Find Me (The Found Duet #2)(66)
Author: Laurelin Paige

“Did he seem…you know. Okay?”

She shrugged. “He seemed fine. And even if he’s not, he will be. It’s like Hudson said—he’s young. Chandler might have man parts, but he’s really just a kid.”

“If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it doesn’t.” I didn’t need to be reminded that I’d been banging a child.

“Do you really feel that bad?”

I considered. “Not anymore. No.”

“Good. You shouldn’t. People date and break up and their exes go on to get married all the time.”

“We weren’t ever even dating.”

“All the more reason why you shouldn’t feel bad.” Laynie pointed at a spot on the diagram. “I think we should put him at this table over here. Close to Mira and Adam but far away from the bridal party.” She wrote his name on the chart then started gathering the papers we had strewn all over the floor.

“And we’re done. Awesome.” I stood and stretched before plopping down on the couch.

Laynie glanced up at me. “You look tired.”

“I’m exhausted.” I pulled my legs up so I could lie down. “I seriously can’t wait until the wedding is over just so I can have a vacation.” Though, with JC, our honeymoon probably wouldn’t include much rest. “Usually I stay up for a few hours after work, but lately I’ve been coming home and crashing.”

“You’re saying you’re going to bed without…you know?” She waggled her eyebrows.

“No. I’m not saying that at all.” My cheeks heated, giving myself away even if my words hadn’t. “Just, after that, I collapse.”

“Maybe you’re pregnant.”

“Oh, shut up.” Making babies was all Laynie thought about these days. Her period had finally returned, but she still hadn’t gotten pregnant, and though her doctor said it was still too early to be concerned, she, of course, was.

As for me, I knew my problem—stress. “It’s just all the stuff. All at once. Moving. Buying the condo. Moving JC’s things from storage in L.A. Wedding planning. The new chef. Mennezzo’s sentencing.”

“He got life, right?”

“Yes.” The sentencing had taken place two months ago now. “But he’ll appeal. So that’s a stress. Thank God he’s in jail and JC’s safe.”

Laynie narrowed her eyes. “It’s not possible that he’d hire any hit men to go after JC from there, is it?”

“You watch a lot of TV.” Except, that was a good question. “Fuck. Do you really think that could happen?”

She shook her head dismissively. “With as much as the defense team has invested in JC’s safety, I’m sure they would have addressed it if that was a possibility.”

“But,” I sat up and put my feet on the floor, “I saw JC with Dom tonight. That’s one of the guys who organized his protection. And a couple of weeks ago, I swear I saw him outside the building when I went down to get the mail.” Was Dom’s presence an indication that JC was in danger?

“Maybe he lives nearby.”

“The time with the mailbox was at my old place.”

“Maybe he’s stalking you. I’m an expert on that, you know.” She winked. “Seriously, though, he and JC were together for a long time. They’re probably friends now. Stop worrying.”

If Alayna Pierce said stop worrying, then I was definitely worrying needlessly. “Right, right. You’re right.” I hoped she was, anyway. “What was my point again? Oh, yeah. I’m tired.”

“And possibly pregnant.”

“Oh my God, would you stop? I have an IUD.” Just because she was fixated on procreation didn’t mean she needed to pull me into it.

Yet pull me in, she did. “IUDs can fail. No birth control is one hundred percent. Except abstinence.” She got up from the floor, taking the papers with her to set on the armchair for me when I left later. “Do you have any other symptoms? Do your boobs hurt?”

“No.”

“Nauseated?”

I rolled my eyes. “No.”

“Changes in appetite? Didn’t you say that Mira had to send the dress back for an alteration because it was too tight?”

I threw my head back against the cushion behind me. “Alayna. I’m not pregnant. I’m just tired.” My dress had been too tight because I’d been stress-eating and not exercising. Though, I would have thought that the workouts I got from JC would have made up for that. Guess not.

“Well, if you decide you want to be sure, there’s a box of pregnancy tests in the cupboard in the guest bathroom.”