Incompatibly Yours: Charity Anthology Supporting Fertility Research by Anthology Read Free Book Online Page B

betrayal a hit to my ego, Chase completely broke my heart and he did it out of self-preservation. I hurt him.
    By the time Kate and I made our way back to the bar in Everton, Myles had his hands not only on the same blonde's ass, but they were on it skin to skin . Not a patron in the bar made a sound after I barged in, threw my ring in his face, and told him we were over. It was done.
    I was done.
    And I didn't even care.
    I feel the bed dip, then Mom's hand touches my hip and as she did when I was a child, she pats it softly for reassurance. I start to cry again, feeling physical contact for the first time in days.
    "God, Mom," I sob. "What have I done?"
    "I don't know, honey," she answers softly. "What have you done?"
    Sitting up, I bunch my blanket and use it as a shield to cover me from the neck down. I've never been so scared for my mother to pass judgment. Inevitably she will; I only hope it's in my favor.
    "I broke up with Myles," I confess quickly, to get it out. "The wedding's off."
    My mom's smile is small, but there in its most tasteful form. She's never been one to gloat, and if she were, this would be as close as she's ever come to it.
    "Yes. I had heard you…." She waits, but now the small smile turns into a grin. "I had heard you ended things in a way Myles couldn't misinterpret."
    "Oh, God," I cry. "Rumors have already started."
    "Indeed." She laughs then pats my knee, squeezing it once before sitting back and straightening her posture. Her big blue eyes come to mine before she says, "He deserved the humiliation, Ryleigh. If I heard things correctly, he wasn't acting like any man I'd want marrying my daughter."
    "What will you do about the wedding? I mean, it's all set."
    "I've already canceled what needs canceled."
    "Thank you," I whisper.
    "Things happen for a reason," she supplies confidently.
    I know I have to tell her about Chase. Even though I'm now a grown woman, discussing the details of my sex life with her won't come easy.
    I go for vague. "Chase and me," I start, then take a breath so I don't screw this up and have to explain in detail. "I, um, stayed the night with him."
    Mom sucks in her lips as her cheeks turn pink. I'm sure mine do as well and I find myself smiling at the memory of being with him for the first time since it happened.
    "I know this, too," she whispers as she bends to me.
    "What? How?" I have no idea how she'd know, unless, "Did Kate tell you?"
    She shakes her head, her face getting serious. "What did I tell you about your father, and if he was forced to wait even a day without seeing me. What would he do?"
    Shaking my head, I do what I can to help my mother through the loss of Chase and me ever being together. "It's not like that, Mom. I'm sorry. Chase won't forgive me. I was wrong in..." Dear God, this is painful. "In spending the night with him."
    "Having shared a night with him," she corrects.
    "Yeah." I roll my eyes. "That."
    "Oh, Ryleigh. You're beating yourself up for the wrong reasons."
    Clearly not appreciating or understanding her possible point, I ask, "What?"
    "You weren't happy with Myles. Surely you'll admit this now."
    "Yes, in a way I wasn't happy."
    "So, why are you sitting here sulking about what was never supposed to be and not out there fighting for what is?"
    She doesn't get it. "Mom, Chase told me to leave. Never come back. Those were his words. Not mine."
    "He said those things because you told him you were still with Myles," she tells me.
    It takes a few seconds for me to realize what she just said. "How do you know that?"
    She hesitates, staring at her hands. She says nothing. "Mom?"
    "Because he's been downstairs waiting for you to get out of this bed and get a move on, sister." A new voice joins the conversation. "Don't make him wait already. Get a move on !"
    I tear my eyes off my nervous mother and look at Maggie standing in the doorway. She's bouncing on the balls of her feet.
    "He's here? Right now?" I ask whoever will answer.
    Maggie sighs