Blossom Street Brides (Blossom Street #10)(72)

“Should I make the reservation?” Rooster asked. “I’ll see if they have a honeymoon suite.”

Eagerly, she nodded. Rooster had been able to secure a lovely suite for their wedding night, which they had put to good use.

“I didn’t get the chance to tell Elisa we’re married,” she reluctantly explained. Actually, she hadn’t been able to say much of anything. Her employer and friend was full of talk about her daughter and Dietrich. Apparently, there was another house on the farm Dietrich’s parents owned, and the newlyweds would be living there for the time being. Dietrich required only a few more classes until he had enough credits to graduate. They hoped he’d be able to finish his courses before the baby arrived.

Although Elisa did her best to put on a happy face, Lauren could hear the consternation in her friend’s voice. Life on a busy farm wasn’t the lifestyle she’d imagined for her only daughter. Besides, the fact that Lauren had married Rooster while they were in Vegas wasn’t news she wanted to deliver over the phone.

“Before you talk to your boss, we probably should make some decisions,” Rooster suggested.

He was right, of course. They had yet to discuss where they would live. “Do you think you and Max would ever consider moving the business to the Seattle area?” Lauren knew it was a topic that had come up more than once between Bethanne and Max, and it had been a problem with both of them. She didn’t want this to be an issue for her and Rooster.

“We’ve certainly discussed the possibility,” Rooster admitted. “It’s been hard on Max and Bethanne flying back and forth for weekends.” He reached for Lauren’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know I don’t want to spend any more time away from you than necessary.”

“I want to be with you, too,” she assured him earnestly.

“Max and I have reviewed the costs of such a move a couple times, and I have to tell you, Lauren, it’s prohibitive. We can do it, of course, but it’ll nearly wipe us out financially.”

Lauren was afraid of that. “If that’s the case, then we don’t really have a choice. I’ll give Elisa and Garry my two-week notice and put the condo up for sale.” Because she’d purchased it when the market was high, she would probably take a loss on the property.

“I’m sorry, love.”

“It is what it is,” she returned. It was a small sacrifice to pay in order to be with her husband.

“You enjoy your job, though.”

“Another one will turn up that’s just as satisfying,” she assured him, although she hated to leave her friends. She’d come to love life in Seattle. It would mean giving it all up, moving to a strange town, and starting over again. For a new life together with Rooster, she would do it without question.

Rooster’s gaze held hers for an extra-long moment. “I don’t intend for you to work long,” he told her. “I’d like for us to start a family soon. I suppose we could wait a year or two, but no longer than that.”

A smile all but exploded across Lauren’s face.

“What?” Rooster asked suspiciously.

“Everything happened so fast,” she reminded him.

“Yes, so?”

“So, Mr. Rooster Wayne, I’m not on any form of birth control. I could already be pregnant.”

Rooster’s eyes widened, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “You could?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me in the least.”

His grin started to grow until it covered his entire face. “I wouldn’t object. In fact, I’d be downright pleased.”

“So would I.”

They sat, grinning at each other like two cartoon characters, when a dark shadow fell across the table. Rooster looked up first, and Lauren watched as a frown crossed his face.

Todd.

Lauren’s heart sank. When they’d been dating she could go a couple of weeks or longer without seeing her ex-boyfriend. Naturally, he always had a plausible reason, and he did keep in touch, usually with quick phone calls or a text now and again, filling her in on his upcoming stories.

Rooster scooted back his chair and stood, looming several inches above Todd.

“Hello, Todd,” Lauren said, doing her best to hide her discomfort.

Todd ignored Rooster, turning his back to him. “I stopped by the store but found it closed. I thought you were open later than this.”

“John Michael Jewelry has closed at the same time for the last thirty-five years, as far as I know.”

Todd didn’t appear to have heard her. “I thought I might find you here.”

Lauren couldn’t imagine why he’d be looking for her; she’d made her position more than clear.

“Todd, please. I’ve already said everything that needs to be said,” she pleaded, not wanting a repeat of what had happened between the two men earlier. Never would she have guessed that Todd was the jealous type.

He continued to ignore Rooster. “I was hoping we could talk … privately.”

He nodded his head toward Rooster, as if she should ask him to leave for a few minutes so they could speak.

Rooster made a move, but she stretched her arm toward her husband, stopping him. “I’m with someone else at the moment,” she said, “but it wouldn’t matter if I was or wasn’t. There’s nothing more the two of us have to discuss.”