“We're going to be a family,” I told him. “The three of us.”
He grinned so wide I could barely believe his face could show that much happiness. “We're going to be a family.”
Chapter 27
It was official. The town hated me.
To be fair, they were pretty unhappy with Jacob, but they took the majority of it out on me.
I was the “other woman.” I was the reason Jacob and Katie broke up. I was the interloper who was tempting the good doctor away.
Despite the fact that none of this was true didn't matter. It was the will of the Ladies' Bridge Club. I was cast as the villain in their eyes.
It manifested in small ways. My number was never called at the deli. The checkout line somehow always “broke down” right before it was my turn to checkout. No one would speak to me on the street. I started bringing my lunch instead of going out. I drove to the next town over to buy my groceries.
Not everyone was awful. Katie's Bakery still made me the best sandwiches. Katie made sure her employees knew not to mess with me or Dr. Matthews. They honored her request because she was “being the bigger person” according to the Ladies' Bridge Club.
It just made her more perfect in their eyes. I didn't blame Katie, but it was rather discouraging.
It was lunch time and I was getting a grilled cheese sandwich. I'd brought a frozen meal from home, but Donna took it out of the freezer and left it on the counter to melt. She said it was an accident since she was cleaning the freezer out, but I had a hard time believing it.
So, I stood in line at Katie's Bakery. Luckily, the tourists didn't know my history and talked amicably among themselves as we waited. The locals didn't say anything, which was nice. It was nice to have a moment that didn't feel like I was universally hated.
“Don't get discouraged,” Katie said, handing me my sandwich and an extra bag of chips. “They just need to get the next gossip going and they'll forget all about you.”
I sighed. I knew she was right, but I had no idea how long that was going to be. And given that my pregnancy could very well be the next piece of gossip, the sentiment wasn't as uplifting as Katie hoped it would be.
“Thanks, Katie.” I smiled and turned to nearly run into Karina.
“There you are!” Karina said, giving me a big hug. “Are you staying to eat?”
“I was thinking I'd go back to the office...”
“Leigh Ann and I have a table outside. There's a breeze and it's great. Come sit with us,” Karina said, taking my arm. She smiled around the room, making sure that everyone knew her loyalty was with me.
God bless that girl.
Sitting outside under the large table umbrella was Leigh Ann. Her face lit up as soon as she saw me.
“Aunt Hannah!” She grinned and ran over to give me a hug. I snuggled into her, smelling the sunshine on her hair.
“I'll be right back with lunch,” Karina told her daughter. She flashed me a smile and went back inside.
“Do you want to see my scar?” Leigh Ann asked. Without waiting for an answer, she lifted her bright pink tank top to show me the little scars from the surgery. They'd managed to do it all laparoscopically, so the scars were tiny and healing fast.
“Wow,” I told her. “You were so brave.”
She grinned. “Plus, I have a loose tooth.”
“You are having one heck of a summer.” I grinned at her and she grinned right back. I slipped on an over-sized pair of sunglasses that managed to hide a lot of my face. It was more for the summer sun than hiding, but they were good for both.
“Are you gonna marry Dr. Matthews?” she asked me, smoothing out the front of her shirt.
I didn't know what to say to that. We hadn't talked about it. I was pregnant, but that didn't mean that I wanted to rush into marriage. I would love to marry Jacob, but I also wanted it to be a mutual thing and for the right reasons.
“I don't know,” I answered truthfully. “It's kind of complicated.”
Leigh Ann nodded like she understood. “You should marry him. Then he'd be my uncle and come to all my parties. Mary Louise would be so jealous.”