Evie rolled her eyes. She folded her hands across her chest and said, “I’m waiting.”
Constance’s nostrils flared with her indignant huff.
“It was disrespectful,” she finally said. “I apologize. You were right. You are my daughter and I should have put your feelings above what I thought was proper. Cameron does not belong at this party if you do not want him here. And Brian—”
“Bryson,” Evie said. “His name is Bryson Mitchell.DoctorBryson Mitchell.”
“Bryson,” her mother said. “He should join us for the toast.”
When she had just invited Cameron to join them for the toast with Bryson standing right there? Evie refused to insult him by making him feel like a second choice.
“Why don’t we stick to the Williamses when it comes to the toast,” she said instead.
“That’s an even better idea,” her mother said. She turned and gave herself a final once-over in the mirror, then said, “We need to get back to the party. I spent a lot of money on this gold dress. It’s a nod to the next milestone.”
“Next time you should skip the party and spend your fiftieth anniversary in Tahiti, with a nice young cabana boy.”
“My goodness, Evelina. You are not allowed to take the mic during the toast.”
Evie laughed. As if she would ever.
Once outside, she played the part she was expected to play as she listened to her father expound on the sacredness of a joyous marriage, fighting the urge to chug her glass of champagne the entire time. Cameron hadn’t taken the hint to leave, so as soon as the toast ended, Evie took Bryson by the hand and together they weaved their way through the throng of people dancing a second-line and exited her parents’ backyard through the side gate.
“Well,” Bryson said once behind the wheel of his Jeep. “That was… something.”
“I’m so sorry about Cam showing up,” Evie said. “It never occurred to me that my mother would even consider inviting him. That’s all on me, because itshouldhave occurred to me that she would do something like this.”
He reached over and took her hand.
“I don’t care about Cameron showing up, Evie. It’s just… everything. Tonight was a lot. I can safely say that I have never and would never fit into the world your parents live in.” He looked over at her and gave her hand a squeeze. “You want to know what’s wild? I realized tonight thatyoudon’t fit in that world either. You may try to fit in, but you don’t, Ev. You’re too down-to-earth. I think that’s why I first fell in love with you all those years ago.”
Evie’s heart skipped several beats. “First of all, I know that I don’t fit into their world. Black sheep of the family, remember?”
“You’re not the black sheep,” Bryson said with a grin.
“Odd one out, then,” she said. “And secondly, did you just say you are in love with me?”
“I never fell out of love with you,” he said softly. His eyesroamed over her face like a caress. “I tried, Ev. I had all but convinced myself that I was over you. But it’s always been there.”
Her heart swelled to the point that it felt as if it would burst out of her chest.
“I’m not sure I even know what love feels like, Bryson. I never saw it in my parents. I don’t know if it’s truly what I felt for Cameron all these years. But I know you make me happy. You make me laugh. You make me want to be with you every time I’m not around you, and I can promise you that is something I never experienced when I was with Cameron. I looked forward to ‘me’ time when Cam and I were together. I haven’t given a damn about ‘me’ time since you came back into my life.”
“That sounds like love to me, Ev.”
“Good,” she said, fighting back tears. “Because I like this feeling.”
She leaned over to his side of the Jeep and captured his mouth with her own. If the overwhelming contentment she felt in this moment was indicative of what a person felt when they were in love, Evie wasn’t sure if she hadeverbeen in love with Cameron. This was different. This was life-affirming.
“Bryson?” she whispered against his lips.
“Yes?” he whispered back.
“Are we going to your place or mine?”
He pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes. “The dogs are with the sitter at my place, remember?”
“That’s right,” Evie said. “Then why don’t we go relieve the dog sitter?”
