“So, tell me. Do you think it’s true?” The other woman’s voice resonated with eager anticipation. “Has David Warner really been having an affair with his former girlfriend?”
Christy’s breath caught in her throat and her heart pounded so loudly she was sure they could hear.
“Don’t ask me,” Joni said. “It’s not like he confides the intimate details of his personal life to me.”
“Yeah, but you’re there with him every day,” the other responded, clearly not interested in letting the subject drop. “Have you seen the old girlfriend around?”
“Lauren?” Joni paused. “Actually they went out for lunch together yesterday.”
Lauren? Everyone thought David was having an affair with Lauren? Christy’s knees went weak with relief.
It never ceased to amaze her how people could make something out of nothing. She wished she could march out of the stall right then and tell the two women that David and Lauren had been friends for years. And that if they went to lunch together it was strictly as friends.
“That must have been when she told him about the baby,” the first woman said, as if the pieces finally made sense. “What do you think he’ll do now?”
Baby? Christy frowned. What were they talking about?
“What can he do?” Joni said with a sigh. “Even if Lauren is having his baby, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s already married.”
Lauren was having David’s baby? Every muscle in Christy’s body tensed.
“What’s her name?”
“His wife?” Joni paused. “It’s Christy. She seems pretty nice, but I don’t know her that well.”
“Didn’t I hear he was drunk when he married her in Las Vegas?”
Christy’s eyes filled with tears and she put her fist to her mouth.
“That’s what everyone says,” Joni said. “But I can’t imagine Mr. Warner doing something like that. You should see how his face lights up when he talks about his wife….”
The voices faded until the door closed, leaving Christy once again alone.
She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. Exiting the stall, she hurried to the mirror and tried not to think about what the women had said. Instead she pressed a cold paper towel to her face and fought the bile rising in her throat.
It took all her inner strength to maintain some semblance of control. She took deep breaths until she was convinced that she could walk back out into the ballroom without losing control.
She hadn’t gone more than a few steps when she ran into David’s grandfather.
“Why, Christy, my dear,” he said with a warm smile. “Don’t you look lovely tonight.”
“Thank you. You’re looking pretty dapper yourself.” Christy’s voice came out steady and smooth. “Say, have you seen Lauren? I needed to speak to her about something, but our paths haven’t crossed lately.”
“You’re in luck,” David’s grandfather said. “I just saw her a few minutes ago. She was over by the punch bowl talking to Sara Michaels.”
“I’d better go catch her quick.” She flashed David’s grandfather a smile and headed straight for the punch bowl.
If Lauren was pregnant with David’s baby, she needed to know. Christy wasn’t sure what she was going to do if the gossip were true.
At this moment, she could only pray it wasn’t.
Chapter Seventeen
“Lauren, can I speak with you a minute?” Christy didn’t even try to fake a smile. “It’s important.”
“But Sara and I…” Lauren’s voice trailed off.
“I need to see what my husband is up to, anyway,” Sara said quickly. “I’ll see you both later.”
“That was kind of rude, don’t you think?” Lauren said.
“At this moment I don’t really care.” Christy paused and gathered her courage. “Are you going to have a baby?”
Lauren’s eyes widened. She took a step back. “He told you, didn’t he?”
Christy’s heart quivered. “David’s my husband. Don’t you think I have a right to know?”
“No, I don’t.” To Christy’s surprise Lauren looked more angry than embarrassed. “I specifically told him not to say anything to anyone yet.”
Christy took a deep breath and tried to keep her tone matter-of-fact. “Why the secrecy? In time everyone will know, anyway.”
“Not if I don’t go through with it,” Lauren said. “I’m having second thoughts. I’d be alone. It wouldn’t be easy.”
Christy gasped in horror. She couldn’t believe Lauren would consider such a step. She grasped for anything to stop this madness. “But you’ve always wanted a child. We used to talk about what it would be like to have a baby of our own someday. Remember?”
“Yes, but if you recall, those dreams always included a husband. And the man I’d always wanted at my side is now yours.” A sadness filled Lauren’s gaze. “Anyway, it’s my body. My decision. My life. And I really don’t want to talk about this with you.”
Lauren turned to go, but stopped and shifted her gaze back to Christy for a moment. “Tell David thanks a lot. I thought I could count on him to keep this to himself. Obviously I was wrong.”
In an instant she was gone and Christy collapsed into a nearby chair, her heart pounding.
Would Lauren really consider terminating her pregnancy just because she didn’t want to go through it alone? Didn’t she realize there were individuals and agencies more than willing to help her every step of the way?
The woman she’d known all those years ago wouldn’t have considered taking such a step, but then that Lauren would never have had an affair with a married man.
Unless he wasn’t married when she’d slept with him.
When they’d said their vows, David had surprised her by already having an engagement ring in his pocket. Christy buried her face in her hands. If she’d never bumped into David in Las Vegas, he’d be married to Lauren by now and she’d be thinking about baby showers, not the unthinkable.
What Christy couldn’t figure out was why David hadn’t told her. He had to know she’d find out. Was it because he thought it wouldn’t matter anyway, knowing how Christy felt about divorce?
She couldn’t presume to know what he was thinking. But Christy did know there was only one solution. David needed to be free to marry Lauren and raise their child. If he couldn’t leave her, she would just have to leave him.
If one more person stopped and asked her if she was having fun, Christy was going to scream.
So far she’d managed to keep a smile on her face and make polite if uninspiring conversation. But her tightly held control was starting to unravel.
She needed to be alone so she could gather her thoughts and regroup. But where could she go? The rest room certainly held no appeal. And even if she took a seat at an empty table, she could almost guarantee she wouldn’t be by herself for long.
Christy thought for a moment. Hadn’t someone told her this hotel had a beautiful veranda?