Regrets Only Read Online Free Page B

said.
    “Well,”
Marci said slowly, “we hadn’t planned to tell anyone yet, but—”
    “I
knew it!” Beth squealed. Beth never squealed. “You’re pregnant!”
    Marci
scarcely had time to nod before Beth had jumped up and run around the table to
her, almost tackling her in an embrace. “I’m only ten weeks,” Marci was saying
to Suzanne and Rebecca over Beth’s bouncing shoulder. “We just told our
families this week.”
    The
announcement should have made her happy, but it felt as though someone had
kicked Suzanne in the chest. She plastered on a happy face. Marci addressed the
group but gave Suzanne an apologetic look as she reiterated, “Like I said, we
hadn’t planned to tell yet, so if you guys could keep it to yourselves, that
would be great. I haven’t even been able to tell Nicole and Ravi yet.”
    Beth,
meanwhile, seemed oblivious of any tension. “So who is your OB? Where are you
going to deliver? Have you thought about names yet? Are you going natural? Oh!
I have so many books you can borrow!”
    For
the next half hour, Suzanne stared into her water glass and listened to Beth
and Marci get lost in their own little world of impending motherhood. She tried
to sober up, to insert appropriate remarks into the pregnancy conversation, and
to put the incident with Dylan Burke out of her mind. She failed at all three
endeavors.
    She
glanced over at Rebecca once or twice and thought their expressions must be
pretty similar. Rebecca’s feelings about Jake, right or wrong, were no secret but
she seemed to have rallied in the last year or two and made a genuine effort to
win back Marci’s friendship.
    Tonight,
Suzanne observed, it was obvious Rebecca’s feelings for Jake had not lessened—at
least if her current disposition was any indication. Suzanne did not feel
sympathy, exactly; she was still royally pissed about how Rebecca had treated
Marci during that horrible time. But as she watched Rebecca trying to muster
the same dubious smile she herself wore, it occurred to her that other people’s
happy moments were sometimes a very sad place to be.
    #
    The
next day, her head throbbed like she’d been hit by a truck and her stomach
turned every time she thought about food. She’d basically told country music’s
biggest star, not to mention one of her most famous client to date, that his
family was a bunch of idiots. This was big.
    Suzanne
and Chad spent the day reviewing the contracts she’d signed with Yvette and all
the vendors, to make sure they couldn’t legally ditch her for another event
planner and leave her stuck with all the commitments. It seemed okay from what
she read, but that was only a tiny piece of the problem. An offended client
could ruin her reputation in Atlanta forever.
    The
situation had been so upsetting that Suzanne had even resorted to calling her
mother to ask for advice, which she hadn’t done in a decade. She’d been
pleasantly surprised by her mother’s noncritical support. “Everything is
fixable, sweetie. Just smile and show them what you’re made of.” This might be
owing, in part, to the fact that her mother hadn’t the faintest idea who Dylan
Burke was or what a big deal it was.
    Finally,
nearly thirty hours after her unintended conversation with Dylan Burke, Yvette
had called back.
    “So
you heard what happened?” Suzanne asked nervously.
    “Yes,”
Yvette replied coldly. “I happened to come back in the room for the tail end of
the conversation. We were at the beginning of an all-day meeting with the
promoters and I had stepped out to use the ladies’ room.”
    “Yvette,
I’m so embarrassed, I—”
    “You
should be,” she said, the squeaky edge returning to her voice. “When we hired
you, I assured Mr. Burke that you were the epitome of discretion. Your comments
and behavior reflect on me as much as they do you.”
    “Of
course. I understand. I’m so sorry. I wish I knew what to say.” Suzanne hated
dealing with women in situations like this.