Page 37 of All This Time

“I’m gonna try tonight. We’re meeting at her house at seven to start working on wedding shit, and I’m determined to wear her down.”

Henley crosses his arms over his chest. “Does it really matter if she has a problem with you, Fletch? I mean, you’re only here for the wedding, and then you’re headed back to your life in Charlotte and the NFL. Sure, Laney is Rhonan’s sister, but…”

“What about my sister?”

Rhonan’s voice cuts through the room like a warning shot. He steps up to the bar next to me wearing his sheriff’s uniform with his hand placed firmly on the gun holster at his hip, but his eyes are locked on mine, full of curiosity.

“I was, uh, just telling Henley that Laney and I are starting to work on Elliot’s wedding stuff tonight.” Henley and I share a look as I silently ask him to drop the previous subject.

Rhonan taps the bar in front of him. “Can I get a burger and fries to go, please? And the biggest Coke you’ve got?” he asks Henley before he turns back to me. “Good luck with my sister. I think we both know that Laney can be a bit of a control freak, but her organizational skills and inability to say no to people is what got her in this mess to begin with.”

Henley scoffs as he stands at the computer, plugging in Rhonan’s order. “Dilynne doesn’t understand it either, but Laney has a bigger heart than any of us, I guess.”

Little do they both know that I have firsthand experience with Laney’s generosity and compassion, which makes my predicament even more complicated.

“I was worried about her being involved with the wedding planning, but she’s handling it better than I thought she would,” Rhonan adds as he pulls his phone from his pocket and checks it.

“What do you mean?”

My friends share a look before Rhonan answers me. “Laney was engaged a couple of years ago to that guy Spencer she was dating.”

My pulse instantly skyrockets. “What?”

Henley clears his throat before adding, “And the fucker cheated on her.”

How the hell did I not know about this?

Rhonan mentioned she was dating someone a while ago, and I knew that it didn’t work out, but I never knew they were engaged or that he was unfaithful to her.

Fuck.

Rage fills my veins, the type of anger I can only recall feeling a handful of times in my life—because the thought of any man hurting Laney like that makes me want to rip this guy apart with my bare hands.

“Are you fucking serious?”

Rhonan scoffs. “Yeah. She seemed to bounce back pretty quickly, but I don’t know…” He shrugs as Henley hands him a plastic bag with his food and a to-go cup. “She just hasn’t been the same since. And when Tori asked her to be her maid of honor, I thought for sure she’d say no, but part of me thinks she might just be trying to prove she’s all right to everyone, you know?”

I can’t stop clenching my fists as I sit there and process this revelation. No wonder Laney doesn’t seem the same, and given our history, she’s probably keeping me at arm’s length because the last time we were on good terms was before she told me…

“Fletcher?” Rhonan’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“Keep an eye on her for me, will you?” he asks, his question genuine, but the protective instinct it lights within me is already there. “Let me know if you feel like she’s struggling or needs to bow out.”

“Of course.”

“Tori will survive if Laney can’t handle everything.”

Henley chuckles. “But who will fill in for her? My sister?”

Rhonan shakes his head, a smile on his face. “Fuck, that would be a disaster. But I won’t lie, I’d pay to watch it.”

I think back to the story Dilynne told me at the winery, knowing if she had the chance, her revenge on Tori the second time would be even worse than the laxatives.

“I think Laney will be fine, but I’ll definitely try to take on as much responsibility as I can.”

“Thanks. I know I can trust you to look after her.”