“Oh, hon … I’m Team Reese. Always.” She lifted her gaze. “I love you like my own daughter, which is precisely why I’m so protective of you. And it’s nothing against Fisher. I love Fisher too. But I saw him with Angie. It wasn’t one sided. He loved her. It wasn’t pity love. It wasn’t a second-choice love. And I know what that looks like because I was married to the wrong person for too many years. So as much as I want to feel as confident as you do that this will all work its way out in your favor … I’m not as sure.”
After a long pause, I nodded. “It’s okay. I don’t know if it’s going to work out in my favor either, but I know this … if he gets his memory back and chooses her, I will understand. And it won’t change my love for him. And when he waits for her at the altar, he will find me in the crowd of people, and we will share a look.” I wiped a few more tears from my eyes. “That look that says we know he loves me more.” I shifted my gaze to Rose. “The way you knew my mom loved you more than my dad.”
With a sad smile pulling at her lips, she nodded several times.
Chapter Eighteen
I took my en-caul-birth-and-sex-with-Fisher high and rode it for days. It didn’t matter that Angie came home and dominated Fisher’s time that weekend. I knew he wasn’t having sex with her.
The following week, I stayed busy with work, reading books for work, morning jogs, and crossword puzzles. Rory and Rose went over to Fisher’s one night to have dinner with him and Angie. I was invited, but I declined. My heart needed more time to prepare for that awkward moment—seeing him again with Angie after what we did together.
That moment came all too quickly. My birthday weekend. Camping. Party of five. A fifth wheel on my own birthday.
Not cool.
“Rory’s running late,” Rose announced when I got home from work Friday afternoon. “She had a client who had a fender bender but apparently ‘needed’ her hair highlighted before leaving town tomorrow. So I’m going to wait for her. And you’ll ride with Fisher and Angie to get everything set up before it gets dark.” Rose moved food from the fridge to a cooler, shooting me a wrinkled nose smile. “Sorry.”
“Or we can leave in the morning.”
Rose shook her head. “Nope. Your mom wants you to wake up in the mountains on your birthday. Pancakes on the camping griddle. And a hike before lunch.”
“I’m telling her about Fisher. I’m just telling her. And she can figure out how to deal with it. I’m tired of her unintentionally sabotaging my love life and now ruining my birthday by inviting my boyfriend’s fiancée for a weekend camping trip.”
Rose chuckled, shaking her head. “Just stop for a second and think about how insane that sounds. Your boyfriend’s fiancée.”
I frowned.
“Go get ready. Fisher and Angie will be here to get you in less than an hour.”
Dragging my feet, I made my way to my bedroom to change my clothes and finish packing a few things including a warm jacket, boots, gloves, and a hat. There was a slight chance of snow in the mountains for my pre-Halloween birthday.
After zipping my bag and grabbing a jacket, I took a few deep breaths and let them out slowly just as there were two quick knocks on the front door.
“Hello?”
Fisher’s voice.
I should have been happy to hear his voice, but it just meant I had to put on a fake smile. I had to be the odd woman out, sitting in the back of his truck for several hours while Angie fiddled with his hair, talked about their wedding, and in general made me sick to my stomach.
“She should be ready. Reese?” Rose called.
On another deep breath, I pulled back my shoulders and played the part of the happy birthday girl as I trekked to the front door.
It was a chillier day in Denver, and it was the first time I had seen Fisher in a beanie. I wanted to cry. He looked so sexy. Sexy for her, not me.
“Hey.” He grinned too big, said hey with too much enthusiasm.
I managed to return two raised eyebrows and a closed-lipped smile.
“Let me take your bag. I’ll meet you in the truck. No rush.”
I relinquished my bag.
“Hopefully, we’ll only be an hour or two behind. Did you get our gear that I set by the garage?” Rose asked.
“I did,” Fisher said just before shutting the door.
“No pouting. It’s not the worst thing ever.” Rose handed me a thermos. “Hot chocolate for the road.”
“Thanks.” I took it.
“See you in a few hours?”
“Yup.” I went out the front door.
Fisher’s truck was backed into the driveway. I wasn’t going to sit behind Fisher and have Angie glancing at me every two seconds, so I walked around to the passenger side so my view would be of Fisher.