“It’s none of their business,” Angela finished her grin widening.
I stared in surprise. “Is that okay?”
She shrugged. “Why don’t we find out?”
I drove her back to the school, but now that I was serious about Angela, I played more cautious than before. I headed over to her apartment and unlocked the door. I was grinning because this time, she knew I was letting myself into her home. She’d asked me to.
Angela was back a lot sooner than I’d thought, in less than half an hour. She had on this strange smile, as she walked over to where I was sat on her couch, sank down beside me, and announced:
“I’ve just been fired.”
I gaped. “Wait, what?”
She laughed, looking happier than I would have thought about losing her job.
“Is this a bad thing or is it not?” I asked, feeling confused. “And why were you fired, because your vacation was kinda long?”
“No. I think Sandra outed me, and it is part of the school rules. So, I am currently unemployed.”
“Angela, isn’t your job a big deal?”
She shook her head and leaned against me. I was still perplexed, but I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. She broke into a few more giggles before she explained.
“To be honest with you, Ben, I hate being a professor. So, when I was standing there, and the dean was telling me how my contract would be terminated, I wasn’t sad at all. Besides, I didn’t come back for the job.”
Confusion quickly turned to delight as I pressed a kiss on her forehead.
“I’m just happy to have you back.”
Everything else, we could deal with it as it came.Chapter Twenty-Six
AngelaSince I’d just lost my job, I had a lot of free time, and because Ben decided to take some time off before the wedding, we spent the time together. He should have been going to classes, but I figured since I was no longer his professor, and I would be too bored by myself, I wouldn’t nag him so much to go back to class.
Two days later, and it was the day of the wedding. It was a small affair, and I’d somehow been roped into being a bridesmaid, even though it was last minute. Ben would be suffering with me, anyway, since he was sent to join Dad’s side.
Both our parents put together didn’t know that many people, and we happened to be among the youngest of the group, so we got stuck together. I was just glad I’d be walking down that aisle with him by my side since I’d imagined I would only have to sit down in the audience and wait for the whole thing to be over.
“Angela, are you done with your makeup yet? Would you like any help?”
Hayley, Ben’s mom, made her way over to me. She looked stunning, dressed in her wedding gown. The skirt had a lot of layers underneath to make it puff up a little, while the top of it fit her slim figure with a halter neck and an open back. As she lifted the skirt so as not to step on it, I could see the delicate silver sandals on her feet. Her hair, the same dark blond as Ben’s, was done up and pushed back and away from her face with combs and pins, with styled ringlets falling down her back. She didn’t have the veil on yet, but her make-up was done.
“You look beautiful, Hayley,” I said honestly.
She should be more than a decade older than I was, but she hardly looked her age.
Hayley smiled and twirled around for me. “It’s pretty, right? I wasn’t sure about it at. First, I didn’t think it would be the right fit, but I chose the perfect store to go shopping. You look beautiful as well, Angela.”
“Thank you.”
As a bridesmaid, I was dressed in an off-white silk dress with short sleeves and a low, V-neck that fell to my feet. I was worried I would trip over the bottom of it.
“Your make-up is very well done, too,” she praised. “Very subtle, but striking.”
I smiled but said nothing. She didn’t have on a lot of make-up, just like me, and it made me think of how we’d both had husbands that treated us in all the wrong ways. Stuart didn’t like heavy make-up on me, but when we had to go out together or invited people over, he still wanted me to look pretty. I didn’t personally like make-up myself, but I’d grown used to it.
Then, I felt my stomach churn out of nowhere. I lifted the hem of the dress and rushed off to the bathroom before I could barf all over Hayley’s pretty wedding dress. I found an empty toilet and crouched in front of it, doing my best not to dirty my outfit. I’d had a crepe and some coffee for breakfast, and it was bitter coming back up my throat.