Her Inconvenient Groom by Niomie Roland
Chapter 41
“Are you sure you won’t have anything to drink, my dear?” Kim asked almost plaintively.
Chantelle knew that her new mother-in-law was uncomfortable, anxious to make her guest feel at home, but she was way too much on edge to do anything but pace. The last thing she needed was something to drink. She shook her head politely, but found it difficult to speak.
Outside in the small garden, Dustin and this woman—his ex-fiancée, were talking. And it had been a damn long conversation.
Aaron had already hightailed it to his room. Typical teenage boy, he’d sensed the emotional undercurrents in the house and decided he wanted no part of it.
“Thank you so much for what you did for me,” Arabella said with great sincerity.
Chantelle tried to smile. “It was a pleasure. I hope you are well.”
“And what about you?” Kim asked. “How is your health after that terrible ordeal?”
Chantelle answered that she was fine, but with every fiber inside her, she was wondering what was going on out there. What was taking them so long?
Arabella began rhapsodizing about her and Dustin, and how wonderful it was that they were together. She chided her for not including them in the original wedding, and began raving about what a wonderful ceremony they could have, if they chose to have a do-over. Chantelle barely heard her.
Her mind was racing. She tried to look out into the garden to see what was going on, without being seen herself. The baby looked to be about six months old, and some quick mental math suggested that she would have been conceived around the time that Dustin was still engaged to Jen. She also noticed that the baby had the same hair and eye color. Sure, that didn’t mean anything since genetics was a funny thing. But still, she couldn’t shake the uneasy sense that something bad was about to go down.
And she would be right at the center of it.
Arabella seemed to be thinking exactly along the same lines as Chantelle. “If that woman thinks she can pin her baby on my brother, she better think again.”
Chantelle couldn’t stay there anymore. It was all too much. She rushed out of the kitchen and out of the house, into the garden, where her husband and this woman, with a brown-haired baby in her arms, were still having their endless conversation.
At her approach, Dustin stepped over to her, holding out his arms. She’d spent hours in his embrace the night before, enjoying a cuddle despite the limited privacy offered by the sleeping quarters of her jet. But now, she felt a chill. Something inside her rejected his touch. He sensed it and held back, giving her a puzzled look.
There was heated anger in his face, and for a second, she wondered if his ire was directed at her. But there were tears in Jen’s eyes, and it was clear that the conversation had degenerated into an argument. “What—” she began, but Jen gave her a distasteful glare.
“Your new husband isn’t the man you think he is,” she warned. “Hardly a man at all, when you consider he’s not willing to step up to his responsibilities!”
Chantelle gave Dustin a querying look, but before he could protest, Jen took after him again, hefting her baby higher onto her hip as she did so. “You’re an asshole if you think you can get out of this! I’m not going to let it go that easy!” She ran past them into the house.
Chantelle and Dustin stared at each other in silence for several moments. She wondered whether he was going to say anything. As the emptiness between them dragged on, she demanded, “Was that who was calling you all this time? Was it why you kept silencing your phone?”
He nodded grimly.
“Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you tell me about the baby?”
“She’s not mine—”
“That’s not the point!” she countered hotly. “Did you know about her?”
He looked guilty. “Kim did tell me that Jen had come by with a baby—”
“And you said nothing?”
“Things started happening so fast,” he protested. “It never seemed to be the right time.”
She gave him a disbelieving look, not even bothering to hide her astonishment. This man had kept something from her. Even as he told her he loved her. She felt her stomach roll. She had to get out of here.
Dustin must have sensed her instinct, must have read her mind, because he said, “Chantelle!” and held out a hand to stop her.
But enough was enough. Without even going back inside to say goodbye to Kim and the others, she rushed out of the garden towards their waiting car, thanking God she was still carrying her purse.