won’t take long.”

              Meredith frowned. “Wait, you came here just to talk to me? How did you even know I was here?”

              Rob glanced over his shoulder at the door. “Taryn texted me and told me you guys were here talking. I thought it was a good time to set things straight with you.”

              Meredith blinked a few times, confused about what was going on. “What do you mean set things straight with me? What have you done to me?” she asked cautiously as she sat back down and stared at the two men in front of her.

              Rob cleared his throat. “I was at the table with my sister when Asher came back from the store with the pregnancy test for her. He offered to go buy it for her because she’d just realized that she might be pregnant and she was very excited. He was at the checkout stand when Brogan came up behind him. Brogan made a lot of assumptions obviously, but Asher couldn’t tell him the test was for Taryn because no one wants to find out they’re going to be a dad from anyone but his wife. So Asher kept quiet. When he got back to the restaurant he suggested that we tell Brogan and anyone else for that matter who was curious that the test was for Wren. I shot down that idea and told him I’d kill him if that got out.”

              Meredith frowned. “You threatened Asher if he told the truth?”

              Rob nodded. “This is Taryn’s first baby and she was so excited about telling Brogan. She wanted everything to be perfect. She always does. I couldn’t let the news get out before she was able to tell him in her own way. Granted that took way,
way
too long for her to figure out and that’s how the rumor gained so much momentum. But I just want you to know that Asher tried everything he could to take you out of the loop. He didn’t want your name mentioned but Brogan knowing the two of you and how close you are and your chemistry with each other, he told a few people. When I talked to him, the poor guy didn’t realize that something like that should be kept a secret. We all feel bad. Even Taryn.”

              Meredith looked over Rob’s shoulder unseeingly and shook her head. “Do you know what it’s like to have people talking about you behind your back?
All the time.
To have people just waiting for the moment when they can say,
yep, look at that. Meredith messed up again
.
Isn’t she a joke?”

              Kam growled in his throat. “No one was laughing at you. Everyone was excited for you and Asher. Nothing I heard was mean spirited or unkind. A lot of people are actually disappointed to find out that you’re not pregnant. Everyone in town thinks you and Asher make a great couple.”

              Meredith glared at Kam but he didn’t look away. “You can blow everyone else off, but don’t blow me off. I would never lie to you,” he said quietly and she dropped her eyes as shame washed over her.

              “But I yelled at Asher,” she said softly as she ran a finger across the table, following the pattern of the wood. “He thinks I hate him now. He’s tried over and over to see me and talk to me and I wouldn’t give him the time of day because I assumed he was the one doing all the lying about me.”

              Rob snorted. “The guy is in love with you. Why would he go around telling everyone he’d gotten you pregnant? It doesn’t even make sense.”

              Meredith closed her eyes and lowered her head. Now that Rob had put it that way,
it didn’t.
But when she’d been there, toe to toe with him, it had seemed the only logical conclusion to make. Why would Asher tell people that she was pregnant with his baby? It was crazy.

             
She was crazy.

              She moaned and put her head in her hands. “I thought maybe this was his way of pressuring me into having a relationship with him,” she said so softly they both had to strain to hear her.

              Kam nodded. “Why are you so afraid of falling in love with him?”

              Meredith refused to look at Kam or Rob. “Because I know what happens when that love isn’t there anymore. It’s lonely. It’s dark. And it’s so incredibly painful. I never want to feel that kind of pain again.”

              Rob reached over and took her hand in his. “Which means you’d have to never love again. There’s always the chance of pain when you open your heart to someone.”

              Meredith nodded her head slowly. “It’s not worth it. I’d rather live a life full of friends and family and work and do without love if I have to.”

              Kam frowned at her. “You’re being a coward, Meredith. That’s not the girl I know. The girl I know is a fighter. She fights for what she wants and she gets back up when she’s knocked down. You’re refusing to even fight for this,” he said, sounding frustrated.

              Meredith looked up and glared at him. “And
you’re
the one to blame. How dare you judge me when you’re the one who broke my heart in the first place.”

              Rob held up his hand. “Hey now.
You’re
the one who broke up with Kam and that’s why he started dating Bailey. If you were so in love with him then why in the world did you dump him and move to California?”

              Meredith swallowed hard and shook her head. “Because I was incredibly dumb. But I came right back. I came right back to you.”

              Kam shook his head. “It was never meant to be. I know it. And you know it too if you’re being honest with yourself. You and Asher though? You need to give that man a chance. He’s so in love with you he’s sick with it. He hasn’t eaten or slept in days because of you. Have a little mercy.”

              Meredith blinked in surprise. “He hasn’t eaten or slept?
Just because I’m mad at him
?”

              Rob and Kam both nodded their heads simultaneously. “That’s right. And Garrett’s been on my back about it ever since he found out I’m the one who forced Asher into this situation. He’s threatening to run me over with a bulldozer if I don’t fix things for his little brother. The man means it too,” Rob said looking disgruntled.

              Meredith grinned at that and pictured Garrett chasing Rob with a bulldozer. “That’s kind of a nice picture actually.”

              Rob grinned and shrugged. “Get in line. There are many people who have dreamed of my death. So are we good here? Will you forgive the poor guy and give him a chance?”

              Meredith breathed in and out slowly and nodded her head. It wasn’t Asher’s fault. It was her insecurities coupled with dumb circumstances. He didn’t deserve all the blame
. If any
.

              “But why didn’t he just come and tell me what had happened in the first place? If he knew there was going to be rumors why didn’t he just tell me about Taryn and Brogan before anything even got out?” she asked, still not happy at having been pulled into the drama.

              Kam sat back in his chair and shook his head. “Taryn told everyone at the table that they had to keep it a secret. She was terrified of Brogan finding out. He wanted to, Mer.”

              Meredith sighed and looked at Rob. “You know, your sister is a pain in the butt. All of this so she can have her perfect little moment. I hope it was epic.”

              Rob cleared his throat and shook his head. “It was actually pretty lame to be honest. She had the whole family over to her house for dinner but she was so busy throwing up, she couldn’t get it fixed in time. Brogan walks in, finds us all there and his wife sicker than a dog and he says
, Taryn, this might be a crazy question, but are you pregnant
? He beat her to the punch line and she cried the rest of the night. It was a total let down. But on the bright side, Brogan is the happiest man in the world.”

              Meredith laughed softly and rubbed her forehead. Life had a way of messing up even the best of plans. “Wow, I almost feel bad for her.”

              Rob laughed and stood up. “Ah, she’s okay. She’s actually pretty down to earth but all of her baby hormones are making her a little crazy. They had their first doctor’s appointment yesterday and were able to hear the baby’s heartbeat. Brogan’s been in tears ever since and Taryn is now obsessed with designing a nursery so it’s all good.”

              Meredith smiled at that and felt her heart ease. “Maybe it’s time for new beginnings for everyone.”

              Kam stood up and touched her shoulder. “If not everyone, for sure
you
. Call Asher,” he said and walked away with Rob.

              She turned and watched them leave the bakery and sighed. She’d overreacted and hurt Asher.
A lot
. In her defense, she was hurting too, but she was more embarrassed and angry than anything. Asher had just been trying to be the knight in shining armor again and it had gone terribly wrong. And she’d punished him for it out of pride.