“Shoot. I was really hoping you’d forgotten about that part.”
“Apparently I have a lot of catching up to do. The last time you and I talked about Vaughn, I was worried you didn’t even like him,” Isabelle said.
“Okay, so here’s the part where I have to come clean about something,” Sidney said. “Vaughn and I had actually met before we had dinner with you and Simon. It was completely random: that evening, we both went to the same coffee shop beforehand. I was there on a blind date and when the other guy left, Vaughn hit on me.”
“You’re kidding.” Isabelle thought about that, then folded her arms across her chest. “So basically, what you’re telling me is that you and Vaughn have been lying to me and Simon from day one.”
“‘Lying’ is such a strong word. I’d prefer to say, ‘omitting the truth.’” She saw Isabelle open her mouth to respond. “Kind of like what you and Simon are doing with this pregnancy.”
Isabelle closed her mouth. Point taken. “Okay. But is there anything else you’re ‘omitting,’ Sid? You say you’ve slept with Vaughn a few times now. He spent the night, he uses your shower . . . is it possible, maybe, this is turning into something more than a casual fling?”
Sidney paused for a split second, then cycled through Vaughn’s greatest hits in her head.
I’m always upfront about the fact that I’m not looking for a long-term commitment.
I don’t have sex with the same woman twice in one week. That starts to get too couple-y.
I realized it’s fun to date lots and lots of women.
The pragmatic woman in her knew there could only be one answer to Isabelle’s question.
• • •
MEANWHILE, OUT IN the courtyard, Simon laid into Vaughn the moment the patio door closed.
He threw out his hands. “Sidney? Really?”
“Come on,” Vaughn said. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Not that big of a deal? You slept with my fiancée’s sister. So now, when you do what you always do after sleeping with a woman—meaning nothing—and things get awkward between you and Sidney, next they’ll get awkward between you and Isabelle. And then awkward between you and me, and maybe even me and Isabelle. There’ll be this whole chain of awkwardness that I will have to deal with because you couldn’t keep your goddamn dick in your pants.”
“A little louder, Simon. I’m not sure the people one block over could hear you.” He led Simon away from the patio door, around the side of the townhome where Sidney and Isabelle couldn’t see them.
“Look, maybe I should’ve said something,” Vaughn said. “But the reason I didn’t was because I didn’t want you freaking out about this. Everything is fine with Sidney. Nothing is going to get awkward.”
“How could you possibly know that?” Simon demanded.
“Well, because I’ve been sleeping with her for the past three weeks and it hasn’t gotten awkward yet. Far from it.”
“What?” Simon threw his hands out again. “Three weeks?”
“Oh . . . right. You’d probably been thinking this was just a drunk one-night-stand thing.” Vaughn pretended to muse over this. “Yeah, that definitely would’ve played off a little better. I’ll have to remember that for the next future sister-in-law of yours that I sleep with.”
Simon just stared at him.
Tough crowd.
“Come on, Simon, don’t you think—”
“Shh.” Standing closer to the house, Simon shushed him. He pointed to the chest-high window about a foot behind them, which Vaughn realized was the window above Sidney’s kitchen sink.
“I can hear the girls talking,” Simon whispered. He took a step closer to listen.
“You know, if it’ll help, I could always sneak a bug into Sidney’s sugar jar,” Vaughn said dryly.
Simon gave him a look—ha, ha—then pointed to the window, still whispering. “I want to see how much trouble you’re in with my future wife, ass**le.” He crept a few inches closer, then waited. He looked at Vaughn. “They’re talking about you.”
“No, really?”
Simon listened for another moment, then narrowed his eyes at Vaughn. “You met Sidney at a coffee shop?” he whispered. “This is how I find that out?”
So, apparently, they were coming clean about that now. Vaughn ducked and moved to the opposite side of the window, wondering what other secrets Sidney was spilling.
He heard Isabelle speaking.
“So basically, what you’re telling me is that you and Vaughn have been lying to me and Simon from day one.”
Across the window, Simon nodded emphatically in agreement. Exactly.
“‘Lying’ is such a strong word,” Sidney said. “I’d prefer to say, ‘omitting the truth.’ Kind of like what you and Simon are doing with this pregnancy.”
Vaughn smirked at Simon. Take that.
“Okay. But is there anything else you’re ‘omitting,’ Sid? You say you’ve slept with Vaughn a few times now. He spent the night, he uses your shower . . . is it possible, maybe, this is turning into something more than a casual fling?”
Vaughn went still, waiting for Sidney’s answer.
“Give me some credit, Izz. You know I’m smart enough not to fall for a guy like Vaughn.”