20. Brighton

Last Saturday afternoon, when Noah asked me to be his girlfriend and I half-jokingly said I was already his fiancée, I caught a flash of unease in his eyes. But then, a split second later, that unease morphed into pleasure and he kissed me with all the love and passion inside him. At first, I couldn't believe what was happening, then he whispered in my ear that we should keep the engagement quiet for now—he wasn't ready to tell his teammates—and while that confused me, it also simultaneously occurred to me that what was happening was real. I was—am—Noah's fiancée. Talk about a whirlwind relationship and engagement.

"Are you going to have a play date with Ms. Julie?" Camryn asks pulling my attention back to her as I drive through the city, my phone's guidance system telling me to turn left at the next light. While I would have preferred a quiet Saturday with Camryn, with Noah out of town until late tonight, I agreed to take Camryn to see her friend, Becky. Not that I'm looking forward to hanging out with Julie or eating dinner with her, but this is about Camryn and I want to do right by her.

I glance at the ring on my finger, and half debate about taking it off. Noah wants to keep this a secret from his team. He never said anything about Julie or Gemma. I don't want to upset Julie by flashing the diamond in her face—not that I'd actually do that. I'm just well aware that she wanted Noah for herself—wanted to be Camryn's new mommy.

My stomach knots so tight, a little sound escapes my throat and I glance at Camryn in the rearview mirror to find her excitedly looking out the window. This is a fun day for her and I don't want her picking up on my nervousness. I glance at the ring again and nibble my lip.

Do I take it off or not? They're going to find out soon enough.

My phone lets me know our destination is just up to the left, and I note the cute white bungalow in an older area of town. I park on the street, not wanting to take up space in the driveway, and as soon as I get out of the car, the front door opens and Becky comes running out.

I circle the car and take Camryn's hand, not wanting her to dart across the street, even though it's quiet. I grab the pasta salad I made, and we look both ways before crossing. Just as we reach the walkway, a car pulls into the driveway, and I turn to see it's Gemma and her daughter. At the sight of her, Camryn lets go of my hand and starts jumping up and down and I slide that hand into my pocket.

Olivia unbuckles from the back seat and dashes past me, and I offer Gemma a big smile as she approaches.

"Nice to see you again, Gemma. What a surprise. I didn't know you'd be joining us."

Gemma grabs a casserole dish from the backseat. "Olivia misses Camryn. It's a shame she moved so far away."

"I know Camryn would love it if you all came for a visit. Things have just been busy with them settling in, and now Noah is back on the road. Maybe next weekend?"

She gives me a genuine smile. "I think we can make that happen."

"The pool will still be open and I'm sure the girls will love it."

"Yes, we should get out there and enjoy it while we can."

I frown, not sure what she means by that. She eyes me, then goes on to explain. "I can't imagine Noah will want to live at the resort with Camryn forever. Right now, he's just…"

She lets her words fall off. "He's just what?" I ask.

"I'm just saying, a resort is not really a place to raise kids. Not if you want…"

Not if you want what? "I was raised there," I blurt out.

"Right," she says and with that, looks past my shoulder, but that one word speaks volumes. This woman does not like me. "Honestly, I'm surprised Noah would want his daughter in the school system where we all grew up, considering…"

Ouch.

She sighs. "I guess kindergarten isn't so bad. But high school. Forget it. I couldn't wait to get away from Sparrow Springs and the people there. That's why Julie and I both moved to the city as soon as we graduated." She offers me a bright smile. "I need to get this casserole in the oven."

As she walks around me, my heart thuds in my chest. Okay, maybe I deserved that. I wasn't nice to them back in high school and she assumes I was a pampered princess, born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and while that might be true, life wasn't as glamours as they think it was.

I fight back the tears pricking my eyes and fight my flight instincts to scoop Camryn up and get the hell out of here. I swallow against a tight throat and square my shoulders. No, I'll stay, for Camryn's sake. I'm a big girl, I can handle what they throw at me, right? Hopefully Gemma said what she wanted to say to me, and now that it's out of her system, we can simply move forward and find common ground.

I follow behind her, and Julie gives me a welcoming smile, and I breathe a sigh of relief. At least she seems like she wants to play nice.

She takes the bowl from me and shakes her head. "I told you, you didn't have to bring anything. It's just a simple barbecue of hotdogs and hamburgers."

"I didn't mind at all. Besides, this is Camryn's favorite, so I'm sure the other girls will like it." I step into her cozy home and the warm scent of vanilla reaches my nostrils. She guides me down the hall to the kitchen. "Your home is lovely."

"It's small, but it's all ours," she tells me.

"Casserole should be ready in about thirty minutes," Gemma announces as she closes the oven door and turns the dials. Obviously these two women spend a lot of time together. Until Noah introduced me to his teammate's wives, I was definitely lacking in female friendships.

"Wine time," Julie announces and holds up a bottle.

I hold my hand up. "I'm driving."

"One little glass before dinner won't hurt," she says and pours me one anyway. "We need to loosen you up so you'll give us all the dirty details on what it's like to live with Noah."

"I…well…I don't live with him. We're each in separate wings." Two sets of eyes stare at me and I realize how pompous that sounds. "I mean, the house is broken up, so there are two apartments." Jeez, from the way they're staring I'm not sure I'm making the situation any better.

Gemma takes a big drink of her wine, and a little grin tugs at the corners of her mouth. I put my wine to my lips just when she asks. "Have you seen him naked?"

I choke, the wine nearly coming out my nose. "Ohmigod," Julie says and hands me a tissue. "You have seen him naked, haven't you?"

My mind runs a million miles an hour. What the heck? Who asks questions like that. "I…what…just…"

"You're sleeping with him," Gemma announces. "Can you believe it," she says to Julie who just shakes her head in disgust. "Going a little far with it, huh?"

I open my mouth about to ask what she's talking about, although I'm not one hundred percent certain I want to hear the answer. Before I can ask, and I'm still coughing on the wine, Becky comes running in from the backyard.

"Mommy, can we have our snacks now?"

Julie tucks a strand of Becky's hair behind her ear. "Of course, you can. Gemma, can you grab the tray of drinks?" Julie pulls open the fridge and pulls out a plate of veggies and fruit.

"What can I do?" I ask.

Julie nods to the bottle of wine. "Have some more wine. We want details, my friend."

I gulp. God, I didn't know this afternoon was going to be an interrogation, and I'll be damned if I kiss and tell. What happens between Noah and me is private. Just like our engagement. My stomach cramps as his whispered words bounce around inside my brain.

Let's keep this to ourselves for now.

Why the heck didn't he want to tell his friends and their wives or girlfriends? We all get along, tell stories and laugh, and I'm certain they would have all been happy for us. Unless they're only being nice to me because Noah asked them too. Maybe they don't want him with someone like me. A nanny. Maybe they don't think I'm good enough for an NHL superstar.

Wow, what is it about being here with Noah's old friends that has me questioning everything? I work to push down my insecurities, and follow the women out to the backyard. The girls all come running to get snacks and I'm grateful for their presence. Surely the conversation won't jump back to my sleeping arrangements with little ears listening.

As the little ones munch, Julie starts talking about a PTA meeting that she'd just been to and since I'm not involved, I listen quietly. Camryn, however, has other ideas.

"What's a PTA meeting?" she asks, and takes a sip of her lemonade.

"Oh, it's when parents and teachers meet to discuss fundraising events and things to help the students." She taps Camryn's nose. "Like you."

Camryn giggles, and glances at me as she picks up a carrot stick. "Ms. Brighton, when you're my mommy are you going to go to the meetings?"

God, her words and the way she looks at me, so damn sweet and innocent, it's all I want for her, but now I'm beginning to question everything, including my engagement. Is it real? What if it's not? What does that mean for Camryn, for me? But wait, no. Noah protects his daughter. He wouldn't do anything to upset her. Not on purpose. We just assumed when this was all over, she'd forget about me being her mommy and I'd still be in her life as a friend. But now we're engaged and I'm questioning its validity.

"Oh." Julie arches her brow, but behind the curiosity in her eyes…what exactly is that…envy…smugness? What is going on?

"Mommy," Becky pipes in. "I thought Camryn's daddy was going to be my daddy."

Oh God.

"I don't think he can be your daddy now," Camryn says nonchalantly. Becky nods, completely accepting that, and continues to chew on her celery stick.

Needing something to do with my hands as the two women stare at me, looking for answers, I grab my wine glass. With my left hand. That's when two gasps come at me from across the table. Julie reaches out and grabs my hand, tearing it away from my wine, which just about spills.

"You're engaged!" she practically shrieks.

I turn to Gemma, and find her mouth agape. "You've got to be kidding me?"

Julie and Gemma exchange a knowing look and when she lets my hand go, I tuck it under the table. This is why I didn't want them to see the ring. Dammit, I should have taken it off.

"Girls, why don't you go play and I'll call you when the hot dogs are ready."

They all leave their seats and I feel like a bug under a microscope as both women move closer.

"Brighton." Gemma's voice is full of sympathy, even though she hates me, which leads me to believe whatever it is she's about to say, is going to be bad. "Not even you deserve this."

"What don't I deserve?" I ask hesitantly, my voice a low, shaky whisper. I clutch my stomach as the carrot stick swirls around, ready to make a second appearance.

Gemma takes a big drink of her wine, like she needs the liquid courage before breaking bad news. "This…" She crinkles up her nose like she'd just eaten something distasteful. "This whole thing. Noah buying the resort. It's all about revenge."

"No, it's not," I blurt out quickly. "I used to think that too, but no." It's not, right? We moved past that, right?

Noah is a good guy, Brighton. He's not like that. Don't believe any of this.

"Brighton," Julie says gently. "We were sitting on the park bench with Noah when we saw you at the realtor's office. That's when this whole plan was concocted."

I give a hard shake of my head. "That's not true."

They exchange another look. "Of course, we thought he'd make you the maid, not the nanny." Julie breathes out a heavy sigh and there's a part of me that thinks the sympathy they're offering is fake, and they might just be enjoying this. "But I guess he needed someone to take care of Camryn."

"No, it wasn't like that." I shake my head, defending Noah…us.

Gemma shifts closer, like she's dying to hear the juicy details. "Did he make you wear a French maid outfit?"

My gaze jerks to Gemma's as my blood drains to my toes. "What?"

"Damn." She gives a low slow whistle. "He did make you wear it."

The world closes in around me and I grip the table afraid I'm going to fall off my chair. "No. I…I bought that. It was my idea." My mind swirls at they talk about the outfit, and I begin to question everything.

Gemma cocks her head, the look on her face suggesting I have no idea what I'm talking about. "Was it really your idea, though?"

"Yes." At least I think it was. Wait, was it?

"I'm not even sure he ever got over Shayla running off." Gemma tosses a chuckle Julie's way. "Although Julie had all kinds of ideas on how to make him forget that puck bunny ever existed. When this charade with you is over?—"

"Stop."

Both look back at me, and as their faces fill with sympathy, all I want to do is shrink into myself.

Gemma makes a tsking sound. "Did you really think this was real, Brighton? Babe, he was out for revenge, and let me guess, you thought by marrying him, you'd get your resort back. Can you say sugar daddy?"

As her words swirl around me, no longer making sense in my rattled brain, I hug myself, not wanting to believe any of this as my mind goes back to the pool…the engagement. The look on his face after I jokingly said I was his fiancée instantly comes back to haunt me. He was upset. I didn't misread that. Was he upset that I said yes, I wanted to be his fiancée? That his payback had gone too far? Is that why he didn't want to announce it to his friends?

Oh God, what is happening in my life? My phone rings and I quickly pull it from my purse, hoping it's Noah telling me not to believe anything they say, but when I answer and hear my lawyer's voice, I realize my day had just gone from bad to worse.